The Effect of Technology on Society
The invention of the television did great things for many kinds of communities. Television was the new way of mass communication. One could watch and listen to what another person had to say, whether it was the news, a public speech, or even just for entertainment. The television was used as a great medium for those who wanted to get a message across to the public. The television was a powerful tool in the 1970s. For example, the equal rights movement used this new piece of technology to their advantage. This movement was able to expose the sexism not only in the media but in the rest of the world through this medium. Also, since this medium was in almost every American home at the time, the word was easily spread of how women are treated and looked down upon in society. Females made it known that they were not second to men and in fact that they should have the same rights because of the fact they are human, too.
This movement took time to come in effect in society. According to Meyrowitz, this movement only really had an effect on the “first television generation.” The young generation, who were at a fragile age where their social skills were still developing, got their first glances at how they should be treating females with equality. A good example of this was in episode 6 of The Seventies when they were airing the tennis match match that was called “Battle of the Sexes.” After Bobby Riggs entered the arena, being carried in by females as if they were his slaves, Billie Jean King entered and the announcer said, “here comes Billie Jean King. A very attractive young lady if she ever let her hair down below her shoulders, took her glasses off you’d have somebody for a Hollywood film.” The media portrayed women as sex images and as property, not as people. I could not imagine if a sports announcer said something like that today. The power of the television was able to teach these young kids through a screen about the sexism that occurs across the country in day to day life.
Technology is constantly evolving and there are new ways of mass communication being introduced. Since technology is always changing, there will always be an age gap between the new and the old. Other than television, introduction of the internet was one of the most impactful pieces of technology on the world. Like the television, the internet was most impactful on the younger generations. It was almost natural for the younger generation to become accustomed to the internet its different uses. Older generations, like my parents, didn’t really grasp the internet until years later. They often asked myself or my brother how to use the internet in some ways.
The internet was the start of a new world. There were new ways of communicating, new ways of entertainment, and also new ways of security in families. The internet eventually evolved into a wireless internet connection, or Wi-Fi, that enabled anyone to have access to the web anywhere they went. This led to the newest piece of technology where there was also a similar age gap when it came to the knowledge of how to use these phones. Today, some people’s entire lives are on these phones because of all the capabilities a smartphone have. Some people would admit that they can’t live without it. Although, the older generations would not be those types of people. To this day my parents are still asking me how to do things on their phones. No one would have guessed that it would be the youth teaching our elders.
With the world around us never ceasing to evolve, technology will be the power source behind that cause. The introduction will never end and there are new inventions to come. That being said, the pattern of the youth teaching to the old will never end. I can see it now that my children and their children will be teaching me how to use the latest and greatest technologies. It is odd see how technology has changed not only the world for better but also us as people in society. There will continue to be news ways and mediums of communication. This will result different effects on society. What matters is how we use these new mediums and hopefully it is for the better. Just like those females did during the equal rights movement in order to better our culture.