Bayeba Fabrice
Mr. Ben Taylor
Research
September 29, 2010
Effects of technology on the society
It is hard nowadays not to notice how people and all the society react when a new idem, “itch. Product” is introduced to our world. Technology affects people in various ways from their economy to their social organization. Through this paper, we will look at new communication technologies; at how the new methods related to the use and the transfer of information affect our society. We will focus particularly on computers and internet, the fastest growing communication technology.
According to Wikipedia, the word “technology” comes from the Greek “technologia”: ”téchné”, an art or craft and “logia”, the study of something or the branch of knowledge of a discipline. So technology can be defined as the usage and knowledge of tools, techniques, systems, or methods of organization (Wikipedia).
The history of technology is old as humanity itself. However as soon as humans started using technology, they had to control their environment and to transform naturel resources; they were already being affected by the technology. According to James Graves (1990), “since man started using tools, technology in turn shaped human society… Stones tools opened up new sources of food, enabling primitive man to expend in population and territory. These tools also changed the social structure of primitive man, putting more emphasis on males to capture large game” (P. 1). Stone Age characterizes the period of prehistory during which humans created tools made of stone. Those tools represent in turn our archaic technology that leaded all the technology revolution.
According to Duvall and Berger in the Technology of Communication, there was a little transfer of technology, the sharing of technique skills, from primitive man. This transfer of technology developed slowly up to the craft age. At this stage, a worker’s talents were improved to compensate for deficient tools. The craft-age technology, particularly home weaving, carpentry, farming, and blacksmithing contributed to local economies and used local materials. “People remained in control of technology, thereby retaining a choice in all of its application” Duvall and Berger (Duvall and Berger P. 243). Crafts movement also affected almost every aspect of household design, from architecture to pottery, and continues to do so.
The mechanical stage of technology, as Duvall and Berger write, “Redefines the world progress. Element of the craft age were incorporated into a mode of development and innovation. Satisfaction gain not by perfection of old skills, but by development of machine to improve the process” (P. 243). The mechanical age of technology improved the social level of human life. “Technology became knowledge-base, and the transfer of information from culture to culture stimulated further invention” (Duvall and Berger P. 243). The mechanical age is characterized by machinery. In this period almost nothing were done directly by hand anymore, but with the application of machinery somewhere in the process.
Technology saw its expansion in the industrial age with the economic transformation. According to Wikipedia, the industrial age ‘is a part of a wider modernization process, where social change and economic development are closely related with technological innovation, particularly with the development of large-scale energy and metallurgy production. It is the extensive organization of an economy for the purpose of manufacturing” (Wikipedia). This age allowed man to modernize his agriculture with mechanical means and to create industrial factories that resulted to the growth of both productivity and production. This age also changed the social structure with the development of cities with job creations, and the amelioration of living condition.
Modern technology, with electronic things, “has brought forth a revolutionary transformation in the way we communicate” (Wenbin Nah P.1). At this stage technology went “crazy”. We have gotten sophisticated methods of information treatment; we can communicate through many electronic devises as cell phones and computers with the access to the Internet.
Today computer technology has emerged and influences deeply the world in which we live, and it has become one of the central elements of our live. Computers help people and institutions to treat data, to saves files, and to complete certain tasks. They allow businesses to operate and to control their accountings. Computers play a big role in the advanced medicine. Nowadays many treatments can’t be done on people with the absence of computer. Computers help us to communicate, and they have brought the fastest way to send letters and share information, when they are connected between them through a network. Wenbin Nah says: “Email has established itself as a fast, free and convenient method to send messages, replacing traditional mail in the process” (P. 1). Computers have definitely opened up great business opportunities on the Internet, including buying and selling product online, for people who might never have been able to have their own business.
As with computers, people are also linked to the mobile phone technology. Nowadays mobile phones have revolutionized the way people communicate and continue to affect all the society. Cell phones have made people more mobile and brought them more freedom. They have sensibly improved the way people communicate between them. Today anybody can be reached; anybody is able to talk to anyone, anywhere and anytime. Technology is improving the purpose of mobile phones. They are no longer for only talking. Besides allowing people to send short messages commonly called texts, mobile phones allow people to connect to the internet and send emails. They help to do some stuff we need computers for, like downloading and playing music and videos. Today with mobile phones people can take and share pictures, even documents.
According to Roger Zhong (2007), “Another prominent technological innovation that well represents our society today is the Internet” (P.2). As many definitions provided by dictionaries, Roger Zhong defines the Internet as “the worldwide, publicly accessible network of interconnected computer networks that transmit data between themselves” (P. 2). He adds that “Internet allows us to access to websites, email, file sharing, downloads, and media” (P. 2).
The internet serves a much greater purpose. It allows for the sharing of information almost instantaneously between scholars, researchers, and others. It allows for information to be shared from the United States to China in less than a second. Before the times of the internet, the other alternatives to transmit information were not nearly as efficient or effective. The Internet allows for us to, in some ways make the world smaller (Roger, Zhong, 2007, P. 2)
Computers, mobile phones and internet have contributed to change and improve our ways to communicate. Thus the article How does Technology Improve Communication, published in Communicationtype claims that:
Technology improves Communication, because without technology communication at this level wouldn’t exist. Many years ago, communication was resumed at sending letters, communicating through radio waves and military codes. Communication was poor and people had hard time sending information, from one city to another. Since the appearance of phones, mobile phones and computers, we managed to create a global communication” (Communicationtype P.1).
Today “technology” and “communication” are linked ant they interact each other: the improvement of one explains the evolution of the other. Thus, the article How does Technology Improve Communication says:
Technology is in a straight relationship with communication, they work together and they complete each other. For example through technology communication has reached a higher lever and through communication, technology started to develop. Communication is essential nowadays. It doesn't matter the type of communication we think about. We need to talk, to understand each other and there is more to communication that we know. (…) Technology includes all the inventions that help us communicate and make our life more easy. Like for example computers, internet, cell phone telephony, laptops … (Communicatintype P.1)
Now, let see the implications of technology on certain structures of our society. In fact the use of technology in general, and particularly the use of communication technology, notably the utilization of electronics as cell phones, computers with the access to the internet, affects the society in general as well as individuals.
The effects of technology touch some “structure units of our society.” According to Duvall and Berger, the use of modern technology has an influence on the government responsiveness to the American people. It has allowed military and political leaders for miles away to be directly involved in crisis decisions (P. 252). The use of modern technology has also influence on the economics. The Technology of Communication says; modern technology helps in the control and monitor of the machines and techniques necessaries for production. It provides for faster production with a higher level of standardization at greater initial cost. The communication system provides a more efficient accounting network for complexes distribution of products. Advertising has an important role in the consumption. Now modern industrialized economy is more dependent on communication technology (P. 253). Modern technology touches the family as well. The Technology of Communication also says; Nowadays family got various equipment enable them to participate in the communication effort. The increasing amount of devices and opportunity to communicate make anyone in a family to receive information of his choice “For example most household in America contain one television and one radio; many contain at list two televisions, numerous of radios and record or tape equipment. If one of family member turns on certain information on one TV or media, other members are free to choose difference content from other sources” (P. 255). The education is also influenced by the modern technology. According to Duvall and Berger:
The proper use of the communication technology within the context of specific education goals and objectives can have very positive effects. Devises like film loop projectors, audio tape playback unit, and computer offer the advantage of giving everyone an ‘an up’ look at material. Both student and teacher are affected by the use of communication technology; it can provide learning experience that bridge time and space. (...) Experimental studies have shown that a higher level of efficiency in the learning occurs with the use of visual and audio media in teaching (Duvall and Berger P. 255).
Technology has permeated every area of our lives shaping and transforming them for better or for worse. Anyways different opinions exist about the effects of technology on individuals as wells as on all the society.
James Graves critiques the industry age for negative affect on the society. To him this age came with bad thing such as the diminishing portion of the economy devoted to the agriculture. He said “Now people were spending their days (and nights) in factories instead of in the fields” (P.1). To him the industry age made living condition in most places go up, and the standard of living rise significantly. “At least the standards that can be measured went up, like things that can be bought. It is difficult to say if other factors like happiness went up as well” (P.1). James Graves also attacks the information age.
Currently, we are in the middle of what's known as the information age, where information (designs, art, science discoveries) takes on as much importance as physical objects. An increasing part of the economy is now devoted to the handling of information: creating, distributing, editing, and deleting. People are now stealing ideas for the same reasons as people still steal objects.
According to Prashant Magar, it will append one day in the life of a man, who may be affected by a bombing, a vehicle accidents, or lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and heart attack and the fast life and the poor. “All these constitute the negative implications of technology on the life of a commoner. The social issues like, the use of latest gadgetry, economic and social development leading to more comfortable lives, the impact on sociological aspects due to modern warfare or the launch of a new phase in global relations, international and environmental issues and so on, amply exemplify technological penetration in society” (Magar, P.2).
But, many years ago “man used to rise to the sound of bird or some animals cries” (Margar, P. 2). But those signals were unpredictable, and someone could wake up at the time he didn’t plan to be up, or in other case could completely forget to wake up if ever the noise was loud enough to wake him up. Bird sound and animal cries were certainly helpful, but on the other side, they were noisy and disturbing. Man even unawarely, needed good and confortable means which would allow them to know and manage their time the way he would it to be. Nowadays, man can rise to the alarm sound, which can be programed in a various devises, product of technology such as alarm watch, radio, and cell phone. So from the bird sounds to the alarm sounds, technology has fixed many relative problems taking away all difficulties, and uncomfortable means related to the needs of time management.
Technology has been in the central of the human development and in the heart of the society improvement. It has shaped our society from the primitive state to the modern one. Technology is linked to communication and has improved the way people commutate. Even if some negative effects could be parts of technology changes, technology remains important for people and for all the society. Technology goal is to improve human life. This is why it has become the base of the society and it is the first factor of the society change. The impact of those changes would not stop influence people life. They would maintain people and the entire society in a continual process of movement from one life style to another.
Works Cited
Wikipedia The free Encyclopedia. September 2010. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology>
DuVall,J. Barry, Ernest Berger, and George Maughan. The Technology of Communication. Worcester, Massachusetts: Davis Publication, Inc.1981
Nah, Wenbin. “Technology's Effect on Interpersonal Communication, Saturday, August 16, 2008.” Better Interpersonal Communication. <http://communicatebetter.blogspot.com/2008/08/technology-and-its-influence-on.html>
Zhong, Roger.” The Effects and Influences of Technology on Society and Human Kind, July 31, 2007.” Scienceray 2010. < http://scienceray.com/technology/applied-science/the-effects-and-influences-of-technology-on-society-and-human-kind/>
Communicationtype. “How Does Technology Improve Communication, Aug 04 2009” <http://www.communication-type.com/how-does-technology-improve-communication/>
Graves, James. “Technology and It's Effect on Society, Spring 1990.”home.xnet.com. <http://home.xnet.com/~ansible/graves.hist.html>
Magar, Prashant. “How does Technology Affect Society.” Buzzle.com, intelligent life on web. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-does-technology-affect-society.html>
