Technology in 20th century

The introduction of technological advancements in the early 20th century changed the nature of European society. Technology improved quality of life through advancements in transportation and product engineering, however advancements also proved that they could improve the efficiency of warfare and killing and introduce increased levels of societal alienation. Technological advancements in the early 20th century demonstrated the dual nature of technology in a modernized society in that it had the ability to improve life and also the power to destroy it. Automobiles medicinal advancements were juxtaposed with military applications while the speed at which the urban environment operated increased steadily creating alienation through anonymity and unstable social constructs. Technological advancement therefore served a dual purpose in the early 20th century through the convenience innovation promised yet creating hosts of new problems which are symbolic of a modern lifestyle.

Industrialization increased the need for specialized factory labor in urban environments. The invention of the assembly line gave rise to the concept of taylorism, or job specialization within a factory setting.1 Taylorism dictated that each individual had a singular job to perform which contributed to the production of an end product and as a result a vast majority of the workers involved were never connected with an end product.2 Therefore, job satisfaction decreased as productivity increased as the worker increasingly viewed himself as part of a whole in contrast to an association with an end product. Industrialization of this manner brought worker disillusionment as satisfaction decreased.3 Moreover, industrial employment stratified the production process...

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...ility to read and therefore was available to everybody. Through radio, alternate “radio realities” were constructed in which everybody could participate in.14 Radio realities consisted of serialized stories and commentary which the general public could become engrossed in, but were also interspersed with advertisement. Advertising via radio created an early model of consumer culture and marked an economic shift which was increasingly reliant on credit.15 Scientific, medical and chemical research, moreover, led to the production of new drugs such as aspirin16 and an increasingly reliance on preventative care, but also led to the development of poisonous gases such as chlorine and mustard found in World War I.17 Scientific, medical and chemical advancements could be employed for entertainment and well being just as easily as they could be appropriated for warfare.