#technological determinist

[yajalu]

Marshall McLuhan

I can’t believe he was an incognito Cyborg theorist all along.

I was 100% sure he was a Technological Determinist.

I’m so mind blown!

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Internet Meets Society - tutorial (week 2)

I do not agree with the technological determinist position. Even though technologies and tools - such as the hammer and the steam engine - are made of certain physical materials that impose restrictions and open possibilities to the use of a technology, there are other factors that need to be considered. For example: discmans were a popular device used to listen to music in the past. However, they are not a current technology anymore. Digital music - either downloaded or even streamed - has taken the place of discmans. Furthermore, a scientist's or an engineer's background and interests have a big influence on the kind of device they are going to develop and how they are going to develop it. Finally, society influences manufacturers in terms of the kind of product that "survives" and which one has its production abandoned. Therefore, consumers tastes and preferences also influence which technologies receive and which do not receive attention and resources from people who can actually create them. The technological determinist position only takes into account one side of the "coin".

I do think that a gunhuman is a different being to a gun and to a human in the sense that a gun opens possibilities to a human who possesses it. By saying that I do not mean that a person in possession of a gun is necessarily going to use it for a bad purpose or even use it at all. What I mean is that having a gun may influence the human who has it to take decisions that he or she would not take without the gun - due to an increased sense of protection or confidence, for instance. On the other hand, the pure possession of a gun is not sufficient to lead a human to any action. A human being should be responsible for his/her decisions in any circumstance, no matter what kind of tool or technology he/she has access to.

In my opinion, three social changes influenced by the emergence of the Internet are: the use of social media to interact with friends, family, acquaintances, etc; the relationship between companies and their clients; and the public access to a vast amount of information which used to be harder to obtain some decades ago.

[huglin-588319-unib10005-blog]

Tutorial One - Technological determinist?

 ‘I am a technological determinist. Essentially, my position is that the technology determines and frames human behaviour, from the hammer to the steam engine to the computer.’

I think it is hard to determine one as being a technological determinist or a social determinist. Social behaviour goes beyond just social interactions or technology.

As discussed in the tutorial, it is a case of the ‘chicken and the egg’ all over again. For there to be the creation of particular technologies, there must have been a need or want for it; a social change occurred. But the making of technological items themselves caused a shift in social behaviour. With the emergence of the internet and mobile phones, sending emails, inboxes and text messages have become a more effective manner of communication for society as it is instant. The need for instant communication became much more overwhelming after the technology was built for us to use. The cycle goes round and round with more than one factor shaping a social change or behaviour.

However, I feel that if I were to make a decision it is more likely to relate to the social determinist – for it is our choices that lead to the behaviour of each individual. We chose to build the technology created and chose to use it in the manner we do. It is us, as individuals and as a society that chose to use technology and use it to behave in the manner that we do.

Changes due to the emergence of the Internet:

 Friendships widespread – across the world, due to ease in ability to communicate

 Instant communication – lack of physical conversations

 Many employment opportunities lost as well as gained