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TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE. Unit 2- Social Change. Technology and Change. DISCUSSION. 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?. Technology: An agent of Social Change.

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TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

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  1. TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE Unit 2- Social Change

  2. Technology and Change DISCUSSION • 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?

  3. Technology: An agent of Social Change Making our lives easier everyday!

  4. What is Technology? • Technology is the creation of tools or objects that both extend our natural abilities and alter our social environment

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. Traditional Theory Of Change Does Change Begin With the Individual or technology? • 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 IndividualIdeaChange • E.g. individual creates an idea about technology which causes it to be accepted and change occurs

  8. Technological Theory Of Change Does Change Begin With the Individual or technology? • 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

  9. THE ARGUMENT IS.... • We are changing our behaviour to suit technology trends-- technology is not changing to suit our behaviours

  10. 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

  11. 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

  12. 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

  13. TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE • Negative 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.

  14. 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?

  15. TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE Cyber Disorders • “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

  16. 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

  17. 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

  18. 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?

  19. 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!

  20. 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?

  21. 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

  22. 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

  23. 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

  24. 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

  25. 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

  26. The Industrial Revolution • This sees new advances made in industry which in turn leads to new skilled jobs • The introduction of power-driven machinery

  27. TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE COPING WITH 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

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