Earlier in the week we read 2 chapters from The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage titled "Love over the Wires"and "War and Peace in the Global Village." These chapters were very insightful about how the telegraph changed the way people were able to communicate, do business, spread news, and even get married. Yes you read that right- people tied the knot via telegraph back in the day! I love a good love story so I obviously loved reading this chapter, but what really struck me was how Standage noted that while the invention of the telegraph scared the press industry, it changed the industry rather than destroyed it. The world was able to adapt to this new technology and allow it to forever change the way news was delivered. The telegraph, like new media today, was able to collapse time and space.
Chapter 2 in Nancy Baym's Personal Connections in the Digital Age describes the 4 theoretical frameworks that new technology goes through upon entering the mainstream. The first being technological determinism, stating that technology changes everything, which is why people are skeptical of it at first. This is followed by the social construction of technology, that humans are able to change technology so that it betters their lives and use of the technology. Then the social shape of technology, meaning that problems may arise with the new technology in society, but society will find a way to change the technology and adapt to these changes. This is a mix between the first 2 stages before the 4th and final stage, domestication, or normalization, of technology. Eventually we will not be able to imagine our lives without this new technology in it, and not owning it becomes the problem.
While a new technology may seem scary, it is important to remember these processes, and realize that we can change and adapt these technologies and eventually these technologies will change and adapt our lives, like they have all along.
Kate, great connections between the two readings. You're exactly right, it is important to remember the process of technology integration as well as the idea that humans have the control to change the situation. While the telegraph became domesticated into our society, many technologies do not get to that point. Great post!
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