Our Age: Social Change and Digitalization's Impact on Society

Our Age and Definitions

Sept 25, 2024 (1st LESSON) OUR AGE Different definitions for the same period: Post-industrial society (Bell, 1973): because we are in a post industrial society from the p.o.v of the Industrial Revolution. Information society (Webster, 1995): as information has become of paramount importance, information is critical to make choices and we are surrounded by information. Digital age (Negroponte, 1995): the digital influences our lives. Network society (Castells, 1996): as we live in a period where connections are crucial (think about LinkedIn -relationships between people are crucial-). Age of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) (Freeman and Louçã, 2001): the p.o.v is oriented to the technological part of our society (hardware/structure of our society)

Understanding Social Change

What is social change? It can be seen from different perspective so its definition will depend upon the perspective you assume to look at it. Social change can be understood as the transformation of culture and social institutions over time. It involves changes in laws, practices, attitudes, and even values within a society. These transformations can be gradual or rapid (e.g. think about how rapidly Covid has affected our everyday lives), depending on the nature of the driving forces behind them.

Factors Driving Social Change

Social Change can be promoted by everyone and the combination of the following factors:

1. Technological Advancements: the advent of new technologies has historically been a primary driver of social change. From the printing press to the Internet (e.g. you tend to study more on digital books than actual books), technological innovations have reshaped how societies communicate, produce goods, and engage with one another. The Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries, for example, radically altered labor systems, created urban centres, and transformed global economies.
2. Economic Factors (for example can lead to political change in a economical crisis): economic changes, such as shifts in production methods, trade systems, or labour practices, also significantly influence social structures. The rise of capitalism (industrialisation is linked to the economic transformation and leads to urbanisation) globalisation, and the subsequent shifts in wealth distribution have changed the class structures in many societies, fuelling both social mobility and inequality.
3. Cultural Shifts: cultural changes, often resulting from interactions between different societies or internal evolutions within a society, can redefine norms and values (the civil rights movement in the U.S, LGBT instances, =), Nelson Mandela against apartheid, suffragette (1903-1914 UK)
4. Political Changes (which needs stability to happen and its often interrelated with cultural change): political transformations, such as revolutions, changes in government policies, or the spread of democratic ideals, are key drivers of social change. Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe (1989-1991). The Arab Spring (2010s). USA presidential political election (past and future).

CHAPTER 1

Navigating the Digital World

GETTING LOST IN THE DIGITAL Imagine waking up in a world without digital technology-no phones, computers, or internet. Your routine would immediately change: no phone alarm, no social media, no digital calendars or online work tools. Tasks like accessing health data or submitting taxes would slow down drastically, relying on physical mail. But without pop-up ads, scams, or constant updates, you might feel more focused and calm. Digitalisation shapes almost every part of our lives. It's everywhere, influencing every process and interaction. Navigating this digital world can feel like exploring a dense, mysterious forest-full of both challenges and opportunities. This book will equip you with the tools to understand and explore the unknowns of digitalisation.

Core Themes of the Book

This book revolves around three core themes: social change, user perspectives, and critical thinking. Here's what each theme represents:

• Social Change: Digitalisation is framed as a driving force for social change, influencing how our behaviours, relationships, norms, and institutions evolve.
• User Perspectives: By focusing on how people use technology, we gain practical insights into how digitalisation plays out in everyday life.
• Critical Thinking: The book encourages a nuanced view, urging you to critically examine the relationship between technology and society, to understand its deeper impacts.

Rather than just giving facts, the goal is to equip you with tools to analyse and assess digital technologies, understand their consequences, and challenge assumptions about their "inevitable" effects on society.

1.1 Ubiquitous Digital Technology: Limited or Liberated?

Digital technology can be described as ubiquitous-something that is around us all the time, including when we sleep. Some argue that digital technologies, particularly digital media, are taking up too much space in their lives. Counter-movements like "Digital detox" aim for people to periodically stop using screens or to reduce screen time. It advocates a balanced approach to the use of media technologies and is motivated by the idea that reducing screen time will lead them to a more authentic, happy life. While an admirable goal, it is worth noting that such movements tend to idealize what it means to be "offline": regardless of how you personally feel about the time you spend with screens, if you decide to completely cut off digital technology from your life, you might find it challenging due to digital technology's ubiquity. Since most of us have bosses, clients, and commitments that require digital presence. Digitalisation can also give us increased security and belonging, as we can keep in contact with each other digitally, both while traveling and by sharing the ups and downs of our everyday lives. Society can also be made more transparent when registers, databases, or archives become digital and accessible to all. An important takeaway to already be aware of is that technology in itself is neither good nor bad.

1.2 It Could Be Otherwise (ICBO): Critical Thinking Foundation

In short, critical thinking is dependent on the ability to consider how the world could be different. By rejecting the idea that a technology's developmental trajectory and consequences for society are predetermined, we create space for the unknown to be recognized as a possibility. Moving through the digital "deep forest," there are many possible paths forward, and we have to make continuous decisions about which to follow. Occasionally we can find ourselves retracing our previous steps, falling off a cliff, or discovering that we had been following the tracks of a dangerous polar bear all along. This way of thinking is called "It Could Be Otherwise" (ICBO). ICBO meddles with what we take for granted and pushes against the limits of what we think is possible, acceptable, or desirable. ICBO is about showing awareness that there is no predetermined direction for how society and/or technology develops. We can easily see this through different countries' modes of government-for example, how Germany or China have chosen different strategies when faced with technology and systems developed in the US. China has chosen to develop and produce its own technologies and literally build a wall around its internet ("The Great Firewall of China"), while the EU has developed legislation and regulations like the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).ICBO rejects the idea that the way the world is ordered is somehow predetermined, inevitable, or necessary. ICBO stresses a critical lens through which we no longer think of today's technology as resulting from evolution, where the best and strongest technologies survive, but rather as the result of a process affected by coincidence, mess, and unforeseen consequences (-> invites us to think about digitalisation as driven by more than just "technological innovation.") Being able to identify alternative ways technology and society could function together, other than what we currently have, is the foundation of critical thinking about digitalization. Many institutions and companies see digitalization as a linear journey from A to Z, in which technology is introduced and either succeeds or fails. With such a perspective, digital technology is introduced into society with only two alternatives: it will either be accepted or be rejected. This underestimates the many ways in which things could be different and suggests we do not have the power to influence the digitalization process.

1.3 Opening the Black Box of Digitalization

Turning digitalization into a simple input-output model where new digital technology is "inputted" and consequences are "outputted" is to turn digital technology into a "black box" (i.e: knowing the "before" and "after" but not the "during). In this book, with the help of theory and empirical examples, we will open black boxes and show digitalization as a process comprising identifiable and influenceable factors. The ability to critically evaluate the process of digitalization can be considered a component of digital literacy, which is increasingly important and includes both being able to use digital technology and being able to exercise digital judgment. However, in order to think critically about digital technology, we need to consider its role in society and how it shapes our lives in specific ways. If we want to know what opportunities for change exist- and, through them, find ways to create better, more sustainable, and ethical technologies and societal solutions-we must understand how technology forms our lives.

1.4 Response to Political and Corporate Solutionism

The consequence of a profit-based technology sector and politicians' lagging behind is that we, as students, researchers, and citizens, need to do the work of learning critical perspectives and strategies. Critical perspectives are needed if we want to prevent digitalization from being reduced to solutionism or prestige projects-where the consequences of bad design, ethical shortcuts, and lacking regulatory decisions are put on us. Part of this responsibility is to ensure that digitalization does not become a process that