Introduction
The introduction of the printing press changed society permanently. Along with this invention came the emergence of mass production of texts. Suddenly, information could be efficiently replicated, thus facilitating the dissemination process. Widespread alphabetic literacy, as Havelock states, could finally become a reality. Print media, however, are fundamentally restricted by their physical nature. Enter the Internet, arguably modern society’s greatest technological advancement, with its ability to digitally recontextualize the written word. Again, forever changing the nature of communication. This paper will focus on the web’s functional, social, and cultural remediations of print media. It can be argued that the Internet is a modernized version of the printing press. The web created an explosion in production, self-published content, and new forms of machine art. Through contrasting physical and digital print media, it will be shown that the Internet enhances aspects of the printing press in defining itself.
Functional Factors
At its beginnings, the internet crafted a new but familiar form of manufacturing: the mass production of digital texts. In fact, in 1440 Gutenberg first originated the idea of mass production of texts with his invention of the Printing Press. For the first time, an automated process was able to replicate script. This new technology was not without its shortcomings. First, the printing press used limited materials. Next, as Mumford notes, the advent of print led calligraphers and manuscript copyists out of work. Furthermore, as Graff finds, it created “typographical fixity”—material once printed cannot be changed. Finally, mass production was dependent and limited to large markets (Mumf...
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Everyday, our world gains a new technology advancement. At first it began with a computer being created in the year of 1822 by Charles Babbage. Which now turned into having an everything being held on a 4.7-inch screen device. Engagements with other individuals are different now. Preferably teenagers would rather create a group message than start a conversation. The amount of terrorist attacks and technology consumed on a daily basis created a suspicion upon the government. Fahrenheit 451 and Minority report authors both demonstrate their concern on the effect of technology and government have on our future.
The topic of technology and our society has become a very controversial subject today. Many people believe that technology is an essential component of our modern world, helping us to improve communication from farther distances as well as giving us easy access to important information. On the other hand, there is the opinion that too much technology is affecting social interactions and our basic development. “Technology…is a queer thing, it brings you great gifts with one hand, and stabs you in the back with the other.” (Carrie Snow.) The CBC Documentary “Are We Digital Dummies” displayed the pros and cons when it comes to modern technology that we use in the western world everyday.
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Countless changes occurred in American society during this time; both gains and losses. Radio and television (before the advent of the internet) were monumental in their effects on transmitting culture, products, and ideas across vast distances of the United States. Suddenly, American’s could relate to the horrors of war overseas, as well as they could learn of each other’s culture, or product. Of course, this was not the same as being able to transport them there, though newer, better, faster forms of mass transit would be developed to help facilitate just this. But all of these developments pale in comparison to almost a half-century later, with the rise of the internet, and with the increasing array of uses for it, in the modern day.
As time progresses technology increases and improves. However, this progression could pose as a serious problem for generations to come, and New York University department chair of communication arts Neil Postman expresses this concern in his 1992 book, Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology. In the opening of Postman’s book he expresses that technology is indeed our friend because technology provides our society with fast and easy convenience and accessibility. As with most other things, there are always two sides to everything and Postman notes, that “of course, there is a dark side to this friend” referring to technology (Postman, 1992). Many people do not address the negative sides to technology and just turn a blind eye to them so it is refreshing to have someone point them out and discuss the issues technology possess on our society.
People all around agree that technology is changing how we think, but is it changing us for the better? Clive Thompson definitely thinks so and this book is his collection of why that is. As an avid fiction reader I wasn’t sure this book would captivate me, but the 352 pages seemingly flew past me. The book is a whirlwind of interesting ideas, captivating people, and fascinating thoughts on how technology is changing how we work and think.
Technology is word that can describe nearly anything that has scientific application to it for the purposes of easier living or to better society, but the specific technology of today’s time that has completely backlashed on society is the creation of social networking and interaction. The problem with today’s society is that people are so drawn into the new technologies of the social media and personal usage concepts, which leads them to tend to forget about reality and they form their own world that they become consumed in.
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“Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, allowing us to do things more quickly and efficiently. But too often it seems to make things harder, leaving us with fifty-button remote controls, digital cameras with hundreds of mysterious features.” (James Surowiecki) Whether or not is known, technology has become too heavily relied on. It is replacing important social factors such as, life skills and communication skills. While technology is created to be beneficial, there must be a point in time where we draw the line. Once face-to-face conversations begin to extinguish, this means that there is too much focus on the “screen culture”. In her writing, “Alone Together”, Sherry Turkle talks
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Today, Americans are faced with the increasing change of technology in our everyday life. Sometimes the change happens and we do not realize how it affects our lives. I think it is always a good idea to talk to someone that is older than yourself, like your grandparents to remind you of the times in their younger years. Hopefully, that will open your eyes to the changes we face in this generation and the generation to come. In this chapter, the author explores the relationship of changing technology to changes in both the environment and social institutions.
Technology is changing how we think and act at younger ages. The term “technology” doesn’t only mean manufacturing processes and equipment necessary for production, it also defines a social space and could be a social problem which makes a real impact on social reality. Different types of social software affect a variety of aspects and have both positive and negative impacts. It's important to be aware of how a digitally-driven life is changing our education, sense of self, relationships, social interaction, consumerism, and ways of doing business around the world.
The standard 21 year old adults have exchanged 250 thousand emails, spent 5 thousand hours video gaming and 10 thousand hours using their mobile devices (Lei, 2009). When people hear the word technology, they think of microwaves, televisions, cars, NASA, different types and transportation and more. For all that, technology has occurred long ahead these discoveries. Technology is an arguable matter amongst people. .In the old days, people lived an extremely simple life without technology. They used candles to light their houses and lanterns at the dark to travel, they used fire to cook and used newspapers and mail to share news. On the other hand, technology has seized an important place in our society. People are living in a stage of progressive technology. They are using all natural reserves applicable for making their lives better and easier. The society cannot picture life without electricity since it allows them to live through their everyday life. This paper argues that technology positively impacts people’s lives.
Rosen, senior editor if New Atlantis, on her essay published in Wilson Quarterly in autumn 2009 “In the Beginning Was the Word,” points out how digital technology, especially in communication and entertainment, affects negatively on our lives socially and cognitively. She believes that although technology might appear as sign of our progress as humans, it is withdrawing us from the core literature. Rosen explains th...