Basically what we are seeing in our present day lives is that culture is progressing with the introduction of technology.
I suppose we should start with defining technology. Obviously it is devices and man-made objects. Most commonly, we think of: computers, phones, iPads etc. However, this text discusses that technology has become so fundamental and centralised in our lives that the definition needs to be readjusted to a more broad sense that not only incorporates our constructed tool, but also “cultural values, ideologies, ethical concerns; [and] political and economic determinants.” (Murphie and Potts 2002, p4). Technology can often be seen as a bad thing: children becoming addicted to video games, people becoming all consumed by their devices etc. However, have a think about medicine and science and the extreme leap research has been able to take due to the progression of technology. It’s pretty impressive if you ask me.
So, we have defined technology… where does culture fit into the equation. Culture is notoriously ingrained in my blog (as you have possibly realised) however, it’s definition almost always presents an issue. The word varies in different senses. It can relate to: the performing arts, creativity, youth, ethnicities and races or even human nature altogether. I’m sure there are many, many more ‘groups’ that can utilise the word, but that’s what makes it such a difficult idea. Culture is dynamic.
Moving over into a topic from my Networked Media course, this text talks about Technological Determinism. This idea basically means that “technology is the agent for social change”(Murphie and Potts 2002, p11). This idea looks at technology as a standalone ‘thing’ which follows it’s own ideals and movements, but it’s imperative to look at technology and culture as interconnected to understand their influence on each other to more accurate extent. We can’t just project our ideas of technology into the future, we need to carefully compare with historical trends of culture. I suppose that in order to understand the future we must first understand the past. Although the way society reacts to technology can hardly be controlled, the text suggests that the “characteristics of society” (Murphie and Potts 2002, p20) play a massive role in which technologies are accepted. Trans-national corporations are quite commonly also involved in controlling the production and implementation of technologies – this can restrict the way technology is and can impact our society.
So what we are seeing is that technology is a fundamental aspect to culture, however the idea of culture and the definition of technology is ever changing. So with that, our social ideas must change and develop to allow room to incorporate technology as well as culture into our everyday lives.
Extracts from A. Murphie and J. Potts (2002), Culture and Technology (Palgrave MacMillan)– [Introduction and Ch.1 on ‘Theoretical Frameworks’]
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