How Social Changes Change Technology

Technology is a field that is constantly changing and growing – always innovating and making what was once impossible, possible. As technology changes, the way that we use, interact with, and think about what a device or service should be changes as well. For example, in the late 1980's when the first mobile phones were invented, the idea of sending a text or SMS message seemed ludicrous. Today, texting has become the preferred way to communicate - for a large segment of the population.

At first glance, it seems that as technology changes and evolves, do does society. It made me wonder – Does technology, in fact, change society or are technological innovations a reflection of an already changing society?

I did some research and found that, for the most part, society has to change before the technology changes. Of course, there are always a few vanguards – innovators who are ahead of their time – but it takes a new, different outlook to create new ways to use technology.

Take the telephone for example. When it was first introduced, it was marketed as a tool for business. Families were told that having a phone would give them the ability to connect with authorities in the event of an emergency. Since the people who were behind the telephone were former telegraph men, it was logical for them to think of the phone as a quicker way to send brief messages across the country. In fact, in the early stages of the telephone, Bell actively tried to discourage people from using it for purely social reasons and they even cautioned customers not to use the device for “idle gossip."

In spite of the warning, people quickly began using the phone as a way to talk with friends and family – some of whom lived in different parts of the country. As years passed, the telegraph men moved up in the company and a younger group of executives took their place. Since they already used the phone for social reasons, they felt it was silly to resist the change and they introduced the country to the idea of “reaching out and touching someone” with the power of the telephone.

Soon, people everywhere were using the phone as their primary communications tool. As for the gossip, it only grew worse as party lines grew in popularity. If you aren't familiar with them, they basically were a phone line that was shared between several apartments or homes. Each family had a different number and a distinctive ring tone. Since the phone line was shared, it was simple for people to eavesdrop on their neighbors conversations.

Many years passed and society underwent more changes. As women moved into the workplace in greater numbers, leaving no one at home to answer the phone, finding ways to send and receive secure messages became a large concern. To fill that need, a young man named Gordon Matthews patented the first voicemail service in 1982. Although it was only available for executives at large companies through a dial up VMX service, the idea grew and eventually became the voice mail service we all know and use today.

From there, technology grew to embrace mobile phones and dial-up internet. However, since phone companies were the first to create and bring these devices to the market, they were heavily influenced by their strong background. In fact, even the first attempts at what would come to be the smart phone were still very telephone-like. If you think about devices like the original Blackberry or Palm Pilot, you can see the similarities to a traditional phone.

The people who are innovators now are the same people who have been using the Internet to communicate with their friends and families for years. Their social use of the technology has directly influenced the rise of social media, social shopping and even smart phones that are capable of messaging and communicating with others in many different ways. Because they aren't being held back by their idea of what this sort of device should look like, they are able to create the technology that meets the needs of a changing society.

Since it's clear that social change has always led to technological change, I'm interested in seeing what this generation of teens, who have grown up using computers and mobile devices, will create in the future. Without the bias of their parents' generation, they will be able to bring a fresh, unique outlook to the process.

Do you think that society changes in response to technological changes, or do you think it's the other way around? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

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