Advances in Social Behavior Research

Advances in Social Behavior Research

Vol. 6, 28 March 2024


Open Access | Article

The Digitalization Dialectic: A Critical Analysis of Technology's Role in Cultural Formation and Social Change

Jia Xiao * 1
1 Universiti Malaya

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Advances in Humanities Research, Vol. 6, 38-42
Published 28 March 2024. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by EWA Publishing
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Citation Jia Xiao. The Digitalization Dialectic: A Critical Analysis of Technology's Role in Cultural Formation and Social Change. ASBR (2024) Vol. 6: 38-42. DOI: 10.54254/2753-7102/6/2024047.

Abstract

The digital revolution, marked by the swift advancement and dissemination of information and communication technologies (ICTs), has significantly impacted societal structures, cultural norms, and individual behaviors, heralding the emergence of a networked society. This paper explores the profound influence of digitalization on cultural norms, values, and practices, highlighting the dialectical relationship between digital technologies and cultural dynamics. Through a comprehensive review of existing literature and theoretical frameworks, it examines how digital technologies have facilitated new forms of cultural expression and interaction, while also addressing challenges posed by the digital divide, privacy concerns, and socio-economic implications of automation and datafication. The study delves into the transformation of cultural capital in the digital age and the role of networked social movements in shaping contemporary cultural landscapes. Furthermore, it discusses the implications of digitalization for global cultural flows and local cultural practices, contributing to the debate on cultural convergence and divergence in the digital era. By engaging with critical theories, this paper provides insights into the intricate relationship between the digital revolution and culture, underscoring the necessity of nuanced perspectives in understanding the complexities of contemporary social dynamics and the ongoing transformation of cultural identities and social structures.

Keywords

Digital Revolution, Cultural Dynamics, Networked Social Movements, Digital Divide, Cultural Capital

References

1. Øverby, H., & Audestad, J. (2021). The Digital Economy. Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews, 50, 416 - 417. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78237-5_1.

2. Makridakis, S. (2017). The Forthcoming Artificial Intelligence (AI) Revolution: Its Impact on Society and Firms. Futures, 90, 46-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FUTURES.2017.03.006.

3. International Telecommunication Union (ITU). (2023). Facts & Figures 2023. Retrieved March 2024, from https://www.itu.int/itu-d/reports/statistics/facts-figures-2023/

4. Vanden Abeele, M., De Wolf, R., & Ling, R. (2018). Mobile media and social space: How anytime, anyplace connectivity structures everyday life. Media and Communication, 6(2), 5–14. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v6i2.1399

5. World Economic Forum. (2023). Global risks report 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2024, from https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2023/

6. Castells, M., & Cardoso, G. (Eds.). (2006). The network society: From knowledge to policy (pp. 3-23). Washington, DC: Johns Hopkins Center for Transatlantic Relations.

7. Weber, M. (2013). From Max Weber: essays in sociology. Routledge.

8. Katz, N., Lazer, D., Arrow, H., & Contractor, N. (2004). Network theory and small groups. Small Group Research, 35(3), 307–332. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496404264941

9. Yang, H. (2008). Ancient Meaning of Culture and Its Implicit Intention. Journal of Huaqiao University.

10. Schudson, M. (1989). How culture works. Theory and Society, 18(2), 153–180. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00160753

11. Williams, R. H. (2013). Culture and social movements. The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470674871.wbespm429

12. Boas, F. (1901). The mind of primitive man. Science, 13(321), 281-289.

13. Mead, M. (1928). Coming of age in Samoa: A psychological study of primitive youth for western civilisation (Vol. 44). Blue ribbon books.

14. Benedict, R. (2019). Patterns of culture. Routledge.

15. Hall, S. (1993). Culture, community, nation. Cultural studies, 7(3), 349-363.

16. Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at large: Cultural dimensions of globalization (Vol. 1). U of Minnesota Press.

17. Marx, K. (1909). Zur Kritik der politischen ökonomie (Vol. 30). JHW Dietz Nachf.

18. Horkheimer, M., & Adorno, T. W. (1947). Dialectic of Enlightenment. Philosophical Fragments. Stanford University Press.

19. Igarashi, H., & Saito, H. (2014). Cosmopolitanism as Cultural Capital: Exploring the intersection of globalization, education and stratification. Cultural Sociology, 8(3), 222–239. https://doi.org/10.1177/1749975514523935

20. Bourdieu, P. (2018). Distinction a social critique of the judgement of taste. In Inequality (pp. 287-318). Routledge.

21. Durkheim, E. (2016). The elementary forms of religious life. In Social theory re-wired (pp. 52-67). Routledge.

22. Goffman, E. (2016). The presentation of self in everyday life. In Social theory re-wired (pp. 482-493). Routledge.

23. Turkle, S. (2011). Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. Basic Books.

24. Baudrillard, J. (1998). The Consumer Society: myths and structures. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526401502

25. Jameson, F. (1983). Postmodernism and consumer society. The anti-aesthetic: Essays on postmodern culture, 111-125.

26. Srnicek, N. (2017). Platform capitalism. John Wiley & Sons.

27. Zuboff, S. (2023). The age of surveillance capitalism. In Social theory re-wired (pp. 203-213). Routledge.

28. Lyon, D. (2018). The culture of surveillance: Watching as a way of life. John Wiley & Sons.

29. Ritzer, G. (2021). The McDonaldization of society. In In the Mind's Eye (pp. 143-152). Routledge.

30. Robertson, R. (1995). Glocalization: Time-space and homogeneity-heterogeneity. Global modernities, 2(1), 25-44.

31. Wallerstein, I. (2020). World-systems analysis: An introduction. duke university Press.

32. Van Dijk, J. A., & Hacker, K. L. (2003). The digital divide as a complex and dynamic phenomenon. The Information Society, 19(4), 315–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972240309487

33. World Bank. (2023). Digital Development. Retrieved March 2024, from https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/digitaldevelopment/overview

34. Moraitis, A. B. (2021). From the post-industrial prophecy to the de-industrial nightmare: Stagnation, the manufacturing fetish and the limits of capitalist wealth. Competition & Change, 26(5), 513–532. https://doi.org/10.1177/10245294211044314

35. Porter, D. (Ed.). (2013). Internet culture. Routledge.

36. Subrahmanyam, K., Reich, S. M., Waechter, N., & Espinoza, G. (2008). Online and offline social networks: Use of social networking sites by emerging adults. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29(6), 420–433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2008.07.003

37. Lieberman, A., & Schroeder, J. (2020). Two social lives: How differences between online and offline interaction influence social outcomes. Current Opinion in Psychology, 31, 16–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.06.022

38. Baym, N. K. (2015). Personal connections in the digital age. John Wiley & Sons.

Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Authors who publish this journal agree to the following terms:

1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.

3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See Open Access Instruction).

Volume Title
ISBN (Print)
ISBN (Online)
Published Date
28 March 2024
Series
Advances in Social Behavior Research
ISSN (Print)
2753-7102
ISSN (Online)
2753-7110
DOI
10.54254/2753-7102/6/2024047
Copyright
28 March 2024
Open Access
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Copyright © 2023 EWA Publishing. Unless Otherwise Stated