Technological Determinism and Modern Ideology :: Sociology Technology Essays

proficient Determinism and Modern IdeologyAs technology becomes more and more advanced and literacy becomes increasingly tied to ones intake and access to technology, many questions arise about the availability of this technology. New technologies continue to develop, especially those that instanter pertain to literacy or writing. The biggest problem, however, is the problem of access. Is there opportunity for equal access? When looking at computers and the Internet, this seems to be a large problem. Even with an older technology, bid the telephone, many people ar without access. Although there are around 600 million telephones in the world, two-thirds of the worlds population still do not use these telephones or do not have access to them (Gergen 15). So how does scientific determinism affect our social ideology? Or does our social ideology affect technological determinism? I think that it works both ways. There are negative possibilities for all new technology, jus t as there are positive ones.Technological determinism, as defined by George Rodman is a theory that states that the introduction of new technology changes society, sometimes in unexpected ways (40). He goes on to testify that after the introduction of printing, our culture shifted from an oral one to one driven by writing and literacy. The coming of the digital age could have a standardised effect. As a science fiction writer and proponent of various technologies, Douglas Adams is asked about this subject quite oftenOver the last few historic period Ive regularly been cornered by nervous publishers or broadcasters or journalists or filmmakers and asked about how I think computers will affect their various industries only when its a hard question to answer because its based on a faulty model. Its like trying to explain to the virago River, the Mississippi, the Congo, and the Nile how the coming of the Atlantic Ocean will affect them. The first thing to understand is that riv er rules will no longer apply (117).Obviously, the advent of computers as a tool of literacy will have a huge impact on the face of literacy as it stands right now. Technological determinism seems inevitable, but the effects of the impending technologies are not as easy to predict. Depending on our societys view of the emerging technology, it could either be used to bridge the cultural gap that exists in the midst of the income levels in our society, or to widen it.