How we use technology at home is a very individualistic thing.
What is common amongst us all is that technology has changed the way we engage with others and with the world around us.
Technology use has shifted our cultural norms. Overall, opinion is divided over this being either a good or a bad thing.
The impact of technology on human behaviour is viewed from two perspectives:
The Socio Constructivist Perspective:
where technology is viewed as neutral and useful only in how the user engages with devices within their own personal technical abilities. It focuses on the dynamic interactions between people and technology and includes how the use of both current and future technology, at home and work, are socially constructed. *
The Deterministic Perspective:
where technology is given the agency and ability to change and shape human behaviour. *
We take the socio-constructivist view, that technology itself is neutral.
However, the use of technology can be ‘good’ in that it makes it much easier to connect with family, friends, acquaintances and associates.
Or it can also be ‘bad’ in that we are less likely to make deeper connections with others in our community. It can also create an environment of ‘together alone’, where a number of people physically in a room can be in another place and engaging with others online.
Future advances in technology may or may not continue this trend. It will, however, impact our behaviour and engagement with others within culture and as a society.
Find out more about the impact of technology in the Digital Home
You can find out more by clicking on the images below.
Notes:
* This information is sourced from: Duxbury, L., Higgins, C., Smart, R., & Stevenson, M. (2014). Mobile Technology and Boundary Permeability. British Journal of Management, 25(3), 570–588. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12027