The Negatives of Technological Determinism
Describing the relationship between technology and society can be somewhat difficult, with many individual perspectives. Individuals can either have a utopian and positive outlook on technology, whereas some may have a distopian and opposite perspective, and see technology as a deterrent (Quan-Haase, 2010). Additionally, there are many more theories on the relationship of technology and society.That being said, some of those theories prove to be more appropriate than others. One theory that is commonly discussed is technological determinism, which is a very limiting theory when it comes to describing the relations between technologies and society. This theory is used to describe the relationship between …show more content…
Deterministic individuals may believe that technology shaping society is one sided, where as many historical events have proved this to be incorrect. As mentioned in Volti’s reading, is no secret that technology has impacted our economy positively. Our economy has grown in several ways due to technology (Volti, 2001). However, more often than not, Culture shaped events more than technology has. This being said, technology has and currently does shape present society, but cultural events have also had importance as well. As also discussed in Nye’s article “Does Technology Control Us?”, humans have made use of supplies for thousands of years (Nye, 2005). Many of the readings discuss technology as a positive, working alongside technology. There have been instances in society that one may believe are due to technological determinism, a well-known one being the Luddites. One may say that the Luddites went after technology due to it destroying their problems, thus having technology controlling the social order of society. However, it is possible to say that these employees were angered with their lives and the current state of the economy, and wanted a target that could not fight back (Volti, 2001). In present day, we use technology more as a tool than as a guide for society. The internet has come up as quite controversial, as individuals can post their work freely. This …show more content…
Technology should be viewed as a fluid tool rather than a necessity for human life and development. Humans have created the need for technology, thus rendering the theory of technological determinism as inaccurate. As discussed in Carey’s piece, the telegraph was an invention that revolutionized technology. It helped to not only develop a whole electronic and technology industry, but to also be the turning point for how individuals could communicate with one another. The introduction of the telegraph brought a new realm of communications that had not ever been done before (Carey, 1991). This in turn was all due to the human need for a communication device, thus leading to the creation and invention of the telegraph. Technological determinists may argue that the telegraph shaped the way we communicate. In some senses this may be true, but it is better to look at this idea from a social deterministic view. The events leading up to the creation of the telegraph called for it’s creation, thus giving societal controls on this invention. The United States of America has been generating technologies for years, with a steady increase and growth rate. It is a given that new technologies will bring forth new changes to society (Starr,
Describing the relationship between technology and society can be somewhat difficult, with many individual perspectives. Individuals can either have a utopian and positive outlook on technology, whereas some may have a distopian and opposite perspective, and see technology as a deterrent (Quan-Haase, 2010). Additionally, there are many more theories on the relationship of technology and society.That being said, some of those theories prove to be more appropriate than others. One theory that is commonly discussed is technological determinism, which is a very limiting theory when it comes to describing the relations between technologies and society. This theory is used to describe the relationship between …show more content…
Deterministic individuals may believe that technology shaping society is one sided, where as many historical events have proved this to be incorrect. As mentioned in Volti’s reading, is no secret that technology has impacted our economy positively. Our economy has grown in several ways due to technology (Volti, 2001). However, more often than not, Culture shaped events more than technology has. This being said, technology has and currently does shape present society, but cultural events have also had importance as well. As also discussed in Nye’s article “Does Technology Control Us?”, humans have made use of supplies for thousands of years (Nye, 2005). Many of the readings discuss technology as a positive, working alongside technology. There have been instances in society that one may believe are due to technological determinism, a well-known one being the Luddites. One may say that the Luddites went after technology due to it destroying their problems, thus having technology controlling the social order of society. However, it is possible to say that these employees were angered with their lives and the current state of the economy, and wanted a target that could not fight back (Volti, 2001). In present day, we use technology more as a tool than as a guide for society. The internet has come up as quite controversial, as individuals can post their work freely. This …show more content…
Technology should be viewed as a fluid tool rather than a necessity for human life and development. Humans have created the need for technology, thus rendering the theory of technological determinism as inaccurate. As discussed in Carey’s piece, the telegraph was an invention that revolutionized technology. It helped to not only develop a whole electronic and technology industry, but to also be the turning point for how individuals could communicate with one another. The introduction of the telegraph brought a new realm of communications that had not ever been done before (Carey, 1991). This in turn was all due to the human need for a communication device, thus leading to the creation and invention of the telegraph. Technological determinists may argue that the telegraph shaped the way we communicate. In some senses this may be true, but it is better to look at this idea from a social deterministic view. The events leading up to the creation of the telegraph called for it’s creation, thus giving societal controls on this invention. The United States of America has been generating technologies for years, with a steady increase and growth rate. It is a given that new technologies will bring forth new changes to society (Starr,