GROWING TRENDS IN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

LEARNING GOAL You will … … demonstrate an understanding of how technology influences society. You will do this by … … identifying how current trends are influenced by culture, tradition and language … describing how technology impacts these influences

SOCIALIZING AND TECHNOLOGY - Today, social status is closely tied to the ability to communicate and be part of virtual social networks. - How would you feel if one of your friends refused to use any social networking tool to communicate with you?

SOCIAL NETWORKS -We have always been socialized and encouraged to interact with family and friends -This has driven the popularity of social networking -In an average month, 15 million Canadians log onto Facebook -Canadian average is 190 friends, Global average is 130 friends -why is Facebook so popular?

“THIS IS WHO I AM” - Facebook provides a secondary purpose of helping us define who we are and how we are seen - Cooley’s theory: looking glass self – Facebook helps us understand who we are

IMPACTS - links to depression – “upward” comparisons - links to obesity – lack of physical activity -

CELLULAR TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIALIZING - flooding the marketplace - 47 percent of U.S. teenagers say their lives would be worsened if they lost access to their mobile devices - 57 percent credit their devices for improving their lives - used for entertainment – gaming, movies, shows - used for safety – provides a sense of security to teenagers - used for quick communication – texting - Over 1 BILLION text messages are sent globally each day  PROS – allows for multi-tasking, provides fun communication  CONS – pauses of communication, distraction

CONTAINMENT THEORY - a subset of social control theory - there are 2 ways individuals use the internalization of values to control primal urges:  Inner containments – our self-esteem and moral development  Outer containments – social controls such as teachers, police, parents - The hope is that agents of socialization have taught us social norms and values to control ourselves

- the internet gives users the ability to hide (to a certain extent) from outer containments - the internet also allows us to access copyrighted material without paying MARSHALL McLUHAN - technology is an extension of the human - computers are an extension of our nervous system - technology extends us past what we can see and hear in the space we are in – are we really here?

IMPACT ON THE FAMILY (Family Systems Theory) - what impact does technology have on the family as a dynamic, self-regulating system? - children are growing up with technology integrated into their lives from an early age - wireless technology allows for multiple connections with personal content - what is the internet being used for, education or entertainment?  This will affect the influence it has on family dynamic

TECHNOLOGY IN THE FUTURE – NEW OPPORTUNITIES OR NEW PROBLEMS? THE SIMULATED SOCIETY (Jean Baudrillard) - technology moves us away rom the natural state we started in  Rain – an inconvenience rather than needed for food  Wildlife – large predators to be killed or controlled  Cities, towns – made of concrete and plastic  Neighbours – we don’t know who’s next door, but we know our gaming partner in Asia or Europe

THE POWER OF SOCIAL NETWORKING

VIRTUAL SPACE – THE NEW FRONTIER? - selling virtual items in games - virtual threats, virtual crimes - game addiction - Does gaming cause addiction or are addicts drawn to gaming? - Are there any benefits to virtual space?

TECHNO WASTE - devices become obsolete quickly - contain mercury, lead, arsenic, chromium - Social Exchange Theory – keeping current with technology takes precedence over environmental concerns