TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

Unit 2- Social Change

Technology and Change

How does technology impact your life? How does technology impact your

behaviour? What impact does technology have on the

way you and other individuals interact?

DISCUSSION

Technology: An agent of Social Change

Making our lives easier everyday!

What is Technology? Technology is

the creation of tools or objects that both extend our natural abilities and alter our social environment

Johanne Gutenberg He created the printing

press in 1450 This invention took the

process of reading out of wealthy circles and monasteries and into the hands of the ordinary people

Books became more affordable and became the method of choice when circulating new ideas

Martin Luther used the printing press to his advantage in the 1500s when he challenged church doctrine starting off what has come to be known as the Reformation

Reading is good, right?•While the printing press brought us many good things it also changed the way we tell stories •Memorization and oral recitation begin to lose favour after the printing press •The church starts to lose some of its control over the congregation as bibles become more accessible to the public •Luther uses the printed word to start the Reformation

Aboriginal peoples in Canada have passed their stories on through oral histories for generations

Traditional Theory Of Change

Social Change Theory› Looks at factors contributing to change within

the structure of society› Traditional theories take the position that

change within society is brought about by a myriad of interactions within a society’s framework that begin with the individual person Individual Idea Change

E.g. individual creates an idea about technology which causes it to be accepted and change occurs

Does Change Begin With the Individual or technology?

Technological Theory Of Change

Technological Determinism› Social change is initiated by TECHNOLOGY› Contrary to what traditional theorists believe› Society adapts to technological change Thorstein Veblen Challenges traditional theories of social change Technological determinists see the invention of a particular

tool (e.g. computer) as motivator for change and society simply reacting to the technology

Does Change Begin With the Individual or technology?

THE ARGUMENT IS....

We are changing our behaviour to suit technology trends-- technology is not changing to suit our behaviours

Coping with Technological Change – Not Always for the

Positive While we are for the most

part eager to accept and use new technological advancements we have to be aware of the negative consequences of these technological advancements

Internet has allowed many people to access useful information but has also allowed easy access to porn sites, hate sites and other dangerous sites on the web that parents don’t want their children seeing

Running to Keep Up! Another stressor of technological change is

the feeling that we “can’t keep up” with what is new

Alvin Toffler describe this idea as “future shock” or the “dizzying disorientation brought on by the premature arrival of the future”

Many believe that technological change is happening so fast that the fundamental values of society are becoming blurred

Many also see the “click of a mouse” having an effect on society’s patience as we now cannot wait for the simplest of daily tasks

Overdependence on Technology

Society has grown so dependent on technology that when it doesn’t work we feel tremendous anxiety (Weil and Rosen)

What did we do before these technologies

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGENegative Side Effects Overdependence On Technology- we rely heavily on machines- when they break down, we experience stress

- “technosis” a term to describe how people feel out of touch if they do not check email, cell phone etc.

Social Isolation Addictive use of the

internet can lead to social isolation, increased depression, academic failure, financial debt of job loss (Kimberly Young)

Societies have relied on social interaction for centuries to survive, what happens if this element is taken out of our lives?

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

“Cyber disorders”- addiction has been extended to include problematic Internet use associated with social, psychological, and occupational impairment

symptoms include pre-occupation with the Internet, increased anxiety when offline, lying about Internet use

Cyber Disorders

Cultural Lag Theory William Ogden

believes that acceptance of a new technology follows a three-phase process

Stage One: Invention – combining elements and materials to form new ones

Stage Two: Discovery – discovering a new way of viewing reality

Stage Three: Diffusion – the spread of a discovery from one area to another

People who oppose new technologies are often called “luddites” after a secret society whose goal it was to destroy new textile machines during the early years of the Industrial Revolution

Technology and Change in the Home

RADIO The invention of new technologies brought

about a new “mass culture” that all social classes could participate in

The invention of an affordable radio saw families gain new methods of entertainment, the same goes for the television

Electricity and heat become important in homes as people’s lives become easier – this is not true in every case

Is T.V. Really that great an Invention?

TELEVISION Before television families

often listened to the radio or played games together – this promoted dialogue and family interaction

TVs have not only changed the way we interact but the way our house is set up – how many people have a room in their house that is centred around the television?

How much do you use the computer?

THE COMPUTER I want you to think

for a minute – how often do you think you use the internet?

I want you to write down how much time on average per night and per week you use the computer

When you have done this hand it up to me!

Life in front of a computer What do you think

would happen to an individual that spends all day in front of a computer devoid of human contact?

What types of skills would they lack in their every day lives?

Changes in Land Use and Agriculture

Hunter-gatherers•All cultures emerged from hunter-gatherer traditions •These cultures survived as they traveled across territories collecting wild plants they could eat •This type of lifestyle is also called nomadic

Horticultural Societies These societies learned to

grow domestic plants for human consumption

This allowed humans to stay in one place building farms that allowed them to grow food

Horticulture had a dramatic affect on the land used as people stayed in one placed and focused on a specific patch of land for their survival

This also allows societies to diversify – division of labour

Pastoral Societies• The domestication of animals is called pastoralism •These peoples are called herders – they are nomadic peoples who move their animals from area to area to let them feed •They get the food they need from their animals

Agricultural Societies These societies are

characterized by intensive agriculture through various technologies

Irrigation is used to supply plants with a constant supply of water to help them grow. This way they do not have to rely on rain.

The plough allowed people to clear large tracts of land for planting helping them to get a much greater yield from their efforts

The Emergence of Cities The ultimate result of

these new technologies was a surplus of food which meant not everyone had to be a farmer

This allowed society to diversify leading to a division of labour

This led to new technologies being created making life easier for all those in the community

The Industrial Revolution This sees new

advances made in industry which in turn leads to new skilled jobs

The introduction of power-driven machinery

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

Accept technology and become active in its implementation

Oppose technology and halt its progress “Luddite”- term derived from secret society

whose goal was to destroy new textile machines in England in early years of the Industrial Revolution.

Today “luddite” refers to anyone who opposes technological change

COPING WITH CHANGE