Technology, Information and Society

Term Paper # 100258

Communication > Mass Media
Computer and Technology > Technology
Sociology > Media and Society

Examines three articles regarding technology's impact on society today: Neil Postman's "Science and the Story that We Need", V. Mosco and D. Foster's "Cyberspace and the End of Politics" and L. Winner's "Interview with Langdon Winner: Technology as Big M

1,501 words () | 4 sources | APA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper explores how the development and rise of mass media and mass communication has influenced our society. The paper looks at three texts that examine the promises, claims and the future of technology and information. This includes "Science and the Story that We Need" by Neil Postman, "Cyberspace and the End of Politics" by V. Mosco and D. Foster and "Interview with Langdon Winner: Technology as Big Magic and other Myths" by L. Winner. The paper compares these texts and argues that Winner's argument is most convincing, as he examines broader issues and potential problems that we may face in the future.

From the Paper:

"Neil Postman in his article "Science and the Story That We Need" claims that the technological advancements have solved the problem of information scarcity and the speed by which the information is exchanged. Our present technological level has managed to defeat the barriers of space, time and form. Indeed we all are aware how much the technological breakthroughs and media put emphasis on the speed and amount of information delivered. For example, the commercials for high speed Internet, for new computers, newspapers, TV news etc. are all based on the speed and amount of information delivered. However, Postman notes that this has created a new problem in that "our technological ingenuity transformed information into a form of garbage, and ourselves into garbage collectors." (Postman, 1997)"

Sample of Sources Used:

Mosco, V. and Foster, D. "Cyberspace and the end of politics". Journal of Communication Inquiry, 25(3), 2001: 218-236
Postman, N. "Science and the story that we need", First Things, 69, 1997:29-32 < http://print.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9701/articles/postman.html> accessed on November 7, 2006
Winner, L. "Interview with Langdon Winner: Technology as big magic and other myths" IEEE Technology and Society Magasine, 17(3), 1998: 4-16.
Weber, F. Theories of the Information Society, 2nd. Edition. London: Routledge, ???/

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APA Citation:

Technology, Information and Society (2012, January 15). Retrieved February 13, 2012, from http://www.academon.com/Term-Paper-Technology-Information-and-Society/100258

MLA Citation:

"Technology, Information and Society" 15 January 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. <http://www.academon.com/Term-Paper-Technology-Information-and-Society/100258>