Technology has become a part of everyday lives such that it is hard to ignore the impacts it has had on society. At its core, technology does not refer to just machines and devices such as computers, smartphones, and smartwatches among others. It encompasses other areas such as modern medicine and forms of communication. Looking at the modern world, it is hard to imagine what it would be like without technology. Furthermore, it has increased efficiency in vast areas of our lives. With the immense benefits, society is reaping from technology, it is hard to imagine advances of this sort as negative. This has led to a debate about whether modern technology has made society better. From a sociological perspective, theories such as functionalism, conflict theory, critical theory, structuralism, and symbolic interaction reveal how worse or better modern technology has made society.
Functionalism
From the standpoint of functionalism, technology has made society better by contributing to smooth operations and keeping it running. Coined by Durkheim, functionalism posits that the various aspects of society are critical for its stability as a whole (Katsikides, 2018). According to the theorist, society is like an organism that has different parts, with each of them playing a critical role but cannot function by themselves. The social institutions of society such as family, government, media, economy, entertainment, and business among others are critical in meeting their functional needs. Through technology, the commercial part of society thrives. Television, for instance, is highly functional in meeting the demographic targets for certain products and services in society. Besides television advertisements in other global brands such as Coca-Cola bring live advertisements in schools to create awareness on the rising concerns of obesity.
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In addition to commercial function, technology also manifests the aspect of entertainment function in society. Through social media networks such as YouTube and Instagram, people keep themselves entertained. Besides, the internet is a source of video games and consoles that keep people entertained. Admittedly, enjoyment is paramount and technology has fulfilled this society's need by offering new and a variety of ways for people to entertain themselves. It is also worth noting that technology serves as a channel for social norm functions of society. At its core social norm refers to the way society expects individuals to behave, function, and react to events. Through technology, individuals teach themselves what is good, desirable, and acceptable in society. However, not all social norms taught by technology serve as a good function for society. For instance, violent content from social media platforms or even TV desensitizes individuals causing them to be aggressive. According to their recent study, Martins and Weaver (2019) reveal that children who are exposed to violent media such as video games and content, increase their physical and relational aggression to other members of society. Regardless of the negative aspect, it is evident that technology serves as a socialization platform for society.
Studies reveal that some life-changing events are as a result of the many technological forms. It is without a doubt that the manifest function of technology is to change the lives upheld by society, in some cases for better and in others for worse. One of the ways in which technology has been life-changing to society in a good way is through increased efficiency in the means of communication. Technological advancements of the smartphone have enabled people to communicate effectively in different parts of the world. Also, the invention of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and MySpace among others have enhanced family relationships because people can easily keep in touch with their loved ones. On the downside, however, nowadays people tend to stay glued to their smartphones and other devices hence negatively impacting social interactions. In a recent study conducted on the impact of modern media in household interactions, results reveal negative outcomes such as drastic changes in family lives and erosion of family values (Misra, Cheng & Genevie, 2016).
Conflict Theory
The disruption of society from its smooth operations can be attributed to technology and comprehended from a critical theory standpoint. At its core, the conflict perspective reveals the different aspects in terms of some people benefiting and being more powerful than others. One of the major conflicting impacts of technology is the digital divide that arises from the gap of access (Ball, Francis, Huang, Kadylak, Kotten & Rikard, 2019). Furthermore, a recent study concludes that social class, status, and power are critical for access to modern technology. Admittedly, different parts of the world have varying developments in technological advancements and innovations. The most developed regions have easy access to technology and sequentially a great deal of control, power, and influence over the kind of media available for consumption by the rest of society. In other words, those in power are gatekeeping. Except for popular social media platforms that have a form of democratic self-policing, the rest are controlled. This has sequentially resulted in social inequality.
Additionally, conflict theory suggests that those who have control over technology have a big say in the political realm. For instance, individuals in society that have a high social class can buy the biggest exposure on social media platforms. For instance, in 2013, the Conservative Party had a large social media exposure compared to the Republicans because of their ability to control what the United States is to consume in terms of politics (Darr & Dunaway, 2018).
Another conflicting impact of modern technology on society is social control that arises from technological surveillance. Envisioned by Jeremy Bentham and Michael Foucault, panoptic surveillance is an umbrella term for the way technology is used to survey and monitor people in their day to day lives (Katsikides, 2018). From a sociological standpoint, this sort of surveillance is a form of complete visibility that results in the centralization of observation posts and a lack of direct communication. Social control is a violation of the human right to privacy. In addition, it is conflicting to the right to live life freely without constant monitoring and surveillance by digital devices.
Symbolic Interactionist Theory
Also known as symbolic interactionalism, the symbolic interactionalist theory highlights how people make a sense of their world through the utilization of technology. Modernly, technological devices are symbolic for most people. The social wealth and status of individuals are determined by technological devices at their disposals such as the kind of computers and smartphones they own, or even their ability to afford the latest Apple products. From a symbolic interactionalism standpoint, technology has divide people into two; technophiles and neo-Luddites (Katsikides, 2019). For the latter group, technology symbolizes the potential of having a bright future, in terms of improved status that comes with owning some of these devices. On the other hand, neo-Luddites perceive technology as alienation from modern life.
It is worth noting that technology has not only created but also spread symbols that influence individuals’ understanding of society. In the symbolic interactionist theory, the social construction of reality is the major focus because it reveals the way technology constructs reality. One of the ways is through close relatability with the people and personalities we watch on social media platforms or even in televisions. They become a point of reference and influences an individual to the extent of comparison. This has brought forth a group of individuals that is not authentic to themselves but people who are imitative of others.
Another aspect of symbolic interactionism is through social networking and construction brought forth by technology. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter require that people post their daily happenings. On the other hand, businesses, use these social media networks for marketing and promotion of their products. Therefore, it is easy to think such platforms are for mere observations and networking, while in a real sense they have been structured for people to buy into various forms of advertising and promotion of consumerism (McDaniel & Drouin, 2019). Facebook, for instance, initially started as a platform for social networking among college students. However, it has evolved to include buying and selling of goods as an online market. It is not easy to perceive such technology as one big form of advertisement. At the moment it promotes consumerism in subtle ways. With a handful of people becoming Facebook fans, they receive numerous updates, special deals, and sales such as Black Friday which has sequentially fostered real-world consumerism in modern society.
In conclusion, technology is critical as it impacts modern society in numerous ways. From a sociological perspective, the impacts of technology to modern society can be comprehended through the functionalist theory, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionalism. Whereas the functional theory assumes that technology is important for the smooth running and operations of society, the conflict theory holds that the status quo has not made society any better. The conflict theory views technology in the form of unequal access and power which has resulted in social inequality. On the other hand, the symbolic interactionalism theory reveals that technology has influenced the human understanding of society. Therefore depending on which perspective one looks from, modern technology has made society both worse and better.
References
Ball, C., Francis, J., Huang, K. T., Kadylak, T., Cotten, S. R., & Rikard, R. V. (2019). The physical-digital divide: Exploring the social gap between digital natives and physical natives. Journal of Applied Gerontology , 38 (8), 1167-1184.
Darr, J. P., & Dunaway, J. L. (2018). Resurgent mass partisanship revisited: The role of media choice in clarifying elite ideology. American Politics Research , 46 (6), 943-970.
Katsikides, S. A. (2018). The societal impact of technology . Routledge.
Martins, N., & Weaver, A. (2019). The role of media exposure on relational aggression: A meta-analysis. Aggression and violent behavior .
McDaniel, B. T., & Drouin, M. (2019). Daily technology interruptions and emotional and relational well-being. Computers in Human Behavior , 99 , 1-8.
Misra, S., Cheng, L., Genevie, J., & Yuan, M. (2016). The iPhone effect: the quality of in-person social interactions in the presence of mobile devices. Environment and Behavior , 48 (2), 275-298.
