COM 324 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Claude S. Fischer, Technological Determinism
5 Jan 2020
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Document Summary
Technological determinism is the strong tendency to view technology as causal agents that cannot be resisted by mankind. This is a theory that assumes that a society"s technology determines the development of its social structure and cultural values. The more you use it, the more they use you, the more they influence you. Tech has characteristics that transfer to the user. A perspective in which technologies change history by transferring their essential qualities to their users, imprinting themselves on users" individual and collective psyches (claude fischer). Impact is stronger when the tech is new and not very well understood. Technological features: seen as having direct consequences. People: seen as making strategic, and usually rational, choices about which media they use for differing purposes. According to this perspective, individuals will effectively employ media whose inherent characteristics are congruent with task demands. Change happens at the individual level, not societal. People are able to avoid tech influence by avoiding tech.
