Effects of Technology

“Technology is in effect accidental”. (Pg 12) It is hard to believe that something that is so influential is accidental in any way. In this article Williams discusses the effects of technology on society and the masses as a whole. There is one question I have to ask, is technology really the driving force of social change or does society have to change for technology to thrive?
Williams brings up a similar question on pg 14. “It is either a self acting force which creates new ways of life, or it is a self acting force which provides materials for new ways of life.” While reading this passage I began to think about the direct affect that technology has had on me. I remember as a young person I had a need for the television and my computer that I do not have now. I have found the balance between TV time and time to go out and do things with other people.
Williams also discusses that new technologies can create limits on society. I think that this is very true. We spoke of myths in class, and technology is a big myth that is continued throughout history. Now that we have television,, which Williams uses in the article we are now limited to thinking that our big source of entertainment should be the TV. “Consumer durables” as Williams describes on page 26, society becomes dependent on the new technology and expect a certain level of quality from them.
The creators of this new technology make the society believe that they have to keep up with the newest technology. Just as when television was coming out in color, the marketing companies made it seem as all people should get color TVs. Now the trend is that people have to have the most expensive model. People are made to believe that they have to have the LCD screen or plasma to get the highest quality picture.
What is the intention of making people believe that they have to have the most expensive TV? This feeds into the definitions of ideology, a group of people thinking or believing the same way. I hardly want to believe that a TV is an ideology, but it fits the definition. This draws me to my conclusion that technology is a driving force to social change. That without technology we do not challenge the status quo and do not try to go out and make new things happen. There are still beliefs and traditions that have been around for centuries and we still hold these true even through new technological advances.