WEEK SIX

Technological Determinism

Refers to how technology shapes culture, how it conveys information and that it’s the main social change.

Pros

• Gives insight into the specific properties of technologies

Cons

• Cause-and-effect thinking
• “treats technologies in isolation”
• Reductionist

Cultural Materialism

The internet is commonly considered to have “profound real and potential effects on social relations, everyday life, culture, politics, and other social activities.”

Pros

• Views technology in relationship with those who use it
• Sees the diverse nature in how technologies work
• Embodying

Cons

• Cause-and-effect
• Only considers cultural factors

 

Poststructuralism

Studying “technologies beyond their form to see how they function in various contexts.”

Pros

• Adaptable and open to change
• Embodying