SOC 3116 Study Guide - Final Guide: Web 2.0, Developed Country, Extortion
27 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Summer 2018
SOC 3116A: Technologies in World Societies
TOPIC 1: A CRITICAL APPROACH TO TECH AND SOCIETY
Learning objectives
oTo develop a better appreciation of how much we rely upon electronic technologies
ICT: information and communications technologies – refers to physical tools we
use
oTo implicate our actions today in the technologies of the future
Engage technology more actively instead of passively
Think about what we’re currently doing with it because this will shape
the tech that follows
Convergence: the process by which media technologies, industries, and services merge through
changes in computing, communication networks, and content
Focus is not on tech itself - try to critically examine how technology shapes our social reality
oSocial Reality: how we perceive the world around us
The way that we see the world is not always how it actually is (this perspective
is taught)
In fact, everyone has a different perspective due to background - our perception
of reality is not some natural or absolute state
Recognize that there are factors that shape or inform what it is that we mean
when we talk about reality
oHow does technology shape our social reality?
More independent/alone
Greater access to info - but less certainty about that info
Greater homogeneity (could be argued either way)
Global village
Different perceptions of “friendship”
Different conception of community
Greater global awareness
Diminished privacy
Linguistic dimensions regarding our use of language
Expectations / speed / how go about our daily lives
Anonymity (brings out the worst in people)
Advertising encourages us to use technology without criticism or question – this is common in
our society as a whole
oI.e. University offering “tech friendly” campuses as a good thing
Assumption is that it is good for you
Distraction is one of the greatest issues of our time
oSomething we pretend that we can cope with (multitasking) - most of us perform far
poorer for virtue of being distracted
oMultitasking: we can focus on lots of different things even if we can’t do each very well
SCIENTIFICALLY COMPLETELY UNTRUE
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Summer 2018
oHumans have refined the capacity to focus - we are transforming our brains and moving
away from focus
Even when we have a deep thought, we are still constantly pulled out of it by
our technology (i.e. reading and looking at our phones)
Beginning to understand implications but no behavioural change
Not paying attention to what we’re losing
Characteristics of digital information summed up as “interactive”
Why ask the question?
oChallenge our complacency
No one invites us to ask the question - no surprise that we aren’t critical in our
use and evaluation
oImprove its usefulness
We are currently less likely to call out shitty tech - when we challenge the
usefulness, we push it forward
Current: when the technology doesn’t work for you, there’s something wrong
with you – NO change the tech if it doesn’t work for you
oHow much we rely on tech
Rarely reminded of how reliant we are on this technology
Power outages are shocking - become very accustomed to the idea that
we can plug in anywhere and get as much unlimited power as we need
Not the norm around the planet – comes at a huge cost and we barely
know anything about it
oGet our head out of the box around the use of popular technology
Focused fundamentally on media
oNews media
Forms of media that we might associate with newspapers, radio and television
(ICTs)
AKA traditional/old media
oSocial media
All sorts of different technologies and applications that are ultimately tied to the
internet
oWhat’s the difference?
What is it that distinguished news media from social media?
SM: interactive, two-way communication
oMore complex system of interaction
oA lot of SM that looks like NM
NM: passive, one-way communication
oOriginates from a core and goes out to the masses
Course falls under the field of “sociology of technology”
oWhat is sociology?
The study of all things “social” – underscores the complexity of our behaviour
Criticized for being “fuzzy” – not very precise
Provides us with a lens to better understand the grey area
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Summer 2018
oFocused on examining how technology affects our lives, interactions, society and way of
life in a way that’s different from trying to understand technology – studying the impact
on how we see the world around us and our place in it
oRadical change in classrooms in how students communicate based on technologies at
our disposal
“Are We Digital Dummies?”
oHow effectively do you feel like you deal with competing pressures for your attention?
oAre you a good multitasker? On what basis can you critique this concept?
Defined as rapid task switching – the ability to go from one thing to another
quickly
We make many more errors when multitasking
oTo what does inattentional blindness refer?
Being oblivious to your surroundings but being unaware of this obliviousness
Lack of self-awareness
oWe are conditioned to consider technology that is only a few years old as “outdated”
Focus on getting the latest
oLosing the capacity to focus and for “deep-thinking”
Not additive, but ecological (cumulative)
o“Technology and technological change is akin to a glass of water and a drop of red dye”
oThe change becomes a part of the whole – we can’t go backwards
oMust think critically about the adoption of new technologies
Digital native: an individual born after 1980 – someone who came of age at a point where the
internet was already there
oThe only world they know is one with internet
Digital immigrant: those who were born earlier, experienced the world before the internet, and
then were around when the internet was introduced
Have the opportunity now to understand the impact based on those who still have the
perspective to reflect
Language online
oWhen the internet went live, upwards of 90% of content was in English
Saw as a moment where everyone loses their language and has to speak English
Daunting thought for those who did not already speak it
oRemains the dominant language online (23%), there are now 10 dominant languages
This transition has seen a relative decrease in the amount of English that
appears online
Other languages represented strongly and has changed the nature of who has
access
A “common language” is not less likely a real language and is more likely to be
something like HTML
Three “c’s” of convergent media:
oComputing and information technology
oCommunications network
oContent
Digital media is:
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Topic 1: a critical approach to tech and society. Learning objectives: to develop a better appreciation of how much we rely upon electronic technologies. Ict: information and communications technologies refers to physical tools we use: to implicate our actions today in the technologies of the future. Think about what we"re currently doing with it because this will shape the tech that follows. Convergence: the process by which media technologies, industries, and services merge through changes in computing, communication networks, and content. Focus is not on tech itself - try to critically examine how technology shapes our social reality: social reality: how we perceive the world around us. The way that we see the world is not always how it actually is (this perspective is taught) In fact, everyone has a different perspective due to background - our perception of reality is not some natural or absolute state. Greater access to info - but less certainty about that info.
