Although the roots of the word focus on the nature of knowledge and its position in the establishment of hierarchies of knowledge, the rise of new technology after the seventeenth century transformed the definition of the word. Technology became the umbrella term to identify products that embodied knowledge related to industrial production. Tangible products of knowledge, like machines, soon took on the label of technology as they served as symbols of technological processes. In modern day, technology has come to be associated with several meanings, though each of its meanings relate to knowledge and science. Although the reading suggests that technological change and social change are synonymous with one another, studies on new technology have actually proved this to be inaccurate. Social media and search engines have proved to perpetuate social divides because their algorithms are designed to respond to dominant ideologies, which typically reflect hegemonic norms. Although technology has allowed for underrepresented minorities to become visible through media and has greatly expanded our methods of communication, harnessing the power of technology to heal social divides is still something we as a society need to figure out.

Technology in general can be considered as one of the few inventions that has led to generational global civilization, cultural shifts and many other aspects in the last few centuries. But as the reading puts it bluntly, the relationship between technology and society is somehow biased with the only considerations being the “the measure of progress and promise of a good life” ignoring the true reasons why these technologies were formed in the first place and the impacts on society . Power, profit and other opportunistic intentions run these so-called life changing technologies so a question of technology and  true reality is posed. 

Despite the good that technology brings to the table, we often ignore or disregard the negative impacts of technology given that it is a huge part of modern society and people need to use it on a daily basis which makes this a very difficult topic in terms of passing on the knowledge of technology. An example can be tech companies like Facebook or Instagram  being responsible for reducing human attention spans and reducing face to face interactions on a global level but have also at the same time made communication much easier than it has ever been. 

It all comes down to the concept of human-technology interaction and if we the consumers of this technology can be aware of the outcomes that may occur through this interaction and the media has ironically played its role in this by producing shows like black mirror on Netflix that are all about the detriments of technology now and in the future.

The third grade version of Scholastic News from 2015 simply defines technology as “the use of science to make life easier or solve a problem.” Today, technology is mainly focused on the transformation of scientific knowledge into products. Our everyday lives are saturated with technological products: cell phones, drones, computers, automobiles, media, robots, machines, etc. From the reading, I thought the idea of the “technological fix” (the belief that any problem can be solved with a technological solution) was very interesting. In most cases, technological fixes can be the most efficient ways to address environmental and social issues. However, I think many issues involving human nature and societies are very complex and technology is not always the end all be all solution. One example is tobacco addiction. Electronic cigarettes are a “technological fix,” commonly promoted as tools to help smokers quit cigarettes. In theory, electronic cigarettes are a good idea because they simulate tobacco smoking, but the user inhales vapor rather than smoke. In actuality though, studies have found that electronic cigarettes are not that effective in helping smokers quit, still contain many harmful chemicals, and may even be more addictive than conventional cigarettes. Moreover, people who had never smoked cigarettes before have become addicted to electronic cigarettes. I think as science and technology evolves it becomes increasingly more difficult to predict the social impact of new technologies. Technological fixes usually underestimate social issues and only create temporary solutions, as human objectives are constantly changing.

Technology is a means for simplifying information to make it easier to absorb. We are surrounded by technology, such as the laptop I am writing this on. Instead of presenting what I learned about technology in class, I am being given the opportunity to write about it in a blog format and distribute it for anyone to read with a click of a button. Technology has allowed people to access so much information now using phones and other smart devices, where images and facts can reach millions of viewers through an electronic assistant. One can simply stand in one’s living room and ask “Hey, Alexa! What’s the weather forecast today?” and receive that information in a way that people can not do naturally on one’s own. Technology is ever growing and constantly updating to make information spread like wild fire. I am excited yet scared to see how technology will continue to shape how people receive information.

Technological devices are created in order to make things easier. These devices can be used for many different things such as communication, education, transportation, etc. Growing up in the technological era has had a huge impact on our generation. There are many things that I need to do using technology that my parents had grown up learning to do without. Getting in contact with my friends can be as easy as one small text, compared to my parents’ experience of walking to a friend’s house or using the family landline. When covid shut down school and work offices, my parents explained to me that technology provided us with the means to continue to learn via Zoom, which was something they were never equipped with when they were younger. If this pandemic were to have happened to their generation the students would have missed crucial schooling and the workers would have missed their jobs. This example shows how technology is changing and advancing every day. Since our generation does unfortunately have a huge dependence on technology it makes me wonder how the next generation will behave. With new technological devices constantly being created, the next generation might be able to do certain things we find difficult now, similar to how contacting a friend for me was much different from my parent’s experience. 

Technology has changed the way our society operates and connects with each other. Overtime technology has evolved in numerous ways. What started with the radio and television has evolved into the age of Apple products such as iPhones and iPads. Although technology has helped us in many ways, it has also negatively impacted our society. With people constantly being attached to their screens, technology has made humans desensitized and have a shorter attention spans. I feel that quarantine can be an example of how technology helped and hurt society simultaneously. It was helpful because we could continue school and work even in the midst of a pandemic. It was crazy to see how technology has advanced to such a degree that the world could continue to function as it did before. From a different perspective, being on a zoom call all day shortened attention spans. Most students often looked at their phones during zoom classes because our attention couldn’t be held for that long. This is how technology has advanced to help and hurt society.

Technology alone is commonly associated with the technological devices which are created and mass-produced to be accessible and used globally. Through the use of smartphones, tablets, computers, satellites, and other new devices, technology has not only given us access to information at a rapid speed but is also the driving force of media output in all its forms. Technology is a very powerful concept. It gives us the ability to accomplish the unthinkable. However, technology is also “a construction that privileges the production of things as responsible for making the world a better place” as Jennifer Daryl Slack explains. For instance, many school districts have implemented technology heavily into their classrooms and curriculum. While this advancement is an extremely useful tool for helping students access more information at a faster rate and consolidates the need for supplies (ie. paper, pens), it too has several negative effects. Research has shown that studying with legitimate books and paper helps one retain information better. I think that this concept is a good example of the negative effects of technology. Although, as it turns out, our society begins to progress, and now having laptops or other forms of technology has become normalized, even at an elementary age. Similar to new media, the technology of our society continues advancing and rarely goes back.