In Darin Barney’s chapter about Network Technology he alludes to three main theories of technology in society. They are: instrumentalism, substantivism, and social constructivism. These three discourses are progressive ideals that debate the ideal that technology and human influence coexist to different degrees. In some ways our behavioral patterns are determined and in other ways we see the opposite effect, with lots of middle ground. Towards the end of this chapter he discusses a major point that discusses the disappearance of time and space boundaries upon the arrival of new technologies. We have begun to view the world as a much smaller place.
Proof of these worn boundaries are the social revolutions in places such as Tunisia and Egypt. Both of these nations are communicating and organizing at a rapid pace as a result of the internet and other technologies. Just thirty years ago the world was concerned about the spread of communism, a phenomenon that was spreading over the course of years, not we look at revolution in Tunisia and Egypt and expect political results in a matter of weeks. The spread of upheaval has countries like China concerned. In an effort to mitigate the spread of protest and unrest, China has begun to block the term Egypt from search engines. This effort seems concerned with redefining the barriers of space and time and maintaining government hierarchy that the internet has broken in other nations.
Published by Mike Anderson
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