According to
dictionary.com, “technology is the sum of the ways in which social groups
provide themselves with the material objects of their civilization.” Today, if
you were to ask a millennial what their definition of technology is, there
would be a general consensus that it must be digital and rechargeable. However,
what they would really be referring to is new media. The revolution of new
media is the conversion of making numerical data accessible digitally. The
definition of technology has clouded now that computers are immersed into every
nook and cranny of our lives. Most technological advancements, as of late, have
been implemented with new media. The progression exemplifies the ideas, state,
and priorities of the current society
Paper, the most
classic form of old media, has probably reached version 403281 at this point. As
early as 1200 BC ancient Egyptians used papyrus, a weed that grows along the
banks of the Nile River, to create the very first prototype of paper. Documentation
was finally able to be written on a light, tangible medium and soon enough
paper became the latest rave. It became ubiquitous and quintessential to
society. This day-long process of soaking, mashing, and drying became quickly industrialized
by Egypt’s neighbors. Fast forward to the 15th century the printing
press was invented and accessibility to information spread. Not only was
information able to be spread to a greater audience, but also in a shorter duration
of time. People who used to wait for months to weeks for mail now had accessed
to it in seconds. Technology is moving at a pace faster than what people could
have imagined. Writing on papyrus was revolutionary for its time, and is now
being superseded by computers or tablets, otherwise known as new media.
Culture and technology is always tied
to what we plan for the future. Phantom
of the Operator, a documentary about the history female telephone
operators, illustrates the progress of telephone operators transitioning to
automated voices. In the early 20th century, civilian telephone
operators were almost exclusively women. Women were believed to be naturally
more polite and welcoming. Companies used to put out promotional videos
directed at women implying their dream job is to be a telephone operator until they
becomes a housewife. These women had to undergo intensive training and had to
adopt the slogan, “Voices with a Smile” to optimize the experience for the
person on the receiving end. Thousands of women were working as an operator but
soon lost it’s appeal and demand as dial service and then computerization,
gradually displaced women workers.
People continue
to daydream about what the future of technology has in store for us. Fire, for
example, is one of the most primitive and underrated technologies. It was and
still is an essential source of light and heat. There are many elements
required in making a fire, such as wind currents or the materials available.
Before technologies that could easily make fires, wet and rainy night could
potentially mean no food and no heat for the night. One could only imagine of a
lighter or matches to add convenience to their lives. Revenue of sci-fi movies
is very telling of how people are dreamers. 2001: A Space Odyssey, for example,
is one of the most successful sci-fi movies in its time. Premiering in 1968,
this film is about two astronauts on a mission with their computer system Hal.
Hal was a super robot that was able to communicate and control the space ship.
These fantasies of being able to communicate with robots are now our reality as
evident through our current generation where asking their Google Home Assistant
to turn up the heat, adjusting the temperature to just right, is considered our
norm.
Today, technology
is inseparable from sociocultural ideas. Phantom
of the Operator exemplified the desire for innocuous female voices. With
time, telephone operators have been substituted by automated voices, and not
surprisingly with female voices such as Apple’s Siri. Siri having a female
voice displays the notion that women as subservient still holds in the 21th
century. As virtual assistant, Siri minimizes the use for people defers people
from doing things manually. Old media, like papyrus or manual tasks such as
turning on the heat, are being superseded by new media. New media has done an
amazing job at maximizing the scope and reaching masses. Siri, for example, has
a target demographic of anyone who can communicate by listening and speaking. The
traditional means of accomplishing tasks are now digitized and transitioning to
new media.
Into the Wires 