Social, Political, and Cultural Impacts of Science and Technology on Society - Research Paper Example

 Technology Technology is one aspect of society which continues to metamorphose and change with each generation. This has influenced different cultures and the way people relate with each other as well as perceive different factors of life. Technology has been both constructive and destructive in terms of its contribution to society. Human development in modern times is almost always associated with technology and this has raised debate on the dependency of man on his own invention. Science is also another field of study which has contributed to the development of society. Scientists have had a crucial impact on the political, cultural and social behaviors that are present today and this paper will assess how both science and technology have helped influence and shape the above mentioned aspects of society. Firstly, one of the factors of society that has been affected by technology both positively and negatively is communication. Sociologists have frequently discussed how communication has changed over the last few decades and how this has changed behavioral traits in the community. There have been several researches carried out and one includes the article published by Przybylski who carried out a study on how the presence of mobile technology has influenced the effectiveness and quality of face to face interactions (2013). This is a relevant question in sociological parameters as it addresses an issue which involves almost everyone. The majority of people in the world own a cell phone and the attitude towards excessive use of this gadget is different among several cultures. In addition, cellphones can now perform several functions and there have numerous communication tools such as Viber or Whatsapp, hence further illustrating the relevance of this article (Przybylski & Weinstein., 2013). The article is based on two experiments which evaluated the extent which the presence of a mobile phone can influence the quality of a certain relationship in dyadic settings. It mainly assess how things such as closeness, conversation quality and connection. In the first experiment there were 74 participants utilized. The authors raised arguments that the previously mentioned human relations were would be adversely influenced. It also places emphasizes on the fact that the mere presence of a cellphone is likely to affect face to face communication. The evidence that is utilized in the article before the experiment includes psychological studies which were carried out to assess why people have cellphones. O’Keefe & Sulanowski discovered that cellphones were mainly utilized for social and entertainment purposes (Przybylski & Weinstein., 2013). It was also discovered that cellphones are utilized as a means of feeling closer to family and friends, expressing love and care, and hence people develop a sense of attachment and closeness to these devices. Research stated in the paper also involves the capability of mobile phones to influence interpersonal skills. This was attained from interviews which illustrated that most people believe their phones give them a continuous connection and communication sense with the external world (Przybylski & Weinstein., 2013). An observation experiment was also quoted in the paper which showed that couples were constantly interrupted during meals by a message or notification on their cellphones. There is also survey data that was carried out on the matter which indicated that the reason why mobile phones exert pervasive influences on individuals is due to their association of these phones with different social networks. Therefore, this association stimulates individuals to thinking of other social circles and platforms of conversation which are different from their immediate social context. The article also postulates that the presence of mobile phones may inhibit the formation of closeness between two individuals as their attention is frequently diverted elsewhere. Therefore, the article takes all this evidence into consideration and assesses the way face to face communication is affected through the presence of a mobile phone (Przybylski & Weinstein., 2013). As mentioned above, technology is an essential aspect of human development and has many positive contributions which include its use for information storage. Therefore, technology has had a huge impact on learning. A study that was carried out by Bernard et al., assessed how learning has passed over the past forty years. The article documents findings that were attained through a second order meta analysis procedure which assessed and summarized research findings on the changes in education in the past 40 years. As technology has advanced new modes of learning are being created and students have access to more sources for their studies. This has ultimately made learning faster and allowed students to keep in touch with new developments in their field of study. There are also classrooms which have in cooperated computers into their learning environments. Bernard et al., also check data on the impact a computer screen has on a student’s attention span and whether it improves his or her attitude towards learning. The article by Tamim et al., also compares learning in classes with computers and those that do not have screens and utilize the face to face environment (2011). In order to make an appropriate comparison, a study level meta-analysis was also carried out. The source can be considered relatively reliable as it took into account a fairly large sample consisting of meta analysis which overlapped in primary literature and had utilized approximately 1055 primary studies (Tamim et al., 2011) The study was based on the hypothesis that these computer screens will negatively influence learning in the classrooms. This notion is a possibility as computer screens are more distracting than face to face interaction and can easily affect the attention of a student who may start doing other things. Screens are often associated with entertainment and televisions and studies have shown that sitting infront of a TV screen can be distracting as an individual develops the urge to know what is being broadcasted. Therefore, computers can have the same distracting effects in the classroom (Tamim et al., 2011) Technology and science have also had an influence on the political environment in the world. These factors have given countries some advantages in terms of military strength and enabled the world to gain access to certain political reforms that occur in different places. An example is the Arab springs which involved different revolutions. These were spread through the internet and in the Egypt revolution which resulted in the ousting of Housni Mubarak many people utilized Facebook to communicate. Zuninga et al., carried out a research on “digital democracy” and it was based on understanding the new pathways which are emerging in political participation due to the available technology (2010). The article based its research on different blogs and the influence they have on readers and the political decisions that they driven to make. The article also tries to assess the rate of growth of blog readers and the influence they have offline. The article presents research that has found a correlation between talking about politics and participating in related activities. In essence, if a person talked about politics with his family or friends he or she is likely to partake in political campaigns, voting and other activities. In addition, other research that was also presented indicated that the talking that takes place on the internet cannot be differentiated with the conversations that occur face to face. The article states that technology gives individuals the possibility to read opinions on different issues and also share their views on other issues (Gil de Zúñiga, 2010). The article narrowed its number of blogs to 300 and these were strictly “political” blogs (Gil de Zúñiga, 2010). The blogs were selected by members of the research team who evaluated each of the blogs for some political content. The blogs that were used in the study also had to have been operated by the same group for the past 2 years. The study used these criteria to email 154 potential bloggers with 66 responding in agreement to participate. The study also took into consideration the qualifications of the different bloggers as well as the readers and the average household income of the visitors. The three articles are based on different aspects of technology and its influence. According to the article by Przybylski, technology was disruptive in the communication process as it distracted conversions and diverted people’s attention. Berard et al., also stated that technology in the classroom environment was a distracter and hence shared the same viewpoint as Przybylski. However, the article by Zuninga et al., indicated that the technology was beneficial to society in terms of creating a platform for communication and the sharing of ideas. The first two sources are similar and resemble the same situation whereby technology is implemented in atypical locations like classrooms or mobile phones which are taken to different places. The view presented by the third source indicates that there are two effects which technology can have and these depend on the environment and the purpose it is used. In summation, the third source is more conveying in its subject as it represents an aspect of technology which is influential on the world today. Many studies have indicated that the decisions they make in different aspects of their lives are influenced by the internet through blogs and other social networks. In addition, the article had a well orchestrated screening process and was able to assess its research groups in detail. References Dean, J., Anderson, J. W., & Lovink, G. (Eds.). (2013). Reformatting politics: information technology and global civil society. Routledge. Gil de Zúñiga, H., Veenstra, A., Vraga, E., & Shah, D. (2010). Digital democracy: Reimagining pathways to political participation. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 7(1), 36-51. Przybylski, A. K., & Weinstein, N. (2013). Can you connect with me now? How the presence of mobile communication technology influences face-to-face conversation quality. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 30(3), 237-246. Tamim, R. M., Bernard, R. M., Borokhovski, E., Abrami, P. C., & Schmid, R. F. (2011). What forty years of research says about the impact of technology on learning a second-order meta-analysis and validation study. Review of Educational Research, 81(1), 4-28. Vaccari, C. (2010). “Technology is a commodity”: the internet in the 2008 United States Presidential election. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 7(4), 318-339. Read More