09 Reading – Technological Determinism

Technological Determinism? Never heard of it.

Well, that’s a lie. It may have come up in Histories & Technologies a while ago – I found it interesting then, I still do now. It brings to mind those brilliant techno sic-fi films of the 90’s and early 00’s – toasters rising to take over the world, that kind of thing. According to the reading, it “refers to the belief that technology is the agent of social change”, reflected in expressions such as “you can’t stop progress”. Nowadays, it’d be expressions like, “I, like, can’t live without my phone” or “the internet runs my life” that would reflect this. I’d like to think that I could live without my phone, the amount of times I lose it wouldn’t bode well for me. And the internet doesn’t nag me anywhere near enough to qualify as a life-runner.

                             Clean your room, bitch!

However, I could see how in our society, there may be some people who subscribe to the belief that it is technology that dictates our culture, instead of the other way around. I that when Apple releases a new product – iPhones, iPads, etc., they are attempting to sell the idea that our lives will be irrevocably changed by it. Really, though, they’re attempting to meet a desire that our society has created.

Or, you know, we could all be living in The Matrix, and technology is already in control. Either way, I’d be a little nicer to my toaster, if I were you.