Tuesday, September 14, 2010
One University's Social Media Blackout
As we prepare to move forward to a discussion of social networking, consider this article on PA's Harrisburg University of Science and Technology's week long social media blackout. Do you take social media for granted, as Provost Darr argues? What would be the positive and negative repercussions of a social media black out in your life and in your community? Darr states, "Often there are behaviors or habits, ways that we use technology that we may ourselves not be able to articulate because we're not aware of them." Based on our class discussions, what theoretical approach is reflected in this statement? How so?
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This represents a Social shaping or cultural determinists view point, because it says that the needs of society determine the technological developments, and that the change in culture is what changes technology. I think even though we are unaware that we use technology in these ways it is still driven by a need and that is why we acclimate the technology into society with such prevelence that it becomes ubiquitous and subconscious.
ReplyDeleteGaby, Actually this is much more technological determinist in its approach. Provost Darr seems to be stating that technology, in this case social media like Facebook/Twitter, etc., impact our lives in such an extreme fashion that we aren't always aware of the effect. Our ways of being human are intrinsically linked to the technologies we experience life through. It's only once we remove the technologies, that we can being to process how they structure our lives. A social shaping approach would perhaps say that the creation or innovation of social media came as a response to a societal need.
ReplyDeleteI really like what you said in your final sentence... " I think even though we are unaware that we use technology in these ways it is still driven by a need and that is why we acclimate the technology into society with such prevelence that it becomes ubiquitous and subconscious" ...because it brings up a good question. Can we shape technology (in terms of innovating as a response to a societal problem or issues) while being unaware?
PS: Where is your personal blog/assignment #2?
As a college student who relies on social networking sites to keep in touch with friends and family, I would be very upset about the Social Media blackout. Although we may not be aware of the impact of technology in our lives, it's not fair to remove it completely for the sake of realizing that our society relies on technology too much. It's the choice of every individual how you want to use technology, and like everything else in the world, using anything in excess is not good.
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