ARTÍCULO
TITULO

Technological Determinism vs. Social Shaping of Technology. The influence of activity trackers on user?s attitudes

Iulia Ruxandra ?ICAU    
Shahrazad HADAD    

Resumen

Technology and its influence upon society have turned into a controversial topic in today?s fast-developing world, where advances in innovation are continuous, fast, and complex. The relationship between technology and society has become an increasing interest for many researchers, trying to explore and clarify this connection. This article focuses on the psychological impact of technology, expressed through activity tracking devices, upon user?s attitudes towards pursuing an active lifestyle. To conduct the analysis, users ? registered behavioral changes after engaging with technological devices are explored, by examining academic literature reports studies, supplemented by experimental material written by the users themselves on publicly available websites. The study proposes a deductive research design, by constructing its analysis on a relevant theoretical framework, that of Technological Determinism theory, which advocates that technology can influence society, however without being affected by humans. Nevertheless, the results of the research show that the relationship between technology and society is not that linear, as influences coming from the social environment usually interact and impact the way technology is used. This determines the consideration of an additional theoretical concept to the analysis, that of Social Shaping of Technology, and changes the dynamics of exploring the topic. Conclusions demonstrate that the relationship between user and technology can be characterized as a double-way approach,  with complex and ambiguous attributes, where both forces interact and can lead to positive and constructive behavioral outcomes but also to critical and hard to control mental conditions.

 Artículos similares

       
 
Tingting Zhou,Dandan Hu     Pág. 211 - 230
Existing literature has confirmed the importance of science and technology innovation on its promoting sustainable, healthy and rapid growth of economy from the perspective of innovation forms, regional environment, and time phases, but the influence of ... ver más

 
Ruxandra BEJINARU     Pág. 367 - 380
Due to the accelerated pace with which developments in information and communications technology are taking place, digital society and the digital economy have become real and, in turn, are generating specific challenges. In this environment, digital ski... ver más

 
Benny Budiawan Tjandrasa     Pág. 188 - 196
Consumer tastes have changed, technology is increasingly sophisticated and communication is no longer constrained by distance and time. Ease and speed of this transaction also support the development of online stores in Indonesia. On the one hand, the pr... ver más

 
Shinta Setia     Pág. 13 - 23
Working as entrepreneurs has become popular in Indonesia in recent years. The reason is not only they are deemed to be as a hero by the society, but also they are seen as an alternative career by young generation. This is due to their being quite attract... ver más

 
Manuela Epure     Pág. 4 - 5
Digital transformation, occurred in the past recent years, impacts many areas: from economics to society and reveal new opportunities, today when half of the world?s population is connected to the Internet but less than half trust that technology will ma... ver más