Research Paper on Media Technologies and Social and Cultural Change

Introduction

Social and cultural practices are fundamental aspects of human life. They have been indicated to change over time. Social change is a gradual alteration of a community's behavioral patterns (Vihalemm, Kiisel & Berry 2016, p. 23). Cultural change, however, is all about the transformation or reconstruction of the cultural aspects of human life (Ouellette 2019, p. 85). These aspects of human life are under the intense influence of technological advances. This is because modern technology is not part of any traditional cultures, and because technology use is increasing day and night, it marks massive changes on the cultural and social aspects of life, especially in the today's society. For instance, technological aspects are widely used in today's societies for transport, communication, learning, luxury activities as well as in the basic activities. In this manner, technologies occupy a central position in shaping today's cultural and social activities.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The Role of Media Technologies

Abolition of Traditional Practices

Narrowing down to media technologies, there has been significant abolishment of cultural aspects of life. For instance, the introduction of social media has eradicated the practice of families coming together to share their experiences. This was a common practice among various communities, and it has been replaced by communication through the media. For instance, individuals can chat and share their experiences through social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and the rest. In this dimension, media technologies increase and decrease social ties among members of various societies (Robinson, Cotten & Schulz 2015, p. 79).

The point of the abolishment of traditional practices is a fundamental subject, courtesy of technology, that cuts across various aspects of life. Another typical example that illustrates this point is the business culture. In the contemporary world, there is much stress on globalization and internationalization of business organizations. In this way, people interact through social media, and the net effect is the transfer of cultural and social aspects of life from one part of the world to another (Schroeder 2018, p. 82). The theoretical explanation of this phenomenon relies on the use of the internet, and again, media technologies introduce better ways of doing business. For instance, the aspect of social marketing as an excellent example of this point. It has replaced the traditional trade culture that requires traders and their consumers to physically meet in designated marketplaces and shops. Today, there is increased use of online trade in which buyers order goods which are delivered at their doorsteps. The same case applies to foodstuffs in which there is much consumption of contemporary foods. The preparation of these foodstuffs has also been informed by the new technologies in which nutritionists play a crucial role in educating individuals on a new combination of foods as well as recipes. This has led to the abolition of traditional ways of food preparation.

Television

Television also plays a key role in changing the social and cultural aspects of life. Currently, the global distribution of televisions is high, and this makes it the most used media technology in homes as well as business organization, and it the process of its use, it confers changes in the social and cultural activities (Keller, Halkier, Wilska & Truninger 2017, p. 459). It achieves this by altering the social structure alongside transforming the social characters among individuals (Keller, Halkier, Wilska & Truninger 2017, p. 459). The net effect is a complete transformation of a society's culture.

Conclusion

The rise of new technologies, especially media technologies, has a fundamental influence on cultural and social changes witnessed in various communities. The underlying point here is that these technologies facilitate the transfer of traditional practices from one place to another, alteration of traditional cultural practices as well as creating of new trends and patterns regarding social and cultural practices.

References

Keller, M., Halkier, B., Wilska, T.A. and Truninger, M. eds., 2017. Routledge Handbook on Consumption. Taylor & Francis. Accessed on 6th March 2019.https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=1C0lDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA459&dq=role+of+media+technologies+in+social+and+cultural+changes&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjXxpu_v3gAhXC6OAKHWT1A4YQ6AEIQjAF#v=onepage&q=role%20of%20media%20technologies%20in%20social%20and%20cultural%20changes&f=false

Ouellette, L. (2017). Keywords for media studies. Accessed on 6th March 2019. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=gunuDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA85&dq=how+media+technology+reconstruct+and+transform+social+and+cultural+aspects+of+life&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi467XT3u3gAhXhDmMBHTkuCDMQ6AEILjAB#v=onepage&q=how%20media%20technology%20reconstruct%20and%20transform%20social%20and%20cultural%20aspects%20of%20life&f=false

Robinson, L., Cotten, S. R., & Schulz, J. (2015). Communication and information technologies annual: politics, participation, and production. Bingley, U.K., Emerald. Accessed on 6th March 2019. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=cgaLBgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=role+of+media+technologies+in+social+and+cultural+changes&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjXxpu_v3gAhXC6OAKHWT1A4YQ6AEIODAD#v=onepage&q=role%20of%20media%20technologies%20in%20social%20and%20cultural%20changes&f=false

Schroeder, R. (2018). Social theory after the Internet: media, technology, and globalization. http://www.oapen.org/search?identifier=648367. Accessed on 6th March 2019. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=2iVFDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=role+of+media+technologies+in+social+and+cultural+changes&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjXxpuv3gAhXC6OAKHWT1A4YQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=role%20of%20media%20technologies%20in%20social%20and%20cultural%20changes&f=false

Vihalemm, T., Keller, M., Kiisel, M., & Berry, B. (2016). From Intervention to Social Change A Guide to Reshaping Everyday Practices. Accessed on 6th March 2019. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=Pm1xCgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=social+change&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwimlt2euu3gAhUF1eAKHY1MDAEQ6AEIVjAI#v=onepage&q=social%20change&f=false