Soft Determinism Analysis

Additionally, within the TD thought, there are two branches, hard and soft. Hard determinism, sees technology as developing independent from social concepts (politics, culture, economy) (Wyatt, 2008). Technology creates a set of powerful forces acting to regulate our social activity that we organize ourselves to meet the needs of technology and the outcome of this organization is beyond our control or we do not have the freedom to make a choice regarding the outcome (Smith, 1994). Soft determinism, is more passive in that it believes technology is not the sole driving force of past, present, and future society, but is the most significant (Wyatt, 2008). Soft determinists subscribe to the fact that we do have some opportunities to make decisions
One of TD’s core beliefs (in both camps), is that technology is the dominant or leading factor in social change. This belief leads to the assumption that only technical factors, not social ones, determine the success or failure of a technology (Wyatt, 2008). That technologies which are successful are inherently superior, and that they are superior and triumph because of solely or to small extent (soft determinism) there technological advantage(s) (Wyatt, 2008). These criticisms will be addressed in a more critical assessment fashion later
Technology is social because; it is an embodiment of our norms, values, and behaviours, it mediates and shapes our interactions while also maintaining social order. Norms are informal rules which guide society’s social interactions, they are the expectations, standards, and fundamental do’s and don’ts of daily exchanges. Values, on the other hand, are the ends to which norms are the means to achieve these ends, they are ideals while norms are rules. These principles were what guided my technology