Wednesday, January 16, 2013

TechnoCulture

Technology changes culture. I think this is a fact that very few people would ever dispute. The question is, is this good or bad? Many people, including Neil Postman in his article, feel that technology changing culture is a bad thing that we need to control. Neil references corporations watching us, ads being targeted, etc, as ways in which technology is ruining our culture. The question I put before you, however, is: is this bad? Why do changes to our culture have to be negative? Many people, especially historians, tend to glorify the past and traditions. The fact that it is old does not mean it is great. Humanity, culture, society, and even language are things that are changed by technology, and have been especially changed by computers, but I hold that these things are living organisms that must evolve and change. Change is often to the better overall, even when it comes because of technology.