Digital Sociality in Late Modernity

• Digital sociality consists of the technological environment, social interactions, and social networks
• The aim is to present a theoretical discussion about the three elements of digital sociality, and their interactions with each other
• Using different theoretical traditions contemporary personal relationships, social connectivity, networks, and technological transformation will be drawn upon to create this framework

Late Modernity: Choices and Risks

• A globally connected society gives people more freedom of choice of how to live
• More choices lead to more responsibility, and less support from traditional institutions
• Self reflection and decision making are constant
• A risk society results in more and new risks, such as environmental crises, financial uncertainties, and data privacy issues
• Individuals navigate risks adjusting social connections and self-identity

Late Modernity: Choices and Risks (Continued)

• Reflexivity, individualization, and globalization create new patterns of social, political, economic, and personal life organization
• These patterns characterize late or second modernity, according to Giddens, Beck, Beck-Gernsheim, and Lash
• In a "risk society", individuals must rework social ties and identities without traditional institutional support
• This highlights the complexity of choices, rules, conducts, and strategies in social connectivity

Postmodernism

• Postmodernism is a hyper-technological version of modernity
• It is an extension/critique of modernity
• Technology accelerates societal changes, and influences understanding of reality, identity, and community

Theorizing Technology-Society Relationship

• Social Scientists are interested in technology-society relationships
• This has resulted in different philosophies on how technology relates to society, on micro, mezzo, and macro levels.
• Fischer identifies three main perspectives: impact analysis, symptomatic approach, and social constructivism
• These aforementioned perspectives give alternative interpretations to the socio-technical relationship

The Dilemma

• Is technological development an outcome of social progress, or is technological innovation the motive power of the structural organization of contemporary societies?
• This dilemma helps researchers identify cause and effect of potential social change associated with technological innovation

Straightforward View

• The straightforward and one-dimensional view of technology is oversimplified
• Technology influences society.
• Society influencing/being technology

Deterministic and Symptomatic Approaches

• Deterministic and Symtomatic approaches looks at technology and society as if they would represent separate, independent spheres
• Deterministic approach: The emphasis is on the impacts of technology on social structure
• The Symptomatic approach: The emphasis is on how the social structure shapes the technology

Impact Analysis

• Technology is an external force that impacts society
• Technological innovations cause social change in a linear and deterministic way
• The impacts of technology on various aspects of society, like work, communication, and leisure are measured

Symptomatic Approach

• Technological changes are symptoms of underlying social, economic, and cultural changes
• Instead of being viewed as the primary driver of change, technological development is viewed as a reflection of societal trends and values

Social Constructivism

• Technology is shaped by social processes, not an independent force
• This shapes interests, values, and power dynamics of groups
• This shows the role of human agency in technological development, leading to varied outcomes based on social context

Role of Social Context

• Social context is largely ignored in impact analysis
• Social context determines technology deployment in the symptomatic approach
• In social constructivism, it is a constitutive dimension of technological deployment

Technological Determinism Theory

• Technological determinism theory was coined by the American economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929)
• It is a theory that states social change depends on technology that understands social reality as a system made up of technology
• Technology is independent, impacting the structure and relation in the social world
• Reductionist theory says technology drives the development of social structure, and cultural values

Explanation of Technological Determinism

• Most Technological Determinism Interpretations share ideas
• Idea 1: Technology itself follows a traceable path beyond cultural influence
• Idea 2: Technology effects societies inherently, resulting in society organizing itself

Explanation of Technological Determinism II

• Technical advancements are shown as the central movers in social change
• Technology influence does not depend on how much it is utilized
• Technological determinism defines technology as the foundation for human activity

Implicit Propositions

• Technology is neutral and not influenced by economic factors
• The development of technology in society is unstoppable
• Technological advancement is transformative

Hard vs. Soft Determinism

• Hard technological determinism is extreme, and a specific ITC is a sole cause determining social organization and development
• Soft technological determinism is more widely accepted, and claims ITC is enabling, leading to opportunities

Hard vs. Soft Determinism II

• Billiard-ball model: Technological development is an autonomous force, causing a cascade effect that reorganizes social structures
• Impact-imprint model: Technologies have perceived properties, that determine how people perceive social reality

Impact-Imprint Model Explained

• Impact phase: The Impact isn't deterministic, offering different possibilities depending on different factors
• Imprint phase: Societal actors engage with the technology, leading to change

Impact-Imprint Model example

• The example provided here is for WhatsApp
• Impact phase: WhatsApp offers free, instant messaging, accessible worldwide, and supports various communication across international borders
• Imprint Phase: The way WhatsApp has been integrated reflects Imprint Phase
• Cultural norms: WhatsApp has become a tool for business and education in many countries Privacy: Societal demands such as encryption are given

Examples of Technological Determinism

• The invention of the gun changed disputes, and lead to weapons in wars which are now characterized by nuclear energy
• The discovery of steam power lead to the industrial and information age

Technological Determinism and Media

• New media have a deterministic factor
• Marshall McLuhan said that the medium is the message, the medium influences the receiver
• the internet, news print, and television have shown how technology has an impact on society

Technological Determinism and Media II

• Printing press: Allowed the mass productions of texts, leading to spread of ideas
• Television: Transformed how societies gather, and influenced societal values
• Social media alters how the world understands the way communities, people, and perceptions are viewed

Critisms of Technological Determinism

• Reductionism: The determinism oversimplifies the social complexity by singling out technology
• Human agency: The agency is ignored and shapes the technological change based on the needs and desires of each person impacted
• Social context: Social content is shaped by culture, and economy, and political forces
• Ethical: The assumption the technology is always progressive is not right.

Symptomatic approach

• Most perspectives of technological determinism is rejected
• Cultural artifacts come in as an introduction to the technology-society relationship
• Technology has always been an inherent social structure, and looked at as a material expression of political or cultural relationships from an economic standing
• Social uses come as a result of political or cultural norms

Domestication Theory I

• Identifies the social and cultural aspects of the users consumption of technology
• The user is said to have dominant roles in how it can be shaped
• The economics and social relations within the household help define the consumption of technology in society

Domestication Theory II

• ICTs are incorporated into routines of family lives
• Roger Silverstone is a proponent of the theory
• Technologies have become integral to providing information and entertainment

Domestication theory III

• Rogers describes the domestication concept with a 4 step process
• The step 1 Appropriation: following values and technological adaptions that adhere
• Step 2 Objectification: a physical placement of the surrounding environment of the home

Domestication theory IV

• Domestication theory IV is still a 4 step process.
• Step 3 Incorporation: Integration of the object in to everyday practices
• Step 4 Conversion: Transformation in to a meaningful aspect

Theories of Social Constructivism

• Social constructivism
• Social construction of technology (SCOT)
• Actor-network theory (ANT)
• The systems theory

Social Constructivism I

• Social constructivism states is in between the determinant positions
• Social constructivist approaches were developed in the 1980s
• The social and technical go hand in hand

Social Constructivism II

• One fundamental modification in the interpretation is relationship is structure of social rules
• Consumers can be customers or stakeholders
• But cultures interact with the role in process

Development of theory

• There are three branches of a theory
• 1 The SCOT theory
• 2 The Actor-Network theory
• 3 The Social System theory

Social construction of technology (SCOT)

• Social constructivists theory contend technology does not determine actions, but actions determine technology
• The ways how technology is use cannot be understood without understanding the technology embeded in its environment
• It is a response to technological determinism and is known as technological constructivism
• The outcome is due to social processes within a social environment

Safety bicycle

• SCOT was introduced in 1984
• Find out more online for the safety bicycle and SCOT

Framework for SCOT

• Every interaction can be understood as a series of negotiations
• To understand the mechanism 4 related notions of SCOT that are related introduced were
• 1 Relevant groups
• 2 interpretive flexibility
• 3 closure mechanism/stabilization
• 4 Technological frame

Relevant Social groups I

• Members that share the same artifacts
• groups have interests/objectives and are determined on how to share the different technologies applied
• The groups are distinguished but have differing interpretations or shared
• The group can be an organization or an institution

Relevant Groups II

• basic groups are the users and the producers, but these groups can be determined in multiple tiers
• Examples are safety bicycle and manufacturers

Interpretive Flexibility

• Interpretive Flex is the concept that distinguished SCOT with other social constructivist theories
• flexibility states that technology are given uses/ meaninings depending on each group that is involved with the artifact
• Various groups interpret diverse meanings

Closure mechanism / stabilization I

• The social and meanings become stabalized
• The mechanism are from results such as social domination that conclude Recursive negotiation in groups
• There are two mechanisms closure mechanisms
• -Rhetorical closure has referring problems
• -Redefinition refers has problems stratagizing

Mechanism/Stabilization II

• Example QWERTY keyboard where slowing the speed and prevent mechanical and that are ergonomic
• Saftey Bicycles was that has alignment
• Closure is never permanent that means a interpretative can have impacts
• closure is archived where social groups mean the same things

Technological frame

• Frames refer to social and economic background
• Members in each group are in in technology frameworks
• Frameworks have different goals or designers practice

The actor-network theory (ANT) I

• Approached within constructivist by callon and latour that the approach is critic to SCOT theory
• authors critizied the SCOT that determing the power and importance of it in the design and deployment
• They continued of relations within technology however try to fix a divide of what interacts each other
• with different view of social and technique ANT views are separate from analytic framework

Actor-Network Theory II

• Ant rejects what is the ideal fixed material that changes shifts in society however relates in contructed effect
• Ant technologies contructed and relates both cultural and material elements
• social uses well as symobolic in conatant
• Its basic entities does things network group the nature of unpsecified.

Dynamic nature of networks

• ANT is based of understanding has to deploy agents
• intercation in relation theorized in networks to relating with people
• Ant have no assumptions that exist claims factor roles its pretermined in dyamic networks.

Ant Examples I

• . Having a drink is a form between many with each these are elements that can have social custom and etc
• Any soical situtaiton composed isn't decicisve or in the social network.

Ant everyday example II

• From a perspective we cant say its analytic, how for daily lives we are only awared what the bank is is composes
• Even we are aware of its components it doesn't always have preventit from using for whats not working

Punctualization

• Why is this?
• Theory explains its terms how actors act
• When network is perfored that where is replaced action alone single actor

Ant anaylitcal framework

• Order analyse merge technology ANT a frame work has three stages networks
• 1Inscription
• 2 translation
• 3 reframing

Framing inscriptions

• Processes can enable meanings in objects change technoloical articrafts
• That stage the technoloigcal that are design that device how the people affect content with new objects

Ant Framework Inscription

• the ideals are challenged when they redefine culture practives
• has translation in stages
• the actor finds the problems that needs to be solved

Ant Framework framing

• The key for the actors find a agreement their own stake
• Framing the conditon material to sybolic in artifacts
• result successful networks appears united.