Chapter 12 of Siapera's book Understanding New Media mentions the views of Bernard Stiegler, who believes that "Technology neither determines humanity nor is determined by it: instead it is understood as emerging alongside the rise of humanity, as an inextricable part of it" (Siapera, 2012) .
Regarding all the topics we have discussed in our Social Media and Governance course, such as online gaming and social networking platforms, I see the possibility for impacts on humanity. Possibly not deterministic, but I do tend to agree with the statement that technology is an 'inextricable' part of humanity. Today, socializing can be an activity that takes place completely online, through instant messaging, email, microblogging, etc. On average, youth tend to spend over 7 hours per day on some type of technical device. The issue with this is that, spending so much time on a laptop or a smartphone takes up time in the real world for interactions. However, doing all your socializing online allows people to keep 'in touch' with more people in their lives, with less transactional costs. It is in this sense that technology and humanity co-exist, and both affect each other.
One article I read from the New York Times discusses socializing online and the possibility of it affecting younger generations' abilities to socialize in the real world (the article can be found at: New York Times). this takes a different stance from Stiegler by assuming that advancements in technology are having negative impacts on the social skills of youth users. The article argues that because they are spending so much time on these platforms, students do not spend enough time talking to one another in traditional ways, such as on the phone, or in person; this lack of face-to-face interaction leads to social deprivation in some sense.
However, I tend to agree more with Stiegler, and disagree with the view of this news article. This may be starting to turn into a more psychology-oriented debate, but I think that if a user of social websites is displaying symptoms of social anxiety, this is not because of their patterns of technology use, but rather, because of their own personal issues with social interactions, which would exist for them whether or not they used new social media to make their interactions. If anything, these people with less social skills may find it easier to communicate online. I suppose that by making this argument, I am taking the instrumentalist viewpoint, in which technology is simply a tool, completely neutral.
One study even suggests that teenagers who play videogames are actually improving their social skills by playing games online and through game systems. (The article can be found at:optimistworld.com).
One study even suggests that teenagers who play videogames are actually improving their social skills by playing games online and through game systems. (The article can be found at:optimistworld.com).
This is perhaps the opposite result from what one may expect, but surveys used in this study showed that over 70 percent of gamers played with others in their age group at least some of the time, if not in the same room (such as multiplayer games on a gameconsole). In this example, technology is a tool for entertainment, and teenagers are also using it as a social tool, having conversations and even get-togethers to play a game, share tips, etc.
Back to the social platform example,people could communicate over facebook, for example, with their friend who is studying abroad (as I often communicate with my friends back in the U.S. since I am studying abroad now). In the days before computers and internet, a post card would be the equivalent of this. In the video games example, people are forming social bonds over playing multiplayer games on a computer or gaming system, rather than playing games outside of the digital environment.
Back to the social platform example,people could communicate over facebook, for example, with their friend who is studying abroad (as I often communicate with my friends back in the U.S. since I am studying abroad now). In the days before computers and internet, a post card would be the equivalent of this. In the video games example, people are forming social bonds over playing multiplayer games on a computer or gaming system, rather than playing games outside of the digital environment.
So, in my opinion, it seems that technology and humanity really are co-existing and co-evolving, rather than one causing direct changes to the other. As technological capabilities increase, people's ways of using them increase; regular, 'natural' human behaviors are repeated as humanity evolves, but ( continuously evolving) technology is aiding them.
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