A technological determinist approach to understanding the evolution of mobile phones
References: Winston, Brian (1990) How are Media Born? Questioning the Media: A Critical Introduction. Sage Publications, Newbury Park. According to Brian Winstons reading, How are Media Born?, there are two perspectives that academics use to analyze the nature of technological change in the sphere of mass communication: the perspectives of technological determinism and cultural determinism. In my essay, I will use the technological determinism approach to account for the evolution process of mobile phones. The development of mobile phones across time we have moved from Motorolas first phone to Apples iPhone can be seen as the progress of great men (Winston, 2). The mobile phone is probably one of the most progressive inventions, which has completely changed the way of communication. Technological breakthroughs have influenced the makes, models and inert features of the mobile phones: innovations are being done with advanced cameras, MMS features, infrared, and Bluetooth facilities.
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software application amongst smartphone users. Media theorist Marshall McLuhan wrote that in communications, technology was the determining influence (Winston, 12), which can be shown in the case of mobile phones. With smartphone technology, the ability to engage in mass communication amongst users has been made available.
Recent advancements in mobile phone technology have enabled users to access Wi-Fi from their mobile phones. Wi-Fi allows users to access the internet with the help of a Wi-Fi router. This has widened the modes of communication as internet access is available to mobile users. As a result, verbal conversation has gone from being the primary means of communication to become one of many channels of communication, making it the last resort to do what? especially for the younger generation (i.e. they may try to contact their friends through Facebook, SMS, Twitter and many other channels and only when they fail
Dr. Martin Cooper, who was working for Motorola in 1973, is the inventor of the first successful mobile phone. He wished to invent a form of personal wireless communication that was distinct from cellular car phones, and came up with the mobile phone. He believed that people did not want to be subject to the hassle of a stationary telephone, even if it could be brought along with them while they were on the move.
to do so, make a voice call). This change in communication behaviour that is driven by multi channel communications reinforces Raymond Williamss definition of technological determinism as an immensely powerful and now largely orthodox view of the nature of social change and also echoes the idea that the discovery of new technologies sets the conditions of social change and progress.
Communication allows people to connect with each other around the world. With the Since then, mobile phones have evolved from simple communication devices to powerful portable computers, and this has revolutionized the technological scene. The term smartphone was coined. The smartphone differs from ordinary mobile phones in that they have the capacity of advanced functionality and executing software applications installed in the phones. In the past, mobile phones served purely as a means of communicating with others and communicators could only talk to one person at a time. By todays standards, these devices are not considered to be very "smart" because they cannot accommodate a calendar/organizer, advanced internet connectivity, photography, music and video. Moreover, users can now engage the function of group messaging chatting with many people at the same time and WhatsApp is an example of this development of telecommunication technology, wireless communication has developed very rapidly. Technology has made such a huge impact on society that most people do not leave home without carrying their mobile phones. From the technological determinist viewpoint, technology will continue to lay the groundwork for future media change and the evolutionary process of mobile phones is not likely to cease. According to Marshall McLuhans famous quote the medium is the message, the way people consume media content from their mobiles phones are going to move in tandem with the evolution of the mobile phones, which in this case, is the acting medium of communication.
