MODULE 5: DIGITAL TEACHNOLOGY AND
SOCIAL CHANGE
Overview
The internet and telecommunication industry in the 1990s changed the way we
connect and exchange information. Digital technology impacted people in many ways.
By the way people live, work, learn, and socialize. Digital technology comprises of
electronic tools, devices and systems that generate, store and process data. It
enables us to experience the benefits of advanced information technology systems.
Such as efficiency and productivity, improved communication and collaboration and
faster acquisition of information. In this lesson, we will discuss the digital age and its
effect in society, the two-essential theory in technology, and how technological change
takes place.
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:
• Explain the role of ICT in social change.
• Identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and imminent threats of the
digital age.
• Articulate basic, but fundamental definitions of complex issues and dynamics
that humans encounter every day, such as technology, social progress,
development, and digitalization.
Lesson 1: Introduction to the Digital Age
Digital age, also known as Information age, is a period when the computer and
internet were introduced. It is caused by rapid shift from traditional industry to
computerization all the way to artificial intelligence which brought by Industrial
Revolution. These technologies enabled people to communicate information easily
and rapidly. Digital Technology became prevalent and widely used around the world.
Information can be accessed easily specially with the use of the internet. House
chores and jobs are getting automated with the help of machines and equipment.
Mobile phones became very useful in every areas of life --- in education,
entertainment, jobs, etc. Digital technologies have radically changed the way people
work, consume, and communicate over a short period of time.
The ICT and its role in Social Change
Information Communications Technology (ICT) has the power to transform society. ICT
is defined as a group of interrelated technologies (electronic devices) for accessing,
processing, and disseminating information. It is a system of electronic network
activated through a complex hardware and software systems linked by a vast array of
technical protocols. ICTs are indisputably important part of our social setting today.
The term ICTs has been used to embrace technological innovation and merging in
information and communication transforming our world into information or knowledge
societies. The rapid development of these technologies has fainted the boundaries
between information, communication, and various types of media.
The development of a society mostly depends on the access to information. The
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) greatly ease the flow of
information and knowledge offering the socially marginalized community an
extraordinary chance to attain their own rights socially, economically, educationally,
and politically. Despite ICT’s massive potential, the current global information outburst
has had surprisingly little impact on development activities and access to practical
information for rural communities, local people, and forefront development workers in
developing countries. The emergence of Internet, World Wide Web, mobile cell
phones, digital television, and several other new electronic devices pertaining
information and communication technologies (ICTs) are opening a fresh passageways
for transforming the way we live, work, learn, communicate and also provides a
strategic opportunities of diverse and significant social and economic benefits to
people across the globe. It also enables financial inclusion through m- commerce and
allows people to connect with millions instantaneously.
Social change refers to a transformation of culture and social organizations/structures
over time. We are aware that in a modern world, a society is never static and that of
social, political, economic, and cultural changes occurs constantly. The social
transformations that could result from the increasing use of ICTs depend strangely on
verdicts made by organizations and individuals outside our household, many of whom
have great economic leverage, political power or technical expertise. To increase the
consent potential of ICTs, it is important to understand some of their basic features,
which make them a unique kind of technologies.
Entertainment
With the advent of new technologies, the world of entertainment is constantly
evolving. Digital broadcasting has completely changed the way we experience
television and radio. Cinema can now be found at the comfort of your home
through application such as Netflix, iFlix, etc. We get entertained by the content
that we see in Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Computer gaming has also
been an important influence in the development of graphical interfaces.
Technology has been at the forefront of changes in production and distribution
of music. We can now listen to music and podcast using Spotify. These are
some of the many technologies we use for entertainment that arise in the
Digital Age.
Business
The impact of ICT on business is particularly significant. It empowers people to
share knowledge and advice instantaneously and set up an online shop or
website at a low cost, dramatically lowering the barriers to starting a business.
As such, ICT maturity is closely linked to economic growth.
Businesses in today’s life have promoted a lot with the coming of ICT. Its impact
cannot be over emphasized. For example, ICT helps to increase productivity in
business with the use of social Media platforms for marketing and promotion.
The use of websites now allowed companies to develop new and cheaper ways
of offering customers with opportunities of buying goods and services at their
convenient time and enhance the level of customer service. Online platform has
been the marketplace where people can transact and communicate.
The impact of ICT infrastructure on social businesses cannot be understated. It
has made social impact affordable, social impact scalable, and enables new
ways to connect to and engage with local communities.
Education
The impact of ICT on teachers, trainers, learners, researchers and the entire
education society is tremendous. It is changing the way of the education
delivery system in the world by enhancing access to information for all. It also
ensures effective and inclusive education. ICT supports the concept of open
learning where the thrust is upon enhanced student access and the
development of student autonomy.
ICT can play varied roles in developing an effective learning environment. It
assists teachers and helps explain core content concepts and addresses
misconceptions. It acts as a stimulant and fosters analytical thinking and
interdisciplinary studies. It networks a learner with the peers and experts and
develops collaborative atmosphere. It plays the role of a guide and mentor by
providing tailor made instructions to meet individual needs. Online learning
facilitates learning through digital mode. With the help of multimedia, it
enhances effectiveness of teaching-learning and hence proves crucial for early
learners, slow learners and differently abled learners. Modern ICT tools not only
deliver the content but also replicate formal learning experience via virtual
learning. The intention of virtual classrooms is to extend the structure and
services that accompany formal education programs from the physical
environment to learners.
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ICT also addresses the need of mobile learning. It offers independent space and
flexibility that comes from working away from the learning institute or tutor. It
makes education accessible to all, irrespective of geographical barriers or
resource constraints. Learners from
remote areas, working people who want to learn further and update their
knowledge and
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differently abled students who find travelling an issue of concern - benefit from
the mobile learning mode.
Digital resources in classrooms can help prepare students for a digital society and economy
Digital technologies can unlock new learning opportunities in the classroom by
giving students access to a wider range of resources, by complementing the
teacher in learning processes (computer-assisted learning) and by providing
other advantages to students, such as access to motivational and informational
resources associated with access to tertiary education programs.. Access to
technology is quite certainly beneficial to students’ digital skills and provide a
clear advantage to students in that area. But the effects on other learning
outcomes are generally considered limited or potentially negative. Some studies
find that computer-assisted learning has some positive effects, especially in
science and mathematics, because it provides students with personalized
learning modules that are adapted to their level.
Jobs and earnings
Beyond income security, employment fulfils a number of important roles for
human wellbeing, such as time structure, social contact, a sense of purpose, a
valued social position as well as an opportunity for skill use. For this reason, the
labor market effects of the digital transformation are among the most
significant for people’s well-being. The digital transformation has the potential
to generate substantial changes in the composition of the labor market as jobs
that require certain skillsets are replaced by a combination of technology and
higher skilled labor, or even completely automated. At the same time,
digitalization yields opportunities by creating employment in new and existing
industries, with greater job-to-job mobility facilitated by online job search tools.
The digital economy also fundamentally changes the nature of work for many
people, with fewer jobs exerting physical demands on workers but more jobs
placing an emotional strain on desk-workers.
New jobs in ICT and in other sectors become available.
Despite fears for the automation, there is little evidence so far that
technological change has led to a net loss of jobs. There are theoretical reasons
for which technological progress may contribute to job creation. Efficiency gains
and cost-savings may induce job creation within industries by expanding the
market and therefore increasing demand. Increased productivity in one sector
can also have positive spillovers in other sectors, if this translates into lower
prices and higher demand across the economy. While these processes may
imply short-term unemployment among displaced workers, they have the
potential to generate economy-wide employment gains.
Digital technologies may destroy jobs at risk of automation
While the previous section has pointed to the lack of evidence of the negative
effects of technological change on total employment so far, a number of authors
have argued that ICT- based technological change will be more profound than
previous instances of great technological change. This argument is mainly
supported by the observation that the labor- saving potential of digital
technologies is far greater than in the case of previous technological changes.
As a result, automation may, in the future, have much more impactful
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consequences on the need for human labor than it has so far. For the moment,
while a shift away from manufacturing jobs has been observed, this has not
translated to overall losses in employment, as middle-skill jobs have been
replaced by new high-skill and low-skill jobs.
Concerns of the automation of jobs are warranted, however, at least in order to
make the
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case for the need to invest in the most appropriate skills for the future digital
economy. Thus far, estimates of the impact of automation mainly rely on
expert’s predictions of the types of tasks that are likely to be replaced by
machines. Previous estimates by Autor, Levy and Murnane (2003) quickly
proved to be too cautious: tasks that Autor et al. considered to be out of reach
for machines, such as truck driving, are already being threatened by rapid
advances in machine learning and AI. More recent estimates of the potential
job- displacement effects of automation have looked at job tasks rather than
entire job categories. Food preparation assistants, cleaners and helpers,
laborers in mining, construction, manufacturing and transport, and assemblers
are the most likely to see their job tasks automated, while teaching
professionals, health professionals and personal care workers are among the
least likely to lose their job to a machine. Similarly, Schwab (2016) and Susskind
and Susskind (2015) consider that the work of lawyers, financial analysts,
journalists, doctors or librarians could be partially or totally automated. Schwab
(2016) emphasizes that algorithms made available by AI are able to successfully
replace human actions, even creative ones. The author presents the example of
automated narrative generation, in which algorithms can conceive written texts
for particular types of audience.
Teleworking (Work from Home) allows people to save time and combine their work and
personal lives
Teleworking (Work from Home), on the other hand, may present an opportunity
for work-life balance as it improves time management and may reduce time
spent commuting. A variety of studies have found that employees who engage
in telework have higher job satisfaction. Among positive effects, teleworkers
report reduced commuting times, more flexibility in organizing their working
time, and better overall work-life balance. Evidence from the American Time
Use Survey shows that reductions in the time spent commuting and in-home
production due to Internet increase labor force participation.
Health
Digitalization can affect people’s health status through the emergence of new
physical and mental health risks and through its impact on the health-care
delivery system. Health risks associated with the digital transformations include
mental health problems associated with the extreme use of digital technologies,
especially among children and teenagers and the crowding out of other
activities such as physical exercise. Health-care delivery is also affected by new
digital technologies, such as electronic records, new treatment options, tele-
care, and teleconsultation. An important aspect of digitalization concerns the
production and use of medical data to improve the effectiveness and efficiency
of health systems. As a caveat, the exchange and use of medical and health
data must meet high data protection and data security standards, considering
its sensitivity. How and where care is delivered is also affected by digital
innovations, which challenges the traditional role of care providers, with
implications for interactions among care providers and between providers and
patients. The effects of these changes in healthcare delivery of health
inequalities are potentially large, but also less well documented.
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Extreme use of digital technologies may have negative mental health effects
The effects of mobile phones, video games, and the pervasiveness of ubiquitous
screens on the mental health of children and teenagers have drawn significant
attention in the public debate because they may present risks of addiction.
Extreme Internet use, defined as
children who spend more than 6 hours on the Internet outside of school, is
becoming more
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common among children and teenagers, with time spent online by 15-year-olds
increasing by about 40 minutes between 2012 and 2015 on average. A study
also found that the iGeneration members (the generation grown up in an
environment where technology is ubiquitous) check their social media accounts
on average every 15 minutes. While video games used to be the primary source
of extreme use of digital technologies, the smartphone has extended this risk to
a wider range of applications. A recent study found that 39% of 18- to 29-year-
olds in the United States are online “almost constantly”
Research suggests that the Internet triggers neurological processes similar to
other addictive substances and activities, i.e. experiences of short-term
pleasure in the brain’s “reward center”. This area releases a combination of
dopamine, opiates and other neurochemicals when activated, a mechanism that
can be compromised over time due to the deterioration of associated receptors,
requiring even more stimulation to get a similar response. Children and
teenagers, for biological reasons, are more susceptible to addiction because
their brain is still in development. For example, a study among 14-year-olds in
Belgium found that frequent gamers had brain abnormalities compared to other
teens, potentially resulting from dopamine releases associated with video
games.
There is evidence of a direct link between extreme Internet use and depression
and anxiety, but the nature of this relationship is disputed and is likely to be bi-
directional, as people with anxiety, depression and other mental health
problems are also potentially more likely to spend time online. A longitudinal
study run on 3 000 children in Singapore found that extreme video game use
and problems such as social phobia, attention deficit disorder, anxiety and
depression often occur together and are likely to be mutually reinforcing.
Theories in Technology
Technological Determinism
It is the theory which strongly believe that technology shapes the culture,
values, social structures of a society. The main reason why society progresses
is because of the kind technology the society has. Technological innovation is
the cause of the social progress. The technology has the control over the
society --- over human actions, culture and values. Technology greatly
influences human thought and action. In other words the society is changing
because of technology.
According to Winner, technology is not the slave of the human being but rather
humans are slaves to technology as they are forced to adapt to the
technological environment that surrounds them.
Example. The Medium is the Message by Marshall McLuhan. The technology
which is used as a channel of communication matter more than the content.
Example. The invention of the stirrup. It is the foot support for horse-riders.
Before its invention, riders were not able to use swords while riding in a horse
because they may lose balance. When the stirrup was invented, it enabled
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armored knights to fight on horseback. Because of this, it brought the
development of feudal societies --- a military rule by nobles or lords
Example. The invention of gun. Before, the weapons used were swords and
archery --- soldiers had to be skilled and trained in using these weapons. But a
new invention in technology changed it all. A gun was invented which require a
less effort and can be used
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even from far distances. This technology changed the way soldiers are
trained. It also changed how soldiers fight in a war.
Social Constructivism
Social Constructivism is the opposite of the Technological Determinism.
Social Constructivism believes that humans play a main role in shaping
technology rather than technology shaping society. It believes that
technology does not determine human action, but rather, human action
shapes the technology. Our curiosity, the hunger to expand, and the
need to do things efficiently drive us to create these technologies.
Technological Change
Technological change means the technical knowledge used in the
production of capital and machinery. The various changes in
technology leads to an increase in the productivity of labor, capital and
other production factors. Technological progress comprises of creation
of skill, new means of production, new uses of raw materials and the
widespread use of machinery.
The technology is the most powerful means of wresting power from
nature in all possible ways. It strengthens the facilities of man. Prof.
Frankel assumes that the, “Technological change is not a mere
improvement in the technical know-how. It means much more than
this. It should be preceded by sociological change also, a willingness
and desire on the part of community to modify their social, political and
administrative institutions so as to make them fit with new techniques
of production and faster tempo of economic activity.” Technology,
according to J. P. Dewhurts, in fact, can be thought of as the change in
the production process of material and human skills.
Process of Technological Change
Technological changes devise new goods and techniques of production.
The development of new technical knowledge can be defined as the
growth of the new technique that can produce goods and services at
lesser cost of production.
The process of growth of technical knowledge can be divided into following
stages:
(a) Formulation of scientific principles
(b)Application of these principles to give technical problems
(c) Development of technical inventions to the point of commercial
exploitation.
The first stage is the advancement in scientific knowledge, the second
is that of the application of this knowledge to some useful purposes and
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third is the commercialization of invention which is called innovation.
This has a great significance in the process of development.
Schumpeter has distinguished between invention and innovation.
Invention implies the discovery of new technique while innovation is
practical application of invention in production for market.
It may be called commercialization that originates from scientific
advancement. Invention is scientific fact while innovation is economic
fact. Inventions are carried on by the inventors large capital
investments at every stage as it needs not only a scientific attitude but
an attitude of the community and an entrepreneurial skill of high order
with the ability to understand the possibilities of employing scientific
incentives for commercial purposes.
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