Main Body
Chapter 8. Media and Technology
Ron McGivern
Learning Objectives
- Define technology and describe its evolution
- Understand technological inequality and issues related to unequal access to technology
- Describe the role of planned obsolescence in technological development
8.2. Media and Technology in Society
- Describe the evolution and current role of different media, like newspapers, television, and new media
- Understand the function of product advertising in media
- Demonstrate awareness of the social homogenization and social fragmentation that are occurring via modern society’s use of technology and media
- Explain the advantages and concerns of media globalization
- Understand the globalization of technology
8.4. Theoretical Perspectives on Media and Technology
- Understand and discuss how media and technology are analyzed through various sociological perspectives
Introduction to Media and Technology
How many good friends do you have? How many people do you meet for coffee or a movie? How many would you call with news about an illness or invite to your wedding? Now, how many “friends” do you have on Facebook? Technology has changed how we interact with each other. It has turned “friend” into a verb and has made it possible to share mundane news (“My dog just threw up under the bed! Ugh!”) with hundreds or even thousands of people who might know you only slightly, if at all. Through the magic of Facebook, you might know about an old elementary school friend’s new job before her mother does. By thinking of everyone as fair game in networking for personal gain, we can now market ourselves professionally to the world with LinkedIn.
At the same time that technology is expanding the boundaries of our social circles, various media are also changing how we perceive and interact with each other. We do not only use Facebook to keep in touch with friends; we also use it to “like” certain TV shows, products, or celebrities. Even television is no longer a one-way medium but an interactive one. We are encouraged to tweet, text, or call in to vote for contestants in everything from singing competitions to matchmaking endeavours—bridging the gap between our entertainment and our own lives.
How does technology change our lives for the better? Or does it? When you tweet a social cause or cut and paste a status update about cancer awareness on Facebook, are you promoting social change? Does the immediate and constant flow of information mean we are more aware and engaged than any society before us? Or are TV reality shows and talent competitions today’s version of ancient Rome’s “bread and circuses”—distractions and entertainment to keep the lower classes indifferent to the inequities of our society? Do media and technology liberate us from gender stereotypes and provide us with a more cosmopolitan understanding of each other, or have they become another tool in promoting misogyny? Is ethnic and gay and lesbian intolerance being promoted through a