Effects on Our Society.

We've already discussed the existence of effects on a global level, so now I'm going to talk a little bit about how technology and globalization have effected our society. Technology first.

The existence of technology within our society is evident everywhere. There isn't a day where we don't use technology. Most of us have developed a dependence on it. Even when Ted Kaczynski moved into the wilderness in an attempt to be in solitaire, he likely still used some aspect of electricity, and definitely benefited from some forms of technology like pens and materials that were produced using technology. This dependence is generational, us and those younger than us clearly being the most 'victimized'. The overuse of technology is everywhere you look with our generation. People keep their cell phones on the table in front of them during lecture; groups of people at social events all simultaneously maintain visibility of their devices to ensure constant communication; they talk on the phone while driving and text while they're on dates; they check their facebooks, twitters and emails numerous times a day. I could go on. It's not questionable the presence of technology in our every day lives. What does need to be discussed though, are the effects that this is having.

I mentioned earlier the effects on 'intimacy'. This, to me, is a huge issue. It is evolving the way relationships work and the way the sexes interact. People get to know each other via text messages, they fight with typed words and make plans in abbreviated form. This is taking away from the interaction and degrading our social skills. With decreasing face to face interaction every day, people will likely become awkward individuals in social situations. This could potentially lead to depression and even dependency issues. I make this argument because alcohol, for example, is already an easy fix for people entering social situations that are not comfortable, and this 'solution' may be one that becomes more popular with decreasing interactions.

The role of technology may also, in my opinion, influence divorce rates. People are getting married with previous interactions partially if not completely rooted from social media or electronic communication. People are meeting in different countries and meeting to marry. They are not getting to know each other as they did in the past, where you had no choice but to meet face to face if you wanted to get to know each other. This false sense of awareness of another individual's personality, values and tendencies is misrepresenting.

Speaking of misrepresentation, I would not be able to talk about my personal dislikes for technology if I did not mention the misrepresentation that is inherent in these varying modes of communication. How many times have you read a text and, due to lack of tone or punctuation, complete misinterpreted it? I may not be speaking for everyone when I say this, but I believe that this has facilitated the female act of over-thinking. There are so many ways in interpret a message and women become obsessed with exploring all options so that they can react accordingly. Sure, this happens in real life, but not nearly to the extent that it happens when written communication is involved. And this goes without mentioning the inherent 'typos' that further the tendency to be misrepresented. For humorous purposes, I recommend http://www.damnyouautocorrect.com. These are extreme examples, but they are quite funny.

Also on the topic of marriage, I must mention that I cannot deny the convenience that technology has added to our lives, and this can prove as an argument against my previous statement. Technology reduces our stress and does at times provide us with the ability to communicate when we otherwise would not have been able.

I came across an idea (http://www.quora.com/Jake-Selner/feed) that technology is now at a point where we are advancing it in the effort to minimize these implications. Face to face interaction is now being facilitated and encouraged with technological developments like facetime and skype. Though this does not solve all of the issues, it's good to know that society is still demonstrating a desire to interact with others, even if it is by way of technology.

Other societal effects: compromised work ethic. I'm not sure if this issue is because we are simply overexposed to distractions or if its because technology makes us lazy. Probably both. Either way, the compromised generational work ethic cannot be denied. Every generation becomes lazier and lazier as technology allows them to do so. I think that this comes from a number of things, one of them being the difference in recreational activities. Our parents would go play outside and learn things by trying them, whether it was setting things on fire, exploring new areas of the forest or playing sports, there was nothing to do inside so they went outside. Sure, this might have been more dangerous, but they definitely had more fun and had the ability to learn from their own mistakes and be adventurous and spontaneous.

Imagine if there was a '30 years ago' column. It would be even more different than the two eras currently shown.

Global Effects.

Technology has definitely assisted globalization in its international expansion. With different technologies from information systems to transportation mediums to communication methods, technology may be the main, if not the only, reason as to why globalization is occurring.

The effects that technology has had on our society are countless, and involve our finances, our jobs, our families, our relationships, the knowledge that we have access to, our education, transportation, communication, health care and our government, to name a few. But what effects has the globalization of technology had on undeveloped countries? Without technology, can globalization really affect these other nations?

I think that the answer is yes, but the consequences are not on an individual level but on a political level. Because these undeveloped countries still possess technology on a corporate and political level, the implications can be realized by the citizens indirectly.

Industrial Society and it's Future: The Unabomber Manifesto.

I told my professor about my topic and he suggested that I research the 'Unabomber'. I had heard this term before, but to be honest always pictured a little cartoon ninja from a Nintendo game. Maybe there are two. Anyways, the Unabomber that he was referring to is named Ted Kaczynski. Ted was a 'child prodigy' who was accepted into Harvard at the age of 16 and eventually became a professor at Berkeley University only to resign two years later to become a recluse. Over the years as he witnessed the wilderness around his home being destroyed by industrialization and construction he decided to start a bombing campaign. He sent 16 bombs to different Universities and airlines, killing 3 people and injuring 23. He claimed the bombings were "extreme but necessary to attract attention to the erosion of human freedom necessitated by modern technologies requiring large-scale organization." This isn't a quote by him, but off of the wikipedia article on him (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski). Thought I'd consult this for some general initial information before proceeding. Ted Kaczynski wrote a manifesto which he titled Industrial Society and it's Future. He promised to stop the 'domestic terrorism' that were his bombings if his manifesto were to be published in the newspaper. The full 35,000 manifesto can be found on the Washington Post website (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/unabomber/manifesto.text.htm). The work was published and eventually lead to him begin caught by the FBI.

The Introduction of the manifesto makes several statements. Here's a somewhat condensed version of the introduction:

"The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race. They have greatly increased the life-expectancy of those of us who live in “advanced” countries, but they have destabilized society, have made life unfulfilling, have subjected human beings to indignities, have led to widespread psychological suffering (in the Third World to physical suffering as well) and have inflicted severe damage on the natural world. The continued development of technology will worsen the situation... The industrial-technological system may survive or it may break down. If it survives, it MAY eventually achieve a low level of physical and psychological suffering, but only after passing through a long and very painful period of adjustment and only at the cost of permanently reducing human beings and many other living organisms to engineered products and mere cogs in the social machine. Furthermore, if the system survives, the consequences will be inevitable: There is no way of reforming or modifying the system so as to prevent it from depriving people of dignity and autonomy... the bigger the system grows the more disastrous the results of its breakdown will be, so if it is to break down it had best break down sooner rather than later. We therefore advocate a revolution against the industrial system. This revolution may or may not make use of violence; it may be sudden or it may be a relatively gradual process spanning a few decades. We can’t predict any of that. But we do outline in a very general way the measures that those who hate the industrial system should take in order to prepare the way for a revolution against that form of society. This is not to be a POLITICAL revolution. Its object will be to overthrow not governments but the economic and technological basis of the present society..."(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7s6FfqAs9E&feature=related).

Here's another quote from him regarding technology. Here when he refers to the bourgeoise, I consider this to be the our equivalent of corporate actors (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtT5CKg0K4c&feature=relmfu).
 
It's relevant to add here that I believe technology and the Industrial Revolution to go hand in hand. Is that common sense? The connection in my head is made by the technology that went into the Industrial Revolution, as well as the underlying concepts which seem to be inherent in both: efficiency.

He did not believe that he was insane, and it is evident in his writing that he is a scholar. But are these really the words of a crazy man? Obviously the extremes to which he took his opinions demonstrated insanity, but his thoughts do not seem insane to me. He is simply another individual who attempted to communicate to the masses his opinions on an issue that he believed needed to be communicated; he wanted to start a revolution.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtT5CKg0K4c&feature=relmfu

In my research I discoverd another individual who is frequently mentioned along with Ted: Guy Debord. He wrote a publication called The Society of the Spectacle. We'll have to look at him later.

I think it's worth mentioning that the Ted Kaczynski's "look" has become an item of pop culture.

 

Guy Bebord, in his book Society of the Spectacle, makes reference to the Spectacle as 'media saturation', among other things. It's been noted that Debord actually defined the Spectacle so many times that it seems as if he did not intend for anyone to actually develop an understanding of the term, but it is well said here: "these words sound less like a philosophy, and more like a straightforward description of the dominant role that profit-driven media spectacles play in the communication flows of public life..." (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/02/guy-debord-society-spectacle-protest?newsfeed=true).

It seems to me that scholars are having a difficult time interpretting Debord, so I'll make reference to a link that can explain it better than I ever could, which also makes reference to social media and commodification. There's a relevant audio clip associated with the previous article that elaborates on the modern implication of Debord's work (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/audio/2012/mar/28/big-ideas-podcast-debord-society-spectacle). Guy Debord was concerned with mass media, the degredation of human life, class alienation and cultural homogenization; all issues related to globalization. The term, though it was used by economists at the time, was not popular yet.

Popularlization of the term was through Theodore Levitt's publication, The Globalization of Markets. Levitt was a professor at Harvard and editor of the Harvard Business Review.

Technology: Effects on 'Intimacy'.

According to a video I came across (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAkrl3pMblI), it's a common belief that technology is detrimental to intimacy. Considering that intimacy, according to this video, can be defined by closeness it seems questionable that a large portion of people today believe that their relationships are strong enough to base the decision to marry on these technological interactions. Sure, this video was created by students and has minimal credibility, but I still took their ideas seriously and took this as evidence that the effects on intimacy are more realizable than I thought.

The extent to which technology affects our relationships with our partners, family and friends is becoming increasingly apparent and worsening with every generation. This comes with the tendencies of our youth to become increasingly lazy and socially inept and with the compromise of critical thinking and communication skills. All of these affect work ethic and our relationships, but these are issues that we will talk about later.

The effects of technology on relationships seem obvious if you are a member of my generation (Generation Y). Woah. I just double checked that fact and apparently a synonym for Generation Y is now 'The Facebook Generation'. Anyways, young people have developed the tendency to rely upon electronic communication like instant messaging, text messaging and facebook to avoid the (now more than ever) awkward interaction that happens once mutual crushes are typically revealed. My generation will proceed in a different way than preceding generations; they will get to know each other with minimal face to face interaction. They try to get to know each other via text messages, asking personal questions that would typically be asked on a first date. Now what do they do on a first date? They put out. My opinion on how technology speeds up the illusion of intimacy. This role of technology might also be a factor in increasingly high divorce rates. People don't get to know each other as well, which results in their surprise when they find out that their new partner has all these crazy bad habits that weren't evident in typed sentences. Shocker.

When you think about globalization, technology and relationships, it's obviously worth mentioning that there are positive consequences as well. The Internet, for example, aids in facilitating interaction among people who would otherwise not be able to interact cost effectively or in the ways that they are able to today. Skype is a great example of a technology that encourages face to face interaction with its cost effective services which allow people to interact on a global level.

Quotes about Globalization.

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity - Albert Einstein

Technology is like a fish. The long it stays on the shelf, the less desirable it becomes. - Andrew Heller

The greatest danger in modern technology isn't that machines will begin to think like people, but that people will begin to think like machines. - Unknown

Technology is a way of organization the universe so that man doesn't have to experience it. - Max Frisch

Five years ago, we thought of the Web as a new medium, not a new economy. - Clement Mok

It is only when they go wrong that machines remind you how powerful they are. - Clive James

One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man. - Elbert Hubbard

All of the biggest technological inventions created by man - the airplane, the automobile, the computer - say little about his intelligence, but speak volumes about his laziness. - Mark Kennedy

Computers are useless. They can only give you answers. - Pablo Picasso

Where is all the knowledge we lost with information? - T.S. Elliot

I think there is a world market for maybe five computers. - IBM Chairman Thomas Watson, 1943

Everything that can be invented has been invented. - Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899
I came across this video about the main purpose I'm trying to convey which actually used a few of these quotes to explain how technology is having detrimental effects on society (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1-iiYRe5KE&feature=related).

Globalization 101 | Technology: A Similar Project

I came across a similar project by some students from Denmark: Globalization 101 | Technology (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obwcKETqv1o). They essentially outlined a number of technological facts. I initially thought these facts were just pointless statements regarding tehnology and did not see the relation to globalization, but then I started to realize that the video was emphasizing how drastic the variances in technology are between different nations across the globe.

In their attempts to do this, however, I noticed that they seemed to be holding technology as a way to measure wealth. With their emotional music and theme, it seems apparent that these students were attempting to make us feel emotional for the people in these countries that do not have the privilege of the Internet or do not have cell phones. Is this the way we should see it? I watched a video (http://www.democracynow.org/2010/11/26/chilean_economist_manfred_max_neef_on) on the concept of barefoot economics. This video illustrates the concept as barefoot economics as introduced by an economist Manfred Max-Neef. Barefoot economics refers to this very issue; the issue of subjective wealth.

While North Americans have a tendency to view money and possessions as indicators of wealth, it is not uncommon for individuals in other less developed countries to view things like family and free time as indicators of wealth. An individual in this video elaborates on this, claiming that women in Chile that could potentially increase their income by working harder simply do not because they do not have the desire. They make enough money to survive and see the rest of their time as an investment in their happiness as spent with the ones that they love. North Americans might attribute this to laziness, but I think that this is respectable.

Technology's Role in Globalization.

This image gives us a pretty good understanding of the different concepts that globalization covers, and also shows technology's role. Technology has a role in all of these components.

The 'spreading of American culture' depends on technology, advertising, and the Internet.
'Increasing cross border exchange' depends on technology, as it facilitates the transfer of funds and information and facilitates communication between these borders.
I'm not sure what they mean by 'decreasing distance', but it has the word the Internet right under it and makes reference to jets, which are quite technological, so we can assume that that's the relationship. If I had to guess, I'd say that due to the increasing border exchanges and the other things I mentioned there, the 'distance' becomes obsolete.
'Increasing instantaneous communications' allows us to communicate on a political, professional and personal level.
'Increasing power and voice' is again facilitated by the Internet and social media, though this time on a broader scale. This demonstrates how technology allows us to organization to become such significant societal actors as Amnesty International.
'Increasing influence of global media networks' is definitely important, though I'd say that I am definitely aware of the negative implications of this. I am recently enrolled in a course called Marketing and Society that demonstrates the inherent conflict of interest in network TV, particularly in the news. Corporate and political influence over these networks do not seem to be working in the interests of society, and are using news channels, advertising and other trusted sources to provide us with biased misrepresentations. I'd recommend checking out this link http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6737097743434902428. It's a long one, but very informative. This video with others that I've watched in the class have changed the way I see the news. Or the way I don't I should say; it made me stop watching it.
'Increasing economic links' is obvious at this point.
'Increasing global movement' is a summary of all of these points, and the role that the Internet and technology have played and continue to play in globalization.