Digital Media and Society

This is a reductionist theory which aims to illustrate a

causative link between technology and a society’s
nature – reduces to very basic terms
It suggests that human thoughts and actions are
influenced by technological factors
In this way, technology is viewed as a driving force in
society and it determines the course of history
Karl Marx strongly believed that technological progress
would ultimately change society itself
Example of the steam mill starting the industrial,
capitalised society
Proponents of the theory state:
1) Technology of a given society is a fundamental
influencer of the various ways in which a society
exists
2) Changes in technology are the primary and most
important source that leads to change in society
A ‘watered down’ version of the above hypotheses
would suggest that technology influences the various
choices that we make and therefore a changed society
can be traced back to changed technologies
For example, new agricultural technologies would
change farming practices, resulting in the loss of
knowledge about older farming methods – thus
technology can be said to influence the levels or types
of knowledge in societies – also many cultural practices
According to some, technology is not the slave to
humans, but rather we are slaves to the
technological environment that surrounds us
McLuhan’s claim that ‘the medium is the message’
suggests that the medium used to communicate
influences the mind of the receiver
Over the centuries, we have seen media evolve across
a wide array of channels, from print to radio to
television to the Internet.
Each one of these channels, or media, has its own
unique characteristics, much like the people who use
them.
Born in 1911 and passing away in 1980, McLuhan had
no opportunity to experience the Web the way we
know it today, but that didn’t stop him from exerting
a huge influence on it.
It was McLuhan who first spoke about technology and
communication having the ability to create a “global
village.”
As an early educator and pioneer of the study of
communication and its evolution over time, McLuhan
introduced a lot of observations about the impact of
new forms of expression and media.
“The medium is the message” refers to the medium
through which we choose to communicate holds as
much, if not more, value than the message itself.
Nixon-Kennedy debates 1960
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmsQoXiHUys

Marshal McLuan – The Medium is the Message

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCr2binb4Fs
Infant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXV-yaFmQNk
A critique of Technological Determinism is that
technology never forces itself on members of a society

We create and choose to use technology – we invent

television and choose to use it

Technology does not provide an imposition

The choice lies in the hands of the individual

Some examples of Determinism:
Invention of the printing press led to western, liberal
democracy through the dissemination of political and
philosophical ideas – also the French revolution and
the Protestant Reformation
The development of roads and especially railways in
the possibilities of hugely increased travel
opportunities and the chance for personal
development and the emergence of the tourism
industry and increased thirst for and appreciation of
different regions, countries and cultures
Technological Determinism stands in opposition to
Social Shaping theory or Social Determinism which
holds that both the path of innovation and the
consequences of technology for humans are strongly
shaped by society itself
Both Technological and Social Determinism come in
hard and soft forms
For example:
Television improves family life
Television can help improve family life
The first of these expresses hard technological
determinism, while the second expresses soft
technological determinism, because “can help"
implies that there may be other causal factors.
Many proponents of Technological Determinism
imply that technological progress is inevitable and
always leads to social progress –
Most of us know that this is not necessarily true
Some examples – military technologies;
Nuclear power;
Motor cars;
Digital technologies??????? (Discuss!!)