Unit 8: Technology
The primary point that Jones makes in Computer Graphics: Effects of Origins is that technological advancement is affecting our lives beyond just the technology itself. She says “these changes are not simply technical effects. They contribute to maintenance and change of culturally conditioned conceptual patterns in the larger cultural historical context”, meaning that the fundamental aspects of culture themselves are being shaped by technology. As a result, how we as a society interact with that technology has changed the way we interact with each other. There is no doubt that, especially in the last ten to fifteen years, technology has defined our (western) culture. We are fully immersed in technology every single day. We have access to the accumulation of the world’s knowledge in our front pockets, and the ability to communicate with anyone and everyone simultaneously. In many cases, a majority of our interactions are digital. My question now is, with the cyclical behavior of cultural history, will we see a mass exodus away from these digital platforms in the near future? I love music, and I almost always listen to it on my phone, which is loaded up with MP3 files of my favorite songs. I also collect vinyl records of all my favorite bands and songs. I find my self more and more being drawn to the experience of listening to music on vinyl, rather than on my iPhone. This is true for many people, as vinyl sales are up over 30% this past year. Will we see this type of cultural shift to the social interaction technology of old (e.g. pen and paper, face-to-face interactions, etc) make a comeback like vinyl has?
I think that the pen and paper may come back in community space but it is impractical in business and schools. The less clutter the better, because you will not have room for all of the number of documents. I think what will make a comeback later in life are boardgames! I see most young kids now a-days playing on consoles or hand helds. I think we may almost step away from technology from time to time.
You can definitely see the difference in the amount of technology that society uses today compared to times in the past. We are surrounded by technology in our everyday lives. I’m not too sure if this is a good thing or bad thing, there are some pros that have come from the advancement of technology but with pros come cons. The advancement of technology causes society to loose the opportunity to build personal relationships. Moreover, to answer your question… I believe that there is a chance for the old paper and pen era to make a come back but it is very unlikely. Technology makes our lives easier, so I doubt that people would go back to manually writing everything down. As far as the face-to-face interactions, I hope is does come back. It really does annoy me when I call customer service and I end up talking to a machine the whole time. I’m glad you like collecting vinyl records because so do my parents, it’s really interesting. My parents definitely enjoy listening to vinyl records over anything else.
Although many people may feel nostalgic over the past forms of communication where technology wasn’t a primary factor, or wasn’t even relevant. However, while there are people who may feel this way I think there will always be more people interested in purchasing the latest and most hip gadget. One that compacts everything down to one phone where you are able to access anything you would like and explore whatever comes to mine. This type of accessibility is what society thrives off of. Convenience is what is most important and being able to do anything you want in a condensed way will always be the selling point to all of the new developing technologies. Technology is made to make our lives ‘easier’ and as long as that is true and relevant I don’t believe there will be any major comeback stories.