“How does variation in culture effect technological adoption?” The wikipedia definition of culture is :Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning “to cultivate,”) generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance. Different definitions of “culture” reflect different theoretical bases for understanding, or criteria for evaluating, human activity. I really am having a hard time figuring out how exactly culture effects technology adoption. I’ve been reading the blogs and text, but have drawn no conclusion to what the effects are. It seems that the technology is embraced by people that understand what to do and how to use it and the others that are scared of change and don’t understand it are not adopting the technology. This is evident in schools by teachers that are set in their ways, have been teaching forever and don’t feel it is necessary to change their teaching habits. I read in the Solomon text that, minorities are not adopting technology as well as “whites” are and that the African American population isn’t interested in what the internet has to offer. I don’t understand what makes one person want to embrace new technologies and another loath it. Maybe it is the fear of change or loosing a piece of what you grew up doing that some cultures don’t like. I guess if we really knew the answer to that question posed by Nate, than we could begin to work on solving the problem. Let me know if I am really off track. I just voicing my thoughts on it, right or wrong.
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3 responses so far ↓
dancingnancy533 // February 1, 2008 at 3:53 am |
Some of it, I think, has to do with fear of losing their cultural values and identity. At the end of Chapter 6 in Solomon, I read a sentence that said, “the same companies who brought technology also brought other popular products that undermine the local culture.” The image that these companies have in mind for all people is not the one that local culture have or want. This is just my humble opinion on the subject.
Pam Callahan // February 3, 2008 at 5:02 pm |
I agree with Lee on this one, products are marketed toward certain cultural groups, and people reject the technological because they don’t want to be seen as giving up part of their own culture for that of another. Ipods are like a status symbol among my kids at school, only the cool kids can afford Ipods.
I think that other cultures view the white society as one that likes having the latest and greatest, so to speak. As a society, we sometimes appear to be frivolous in our spending habits, $200 shoes, $300 pda’s, expensive cars, etc.
So if marketing companies treated cultural groups the same, and marketed products to all groups, would this stereotype change? A very complicated question with no real answers.
Frances // February 3, 2008 at 7:23 pm |
I was thinking along the lines of “personal beliefs,” in how culture can have an effect on technology. I incorporate “personal beliefs” into culture.