How Technology Affects Society

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Modern technologies have presented society with ways of coming closer together individually, and yet further apart collectively. While looking at cell phones in particular it is easy to see how communication technologies are impacting society’s subjectivity in many connecting ways. To understand this phenomenon first we must examine why society is so entangled with using cell phones. Among the top reasons for cell phone usage are safety, convenience and networking capabilities. Many consumers of cell phone usage report that they feel safer having a cell phone on them opposed to when they do not. Traveling long distances is eased with the thought that knowing you have a cell phone on your person in case of an emergency. Cell phones also offer a new level of convenience that was once seen only with computers, but it is now available on a portable hand held information machine that can fit in a pocket. Communicating with loved ones anywhere, anytime without any restrictions adds to the allure and convenience of cell phones. Lastly, with regards to the recent explosion of internet social networking, the cell phone offers instant access to those networks both effortlessly and conveniently. It can be argued that internet social networks connect subjectivity as well, through use of creating and maintain an identity. Just how are cell phones impacting our subjectivities? Subjectivity is socially constructed, while individuals control what exactly they are constructing. The cell phone user is creating a meaning of self by operating the cell phone. It is important to remember that the cell phone user is acting as one of the cultural signs within the meaning making process. Cell phones are shaping our subjectivity by helping individuals ... ... middle of paper ... ...italism through cell phones is formed by creating a never ending cycle of consumerism. Once an individual owns a cell phone he/she must pay the monthly bill by working, maintain the device and when the phone finally breaks, which most do within a few years, the consumer is then responsible for replacing the phone. Cell phones can also be viewed as fetishized commodities because of their extreme allure to society, we do not need them, but, we think we do and are subsequently they have an almost magical quality to them. Cell phones have had a great social impact on society in the past decade and will increasingly as the years go by. They will continue to effect our subjectivities as well. Studying how society will evolve with contemporary communication devices, as well as how these devices will alter patterns of everyday life, will prove interesting in years to come.

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