Technological or Cultural Determinism? 

Slack & Wise’s “Determinism” chapter that I did my GQQ on really intrigued me, since I had to start asking myself (and the class) some really good thought-provoking questions. I can surely say that I was successful in provoking my own thoughts about the concept of “determinism.” One thing that really got me thinking was on the discussion of technological determinism, the concept that changes in technology dictate changes in culture. In thinking about it, I was reminded of how in intercultural communication I realized how present culture is in every single part of our lives. I then started thinking about how technology has become such a prominent aspect of our daily lives as well, and how the two intertwine. I compared the discussion we had in that class about what a man does when he wakes up, and how everything in his daily routine happens because his culture taught him how to do it, essentially how to be. It got me thinking how our most recent technology has changed our daily morning routine over the years. Now, it is common to wake up and immediately check your phone, turn on the television or check your email… who knows what the future generation will be doing first thing they wake up, press a button on their phone to start the coffee maker?

It makes sense that technology changes the way our culture is, especially how time can be dictated in eras of technology. Today we are referred to as the digital era, and it appears that we have become so reliant on technology that it can essentially be a part of our culture. Especially if we think about how our phone may be a “part” of us, considering how most people take their phone with them everywhere as if it were an extra arm. This changes how we have become as people, we use it to become more efficient human beings as we have this ultimate resource that can give us virtually any information we please. Many have become glued to this technology, and to “fit in” with society it seems you must have this technology to thrive amongst others (for example: “everyone” has smartphones). I also thought about the cultural determinism viewpoint, and asked myself if my culture is the cause of this technology does it accurately reflect the values and practices of my culture? I actually think it does, in America we value progress and efficiency and I think that the technology we have today embody those values because technology makes us more productive humans.   

The interesting part about this chapter was the debate of which is the cause of these changes, technology or culture itself? Does our culture create the technology to better reflect itself, or does technology create the changes in culture? Debating this surely made my head spin, but it was interesting that Slack & Wise say that ultimately this is a false dichotomy, and cannot help us figure out real life situations. Overall, I think it is important to stop and think about these concepts ever so often as technology becomes more and more advanced. We need to remind ourselves that we are human beings who have culture, who use technology, and ponder about how the two play important roles in our lives today.