Technological Determinism
There are a few working definitions of this term. It describes technologies intrinsic connection to the nature of a society- some would even say that a given technology compels a certain kind of interaction- and that as people helplessly utilize these advancements the fundamental qualities of that society are changed.
In Langdon Winner’s own words:
The core assumption of technological determinism is that technology forms the basis of social life and that “changes in technology are the single most important basis of change in society”
In contrast with:
A critique of technological determinism is that technology never forces itself on members of the society. Man creates technology and chooses to use them. He invents television and chooses to view it. There is no imposition on the part of the technology to be used rather technology requires people to participate or involve themselves at some point or another to use a car or a microwave. The choice of using technology and experiencing its effects therefore lies in the hand of a human being.
There is, of course, some correlation between the timbre of a society and the technology available to it. How we analyze the ruins of ancient culture is inherently technodeterministic- We ask questions like “How did they cut their stone?” “How did they stack these massive bricks?” We spend a lot of time puzzling out the shape of their world, working backwards from their technology. It’s impossible to say exactly how well we do this, but we can complete the same tasks with technologies we believe would be available to them, which is likely as close as we’re going to get.
In David Macaulay’s 1979 illustrated and very funny Motel of the Mysteries, he explores the absurdity that is attempting to understand an ancient society based on what’s left behind.
As he had predicted, a second body was present, and this one appeared to have been buried with more care and ritual than the first. Wearing the Ceremonial Head Dress(No. 8), it had been placed in a highly polished white sarcophagus (No. 9), which had in turn been sealed behind an exquisite and elaborately hung translucent curtain(No. 10). The proportions of the sarcophagus had been precisely determined to prevent the deceased from ever sliding down into a fully reclined position. The similar postures of the two bodies led Carson to the conclusion that the proper burial position had the chin resting as much as possible on the chest. Although the outer surface of the sarcophagus was plain, there were two sets of ceremonial markings on the inside. The first consisted of ten parallel rows of slightly raised discs along the floor of the sarcophagus over which the body had been placed. The second was an almost entirely faded line that ran all the way around the walls parallel to and about ten inches above the floor. Two water trumpets, one about five feet above the other, projected from the end wall facing the deceased.
[He proceed to explain that these water trumpets were used for ceremonial musical components via having water pushed through sacred coils and… you get the idea.]
Similar to this somewhat exasperated mindset, and with regard to the understanding that of course there is a correlation between the technology we have and what we do with it that influences society, we should come to the proverbial table with skepticism in our minds. While technology allows for many things, (like, perhaps, electing to text your friends instead of meeting up to chat in-person,) it doesn’t inherently compel us to use it in a specific way.
While it is beyond the scope of this particular dissection, it should be noted here that it is actually possible to exploit known qualities of the human mind to encourage a certain type of interaction with technology, and that this effect is exploited by people. It is no secret that social media and other website feeds are constructed and endlessly massaged to keep you there for as long as possible- with the exclusive purpose of showing you more advertisements to generate revenue for the platform.
The technology affords us this possibility- and people exploit it for material gain- and people also subvert it with ad-blockers and conscious effort to monitor their online time and experience- and so on and so on all the way down.