SOC 3116 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Inattentional Blindness, Neil Postman, Digital Divide
4 Jul 2018
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TOPIC 1: A CRITICAL APPROACH TO TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
New Media: An Introduction (Chapter 1)
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
To develop a better appreciation of how much we rely upon technology (ICT)
To implicate our actions today in the technology of the future.
SOCIAL REALITY
How we perceive the world around us.
- Different factors that shape and inform what we mean when we talk about reality
Our social reality is a function of the era that we live in, where we live, etc. for an endless
amount of factors that shape how we see the world and live within it
- HOW DOES TECHNOLOGY SHAPE OUR SOCIAL REALITY?
CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION
We buy things so that other people see us with it.
- The idea that we need to use this technology is a marker of our success as a civilization.
The primary interest is to make money.
- Money can be made by creating or by eroding quality, or by creating alternatives. There
are all sorts of factors that get into the idea we have that things will get better. We
cannot take things we hear, see at face value
ENGAGEMENT WITH TECHNOLOGY IS PASSIVE
- Things got both easier and harder at the same time
- We try to adapt our lives around tech
Passivity-Listening & Shorter Attention Span from Tech
- Can not multitask -> task switching -> lower quality of work done
To Curb Passivity:
- Challenging complacency
- Improving usefulness
- Enhance our awareness
- Get outside of the box (of popular messaging about what tech will do for us)
In order to improve something, we need to objectively challenge it to lead to innovation.
We do not realize our dependence on technology as we always want to get the latest tech.
- Benefits advertisers as they want us to be receiving of their new products
- Consumers think they savvy for getting new products, not realizing dependence
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
To develop a better appreciation of how much we rely upon technology (ict) To implicate our actions today in the technology of the future. Different factors that shape and inform what we mean when we talk about reality. Our social reality is a function of the era that we live in, where we live, etc. for an endless amount of factors that shape how we see the world and live within it. We buy things so that other people see us with it. The idea that we need to use this technology is a marker of our success as a civilization. Money can be made by creating or by eroding quality, or by creating alternatives. There are all sorts of factors that get into the idea we have that things will get better. We cannot take things we hear, see at face value. Things got both easier and harder at the same time.
