Social Determinism
Technological determinism is the theory that a society’s technology is what shapes the current cultural and societal values, unlike social determinism which is the theory that social interactions are what shape individual character. These two determinisms, if properly coordinated could avoid the normalization frame, which is the idea that new media will revolutionize news/politics.
I chose this comic as my artifact because I think it shows how social and technological determinism both occur among normal household families. Yes, this comic is an exaggeration, but the blend of the two determinisms still happens in lesser ways.
The applicable concepts for Social Determinism are Interactivity, Network (small community), Information (social vs. technological). For Interactivity, the idea here is that both determinisms are about the interaction amongst one another — be it human/human (social) or human/machine (technological). Network comes into play when people interact with each and create these networks amongst each other when they are searching for certain things, like advice, friendship, comfort, etc. Finally, within a network and interacting with people/machines leads to the transfer of information. Both determinisms are all about the shaping of individual’s character and the transformation of cultural/societal values. The only difference between the two determinisms is what source is affecting the object. Is the information coming from other people or is it coming from technology?
How much of what you learn and experience is from social determinism and how much of it is from technological determinism, do you think? “Ask your parents” has turned into “Just Google it”. “You could always buy a _____ to help” became “There’s an app for that”. With websites that help you self-diagnose medical problems and give advice on how you should be living your life, there aren’t a lot of ways to socially gain this information. I think, with the current generation, most of social determinism is experienced during youth when we only know to rely on parents and adults. As we get older we become aware of the entire virtual world all around us. While, it is not necessarily a bad thing to be seeking answers from the internet, some may say we have lost something by leaving social determinism behind in exchange for technology. Like that direct human contact that feeds our motivation to continually look for questions and their answers.
