Technology and Culture Cheat Sheet

The core ideas of Technology and Culture distilled into a single, scannable reference — perfect for review or quick lookup.

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Quick Reference

Technological Determinism

The theory that technology is the primary driver of social and cultural change, shaping human behavior, institutions, and values in ways that are largely inevitable once a technology is introduced. Hard determinism sees technology as an autonomous force; soft determinism acknowledges human agency but emphasizes technology's powerful influence.

Social Construction of Technology (SCOT)

A framework arguing that technology does not determine human action but is instead shaped by social groups, cultural values, and political negotiations. Different groups interpret and use the same technology differently, and its final form reflects social choices rather than purely technical logic.

Digital Divide

The gap between individuals, communities, and nations that have access to modern information and communication technologies and those that do not. The divide encompasses not only physical access to devices and internet connectivity but also digital literacy and the ability to use technology meaningfully.

Algorithmic Culture

The ways in which algorithms increasingly mediate cultural experiences, from what news people see to what music they hear, what products they buy, and whom they connect with. Algorithmic curation shapes taste, opinion, and behavior at a massive scale.

Medium Theory

The study of how the characteristics of a communication medium (oral, print, electronic, digital) influence the culture that uses it. Marshall McLuhan's famous phrase 'the medium is the message' captures the idea that the form of a medium affects society as much as its content.

Cultural Lag

William F. Ogburn's concept that material culture (technology) often changes faster than non-material culture (values, norms, laws, institutions), creating a period of maladjustment as society struggles to adapt its practices and regulations to new technological realities.

Platform Capitalism

An economic model in which digital platforms (Google, Amazon, Uber, Airbnb) serve as intermediaries that extract value from user data, network effects, and the coordination of supply and demand, reshaping labor markets, consumption patterns, and cultural practices.

Techno-Orientalism

The cultural phenomenon of projecting Western anxieties and fantasies about technology onto East Asian societies, often depicting them as either hyper-technological utopias or dystopias. It intersects with racial and cultural stereotyping in media and popular culture.

Digital Literacy

The ability to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information using digital technologies. It encompasses technical skills, critical thinking about online information, understanding of digital privacy and security, and the capacity to participate meaningfully in digital culture.

Globalization and Cultural Homogenization

The process by which global communication technologies spread dominant cultural products, values, and practices (often Western) worldwide, potentially eroding local traditions and cultural diversity. Counter-arguments point to cultural hybridization and resistance.

Key Terms at a Glance

Actor-Network Theory:A theoretical framework developed by Bruno Latour that treats both human and non-human entities as agents in networks that produce social outcomes.

Algorithmic Bias:Systematic errors in algorithmic systems that produce unfair outcomes, often reflecting and amplifying existing social inequalities embedded in training data or design choices.

Attention Economy:An economic model in which human attention is treated as a scarce resource that technology platforms compete to capture and monetize.

Convergence Culture:Henry Jenkins' concept describing the flow of content across multiple media platforms driven by the cooperation between media industries and active audiences.

Cultural Homogenization:The process by which dominant cultural products and values spread globally through technology, potentially eroding local traditions and diversity.

Cultural Lag:The period of maladjustment that occurs when technology changes faster than the social norms, laws, and institutions needed to govern it.

Cyberculture:The culture and social practices that emerge from and are shaped by internet use, including virtual communities, online identity, and digital creative expression.

Digital Colonialism:The use of digital technology by powerful nations and corporations to exert economic and cultural control over less powerful regions.

Digital Divide:The gap between those with and without meaningful access to and ability to use information and communication technologies.

Digital Literacy:The competencies required to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information using digital technologies, including critical thinking about online content.

Filter Bubble:A state of intellectual isolation resulting from algorithmic personalization that limits a user's exposure to diverse viewpoints.

Globalization:The increasing interconnectedness of world economies, cultures, and populations through cross-border trade, communication, and migration, accelerated by technology.

Luddism:Historical movement of workers who destroyed machines that threatened their livelihoods; in modern usage, skepticism or opposition to unchecked technological advancement.

Medium Theory:The study of how the characteristics of communication media shape the cultures that use them, independent of specific content.

Network Society:Manuel Castells' concept of a social structure organized around digital information networks rather than traditional industrial or agrarian frameworks.

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