Comparing Technological Determinism Theory to Social Construction of Technology Theory - Essay Example

Comparing and Contrasting Technological Determinism Theory to Social Construction of Technology Theory University’s Name: Submitted by Names: Tutor: Date: There has been conflicting debate about the relationship between technology and the society.1 One side of the debate argues that technology has no influence on human action, but rather, it is the human that determines the types of technologies that emerge in the society. On the other hand, some people argue that technologies that are available in the society determine the actions of members of that particular society. Despite the opposing arguments, technology and the society have interdependent relationship and they influence each other and neither can operate independently. There are two theories that advance the two arguments between technology and the society and they include technological determinism theory and social construction of technology. This work compares and contrasts the two theories through the use of technological artifact that are available in our society that we use on a daily basis. Technological determinists argue that technology is an independent determinant of the changes that we witness in the society, including social, cultural, political and economic changes. Technological determinism has, therefore, has been argued to be the driving force of the changes that are taking place in the society.2 The theory is credited to an American sociologist, Thorstein Veblen and he believed that technologies have the greatest influence in all the actions, changes and the processes that are taking places in all the societies in the world compared to any other forces. Veblen and other hard technological determinists believe that technology is the liberating forces of the problems and the challenges that human being face and that it acts independently. There are hard and soft technological determinists. Hard determinists believe that technological is autonomous and is by no means influenced by the social forces in the society. They believe that technology is the greatest societal force that influences and controls the activities taking place in the society. Hard determinists argue that human beings have no capacity and power to control technology and that its effects are inevitable.3 On the other hand, soft determinists are passive believers of the theory. Even though they also believe that technology is the driving force of the changes that are witnessed in the society, the society still has the ability to influence the changes and the impacts of technology.4 They, therefore, hold the view that technology and technological development are not deterministic, but society also significant stake in the development and adoption of technology. According to soft determinists, the development and adoption of technology is influenced by other players and interests. Technological determinism theory has been criticized, especially by contemporary theorists who believe that the theory presents inaccurate relationship between technology and the society. One of the arguments of critics is that there is no simple linear between science and technology or technology and the society. Another critic of the theory is that technologies that have a significant impact on the lives of people in the society are not only determined by the technological factors but other factors as well, especially the cultures and values of the targeted consumers. Social construction of technology (SCOT), on the other hand, argue that technology is not the determinant of the actions taken by human beings, but , rather, it is human forces that shape the design and the adoption of the technologies that emerge in the society.5 Those who hold to this theory argue that the design and the use of technology must just reflect societal values, actions, and cultures. It is the society that determines the success of the development and adoption of technology because if it fails to meet the societal needs and expectations it is most likely to be rendered obsolete. The theory is based on four basic concepts, which define its relevance. The first concept of the theory is based on the interpretive flexibility, which states that technological development is a process that has many different outcomes. However, the outcomes directly depend on the social perception over circumstances surrounding the development of a particular technology. The concept is based on the notion that technological artifact is the outcome of intergroup negotiations. The second concept of the theory argues that people belonging to a particular social group share common sets of meanings associated to a technological artifact. The actions of social groups determine the meaning of artifact in the society. Closure and stability is the third concept of the theory, which states that technological design targeting various social groups is likely to generate some conflicts, but the designing of such artifact continues until the conflict is resolved and it is accepted across the social groups. The concept shows that the society has a big say on the development and the adoption of technology. The forth, and the final concept, is the wider context, which defines the social, cultural, and the political development of technological artifacts. The four concepts of the theory show that the society has a significant influence on the development and adoption of technology. Like the technological determinism theory, social construction of technology has also been criticized by various scholars. The major criticism of the theory is the argument that the society has various social groups that determine the development and the adoption of technologies. Critics argue that it is a pluralist perception about the society. SCOT assumes that members of a particular social group have similar characteristics, which is not true due to forces of asymmetric among social groups. In addition, some groups many be ignored in the development and adoption of technological artifacts. The theory is also criticized because it only explains the development of technology, but it neglects the crucial part, the effect of technology to the society after it has been developed. This shows that the theory is selective in putting forward its arguments, which interferes with its objectivity. It also a victim of social construction of knowledge because it does not clearly defines social groups and socials interests. Like technological determinism theory, SCOT is also not clear and objective in its arguments. Both the technological determinism and the social construction of technology, to some extent, have had impacts on the society. There is a way technology has influenced human action and at the same time society has influenced the adoption and development of technology.6 Therefore, despite the criticism and weaknesses of the two technologies, they still apply and they contain some values that are important to the society at large. The technological determinism theory can be seen in the way the internet is influencing the culture and all the activities that are going on in the society today.7 Digital transformation is rapidly changing the lives of people and research shows that 80% of the people rely on the internet for their daily activities. Internet has become inevitable and it has made the world a global village, especially due to the social network. It has also expanded the freedom of information as people can now access information faster than before and even those in prison can now be connected to the entire world due to the internet. Even though a significant number of people use internet, another significant number of users have no enthusiasm, but they are forced to use it because it is inevitable. The internet has also controlled the way we think and gather information. It has reduced the deep attentive thinking, which is crucial in the development of knowledge useful reflection because internet has made people to access small pieces of information from many sources. The introduction of internet, therefore, has affected the intellectual capacity of the people while at the same time it is changing the culture.8 People no longer read books to get knowledge, but they rely on the internet to get information that they need. The internet, therefore, shows that to some extent, it is the technology that controls lives of human beings and not human beings controlling the development and adoption of technology as supported by the technological determinism theory. The internet has also affected the consciousness of the people, especially the youths. Youths who spend a lot of time on social media while chatting with friends are likely to develop some consciousness problem.9 Intensive use of the internet leads to a fragmented self. Consequently, internet users are likely to believe that life is also fragmented and they are likely to ignore the societal values, norms and cultures, which unit people.10 Internet, therefore, is rapidly changing how we live in the society. Fortunately or unfortunately, several attempts to censor the use of internet have failed, which may support determinists arguments that it is the technology that controls our lives. For instance, in 2011, during the UK riot, there was a desperate attempt by the BlackBery to stop its instant texting services in order to limit communication among the protestors. The same applied during the Arab Spring in Egypt when the government switched off the internet to bar international media from accessing the situation of the conflict.11 All these attempts to control technology failed, which shows the power of technology in our lives. Even though the attempt to control the internet seems to have failed, this may not be true because there are some instances where the people have been able to control the effect of internet. For instance, China is one of the countries that have been able to control the use of the internet through the centralized internet ports. Centralized internet ports have led to self control, surveillance of human beings, reduction of peer pressure, and self censorship.12 The ability to control the internet has made those using the internet to be responsible and they have been able to use it for the right purpose at the right time. Centralized internet ports validate the arguments of those supporting SCOT theory because it shows that it is human beings who control the development and adoption of technology. The case of centralized internet ports in China shows that technology is influenced by various social institutions that are found in a particular society. Different cultures, social groups and economies, therefore, develop and adopt technologies that have the ability to satisfy their common needs and that are in line with their common values and norms. Society, therefore, controls technology that it uses and the ultimate impact of the same technology.13 For instance, the US has a car culture, which has led to the massive use of cars and the development of automotive technologies. The result of this is the massive auto emission that pollutes the environment. However, despite the pollution, the country has continued to produce and use more cars due to the car culture.14 The case of the US supports SCOT theory and it reveals that the development of technology is influenced by both social demand and culture.15 Apart from different and conflicting ideologies of the two theories, SCOT also appears to be a methodology and not a theory as such because it highlights the stages of development of technology. The theory has four basic steps in the development of technology, which include consideration of relevant social groups, designing flexibility, solving problems and conflict that arise, and finally the closure of technological development. The theory, therefore, highlights the process of technological development that makes it look like a methodology or process of technological development. Technological determinism, on the other hand, is a clear theory that explains how technological development and adoption affects the lives of consumers. In conclusion, therefore, technological determinism theory alludes that human being has no control over the effects of technologies that emerge in the society. Hard determinist are more conservative that the soft determinist who are flexible in their approach to the determinist concept. Even though technology may have uncontrollable effects of the lives of the people, the theory has many weaknesses with a lot of criticisms. Many scholars believe that the theory no longer apply in the modern society because humans have developed better ways of controlling the effects of technology. Social contraction of technology, on the other hand, despite the critics, is widely accepted by many scholars because it is humans that develop technology and they have the ability to control them. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the society to come up with technologies that are useful for its people, but it is the same society that must make sure that technologies do not control the lives of humans. 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