Throughout history, technology has played a role in the advancement of human civilization and society. Today, it has thoroughly influenced the way we think, work, collaborate, shop, learn, and communicate. With technology being part of our everyday lives, it’s important to understand its impacts and implications.
Technological determinism is the idea that technology drives how “individuals in society think and how society operates as we move from one technological age to another.
Canadian media scholar Marshall McLuhan was seen a supporter of technological determination. He studied the ways communication technology have shaped humans over time and divided history into distinct periods based off the dominant medium of the time. These eras include oral tradition, literacy, and electronic communication.
“The medium is the message.”
How technology shapes our behaviors today
McLuhan makes strong points in his argument for technological determinism. We can see the obvious impacts on ways that technology shapes our behaviors today.
Devices such as our smartphones have revolutionized the ways that individuals today interact with one another. Instead of talking to a friend in-person, someone could use other means like call, video call, text, message on social media platforms, or even post a picture for a wider audience to see. Interaction no longer requires real-time interaction.
If someone needed to buy something, they wouldn’t have to go in-person to the store. They could open an app and have it delivered to their home within the week.
People also consume information differently now. Now that people use social media and each have their own platforms, they too can share both personal and general news. While this can be seen as the democratization of information, it can also lead to more biased or fake news being spread from individuals rather than getting information straight from reputable news sources.
A time-sensitive revelation
While there are many strong points to for technological determinism, there are a few arguments as well.
“No technological fix is going to change the future we have constructed for ourselves”
In claiming that technology is the sole drive of change, the idea downplays the shifts in social and economic priorities that pushes the need for change. For example, Green cites cultural anxieties during World War II that led to heavy investments of technology that would eventually lead to the computer eventually being sold as a consumer good.
Another thing to consider is that technology is socially determined. Our thoughts about technology will affect how we act in relation to it. For example, while Meta (previously Facebook) is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world it faced recent revelations of data breaches, unethical practices, and scandal these past few years which has heavily damaged their brand and led to an ongoing decline of users. Many people disliked and disagreed with the approach of Meta and stopped using the technology.
Furthermore, Green emphasizes that while it is great to have technology as tools, there is no technological fix that will “change the future we have contructed for ourselves.” At the end of the day, it is up to the individuals in society to drive change.