Do You Think Technology Affects Culture Positively or Negatively - Essay Example

Do you think technology affects culture positively or negatively? Introduction If one takes a detailed look at the development of the humanity, one can not help noticing that it is closely connected to the evolution of technology. Indeed, from the very dawn of the humanity, people tried to make their live more comfortable and their labor more effective which eventually resulted in various discoveries. Furthermore, technological advancement often directly affected various area of the society. It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that technology has a tremendous impact on culture. Indeed, while the desire to create works of art can be found even in the primitive society, as technology developed talented people received new opportunities for expression of their creative energy. This paper will argue that technology has a positive impact on culture as it provides people with new mediums for expression, facilitates effective sharing of works of art and allows a person to store one’s artistic legacy. What is technology? One would make no mistake that the concept in question is extremely broad. That is why for the purposes of this paper technology will be defined as a general term of the material part of culture of the mankind that heavily relies on the scientific principles and focuses on production of good and services. As one can clearly see from the very definition, technology may be seen as a tool that can be used for different purposes. Indeed, some aspects of technological advancement, like nuclear energy, have almost no connection to art. Nevertheless, artists are still able to make use of various discoveries. For example, the development on production of metal resulted in expansion of array of materials that sculptors are able to work with; the development of informational technology allowed artists to share their works world wide. Therefore, while technology does not develop any specific tool for art, the latter is able to use achievement of the former for its purposes. Technology provides people with new mediums for expression The first and the most obvious positive effect that technology has on art focuses on the fact that nowadays artists are able to interact with a wide range of materials that were not known before (Candy, 2002). Thus, in the previous times, painters primarily used canvas and oil while today those who are willing to express themselves with the help of art can choose from a variety of paints and mediums. If one analyzes the development of sculpture, one will note that stone or wood is no longer the dominant material that sculptors work with: the contemporary science provides artists with new materials that are easily changes and look exactly like real objects. For example, there are many polymers that can be used to create extremely realistic sculptors. Another point that should be mentioned is that technology made it possible to take the notion of art into a completely different dimension. At the present moment, it is quite possible for an artist to create exclusive in the virtual medium (Harrison, 2013). For example, there are numerous applications that provide a person with a wide variety to tools to create masterpieces with the help of a computer. What is more important is that virtual art is not limited with two dimensions only: with the development of technology a person is able to create anything that one can possibly create in the reality. Even such form of art is cinema can be found in the virtual environment: there are movies that feature main characters which are computer generated. Technology allows effective sharing of cultural values The next positive impact that should be mentioned in great detail is the fact that technology allows people to share their works of art instantly. Thus, in the previous time artists had to wait for large public events so that numerous people were able to see their works; however, at the present moment one is able to share a work of art with the world with a simply click of a mouse (Ascott, 2000). Moreover, sharing has become so easy today that every day the humanity produces more art and presents it to the global public than it did in the centuries when such advanced technology did not exist. In addition to that, all this provides people with a great ability to widen their aesthetic outlook. For example, in the previous centuries musician shared copies of new songs among themselves and considered themselves lucky if they were able to get a hold of a recording that depicts a new musical style. Contrary to that, nowadays one is able to explore a wide variety of musical styles not leaving one’s chair and choose a favorite one. There is not doubt that this greatly contributes to creative energy of the people and allows one to find a suitable art without big efforts. As a result, people become more aware about the recent trends in art and can develop them while before technology was so advanced they had to spend time exploring different manifestations of art. There is no doubt that this greatly contributes to aesthetic evolution of art. Technology helps one to store objects of culture Finally, while considering the positive impact of technology on culture one should also point out that the former makes preservation of the latter quite effective. For example, the talented people of the previous times were not able to save of works of art that they produced, so many are lost (Rudolph, 1996). However, nowadays technology makes sure that not only objects of art that are created today, but also those which were created long ago are not destroyed by time. This is particularly important since it make culture a stable element of the social life making sure that objects will not be forgotten or damaged. Indeed, the mankind knows little about the cultures of the ancient times as many works of art were created out of materials that could not survive for thousand of years. Therefore, technology makes it possible to pass various works of art, both created at the present and previous times, to the future generations. That is why it would not be a mistake to suggest that due to technology culture is able to unite people who live in different times (Speser, 2006). This is particularly important as it shows the successful between the generations and facilitates an important transition of artistic legacy. What is more important is that it provides those who live in the future with an ability to carry on the artistic development which was initiated in the past, making sure that it never stops. In other words, it is the technology that makes evolution of art perpetual freeing it from the limits of a particular time and place. The effect of technology other aspects of culture While aesthetic sphere should be regarded as the core of concept of human culture, it may be beneficial to trace the effect of technology on some other aspects. For example, it would not be a mistake to suggest that the technological advancement totally changed the way people communicate with each other. Thus, letters used to be the major way of correspondence and waiting for a response was a part of communication. However, at the present moment instant messaging is so common that no body bothers to write a letter. In addition to that, seeing the person who one communicates with is now not perceived as something unique while it used to be a dream. Further more, technology expanded the variety of choice that people are able to make. For example, the grocery stores used to have only those products that are grown locally. Nevertheless, nowadays supermarkets no only sell those products which were grown overseas, they also all people to enjoy different vegetables all year round. This has had a significant impact on the way people it. Conclusion Having examined all the points which were made in the paragraphs above, one is able to come to the following conclusion: the impact of technology on culture is obviously positive. First of all, it allows people to use different mediums which greatly expands the scope of possibilities for art. For example, the artists today work with material that have properties that their counterpart can only dream of. What is more important is that there is a part of art that can be created exclusively in the virtual environment. Secondly, technology makes sharing of culture a rather easily process which united people in one global network. In addition to that, one is able to learn about different aspects of culture, developing a broader perspective on it. Finally, technology provides people with an opportunity to store different objects that represent culture so that they could be passes to the future generations. In addition to that technology provides people with more options when it comes to communication and diet which is surely beneficial. References Ascott, R. (2000). Art, technology, consciousness mind@large. Bristol: Intellect. Candy, L. (2002). Explorations in art and technology. New York, NY: Springer. Hara, K. (2006). Consuming music together social and collaborative aspects of music consumption technologies. Dordrecht: Springer. Harrison, D. (2013). Digital media and technologies for virtual artistic spaces. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Rudolph, T. (1996). Teaching music with technology. Chicago, IL: GIA Publications. Speser, P. (2006). The art & science of technology transfer. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons. Read More