“Technological determinism,” coined by economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen in the late 1800’s, is a term used to describe how technology shapes society. The term goes so far as to state that technology actually determines the future of society. Each time there’s an advancement in technology, human history shifts into a new phase. Think about when the wheel was invented — that one simple piece of technology revolutionized how humans were able to move about the earth. That one technological advancement changed human history for the rest of eternity.
“Technology decides history” — Merrit Roe Smith (1994)
Another key player in technological determinism is Marshall McLuhan, who in 1964 wrote the text The Medium is the Massage. McLuhan stated that the medium in which individuals communicate will shape their personal interactions. For example, letter writing vs. texting — although texting is quicker, it may cause anxiety in some people when they do not receive a text back right away. McLuhan was a communication theorist well ahead of his time. There are definite strong points and limitations to his work.
Strong Points
- Although social media pre-dates McLuhan’s ideas, it relates greatly to his quote, “we shape our tools and they in turn shape us.” Social media plays a role in our everyday lives, and although we as users may manipulate the information, at the end of the day it manipulates (the users). Social media is a tool that society can use to learn and communicate with others. Users have the power to manipulate what they personally share, but cannot control what they end up seeing — the tool we manipulate, ends up being the manipulator.
- The metaphor that media is either “hot” or “cold” is another idea set forth by McLuhan that relates today with social media. Media that is “hot” cannot be touched by the user, whereas “cold” media is the latter and can be controlled by someone on the outside (like video games). Portions of social media fall on either side — a user has zero hand in what others choose to post or communicate, but has full control over what they choose to participate in by posting and interacting online.
- McLuhan’s statements about media are fairly generalized. Because mass media and technology are everchanging, his generalized statements can be applied beyond the generation he lived within.
Limitations
- Technological determinism states that technology is not forced on society, rather, man creates the technology and then decides to utilize such inventions. This is an obvious critique of the theory, because in some instances the technology is required to live life within the current society. Although it is humanly possible to survive without a cell phone, it would be extremely difficult for one to socialize and communicate without one.
- The most radical aspect of McLuhan’s theory is the idea that technology will affect the cognitive functions of those who use it. He was against the shift away from print, which to him was “linear and “rationale.” This is a small way of thinking, considering the mass amounts of information that is able to be learned and shared via the internet.
- McLuhan presented the idea of a “global village,” which could connect the world via technology and thus, make the world extremely small. The issue with this prophesy is that he negated the details about ownership of the village or how it would be regulated.
“He proclaimed that the medium is the message, but he had no interest in the content of the message. “— John Potts