The progression of technology from 1500 to Present

The progression of technology from 1500 to Present

The history of technology since the 16^th century (1500) has incredibly attracted attention among most historians. The 1500s signified a time of unprecedented change in history that marked the beginning of the modern era of science, political and religious turmoil, extraordinary literature, and great exploration. Anderson & Jiang (2018) states that advanced technology emerged as an essential aspect that influenced every aspect of human life, including social, economic, and culture. According to historians, technology involves the techniques and methods that range from simple stone tools to sophisticated and complex information technology that emerged since the 1980s. Since the advent of the 16^th century, scientists, including Gerardus Mercator and Zacharia Janssen, made remarkable contributions to the development of technology, including satellite navigation and electron microscope, respectively. While the satellite navigation boosted space expeditions and research in addition to forming insights into the development of the modern satellite navigation techniques, Janssen’s electronic microscope was useful in the medical field (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). Despite technology’s invention progress since the 1500s to present, having contributed to socio-cultural and economic development, technology has also brought negative changes.

A historical evaluation of how production evolved involves an exploration of innovation and industrial evolution since the 1500s. Although this exploration tends to have a linear perspective in that economists view innovation as an element that starts with a corporation’s ability to possess a specific technology and subsequently investing in this technology (Tignor, 2018). However, from a linear perspective, all innovations occur in similar ways across the manufacturing sector and discounts the idea that companies change over time. The evolution of technological invention since the 1500s dates back to the Industrial Revolution in Europe when technology was extensively applied across manufacturing firms.

During this time, the cotton gin was established as a way to enhance productivity and efficiency in the production processes, while the mills used machines that manufactured cloth from cotton. The cotton mills also had a positive effect on transforming the transportation system across Europe, whereby effective and better waterways were developed to transport the products (Tignor, 2018). As a result of efficiency in the production processes during the Industrial Revolution, production costs were minimized, and output increased. Therefore firms obtained high revenues. Accordingly, as industrialization progressed, there was an increasing need to train factory workers to perform specialized tasks to increase the overall efficiency of manufacturing industries’ overall efficiency as well as take advantage of new opportunities in the marketplace.

Alongside technological progress in the industrial world, the transport sector saw the invention of the steam engine. The introduction of the steam engine owed to the previous work of scientists such as Robert Boyle and Denis Papin, which equipped practical technologists with knowledge in pressure vessels and atmospheric pressure as a theoretical basis of the development of the steam-powered engine (Tignor, 2018). Significantly, the steam engine played a vital role in meeting the needs of the British industry throughout the 18^th century and beyond. However, despite the effectiveness of the steam engine, wind power and water power remained to be the primary power sources for the industries. Equally, the use of technology in manufacturing, coupled with the dramatic expansion of the European countries into the New World and Indian Ocean region since the 16^th century, led to the production of new commodities. Accordingly, the new products created new cultural and social habits like fashions, which also necessitated the urge to find more effective production techniques.

On the other hand, transport and communication infrastructures have transformed since the 16^th century. Shockingly, unlike the manufacturing and construction sectors, the progress in transport and communication over the years has exhibited substantial progress without any great technical inventions. From the 1500s towards the end of the 1700s, France witnessed an improvement in road building due to the sophistication of civil engineering throughout the two centuries. Similarly, since the 1500s, communication progressed from letter/leaflets to the use of the internet and social media in modern days (Tignor, 2018). While investigating the rise of mass communication and the printing press, it is crucial to evaluate the communicative needs, uses, and purposes during the time and how these communication technologies influenced the forms of social organizations. For instance, during the 16^th and 17^th centuries, the printing press technology introduced other forms of publications, including tracts, plays, songs, handbills, comics, and pamphlets, through which authors communicated some aspects of culture that affected the society during the period.

Likewise, in the early 18^th century onwards, there arose periodical magazines both monthly and weekly that initially focused on the cultural interest of the readers. Ultimately, these magazines developed into a massive breadth of coverage to include political, religious, and economic interests (Tignor, 2018). The 19^th century saw the rise of the mass media, including television broadcasting and films. These media emerged as a technological novelty that sought to expand its outreach. In contrast to the early printing press, mass media brought new content, which was preferred due to the effectiveness of the means of presentation and distribution, which offered technical tricks, spectacles, humor, drama, and music.

Today, the world is full of the benefits of technology since it has significantly made life more comfortable and quicker yet dangerous. Technology influences every part of the modern industrial world, regardless of the type of industries, including transportation, communication, banking, and healthcare. Most people today hold the technologies at their disposal so dearly that they hardly leave their homes without their personal computers or cellular phones. Indeed, modern technology, especially the emergence of the internet and social media, has led to a shift in the way people interact.  For instance, platforms like Twitter and Facebook; to name a few, have influenced social, economic, political as well as professional interaction.  Consequently, access to the internet enables professionals in any field to perform and accomplish a variety of professional tasks.

In contrast to the past, the utilization of social media promotes the spirit of cohesiveness amongst people. Generally, every person possesses the feeling of being part of a specified group. The senSe of belonging makes individuals join clubs, religious organizations, and civic societies (Mueller, 2014). Social media, through its diverse platforms, it has enabled people to be in constant communication, a thing that improves on their bonding (Mueller, 2014). The social media engagement is non-cognizant of communication barriers that exist in other interactive channels such as location and exclusivity. The interactions make the members who are in the different interactive sites to develop a sense of family, an incidence that is the precedence of cohesiveness. Hence, social media utilization brings forth cohesiveness, which turns out to be a positive aspect of the communication mode.

On the contrary, the diffusion of the internet and social media in modern times demonstrates negative implications. Social media is highly addictive amongst its frequent users. A majority of the people who have access to social media more so youths have eventually been turned into slaves by the form of communication (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). The young people rarely seek to do other productive things but rather choose to idle on social media in the name of having fun for the better part of their days. The failure to indulge in any meaningful economic activity by the youths makes them become beggars as they will have to rely on their parents’ help for them to survive. Another segment of the youths turns to opt for engagement in robbery exercises in a bid to acquire the money they require to bankroll the fake lives that they lead within the social media channels where they are participants (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). Therefore, addiction is a negative aspect of social media utilization. Significantly, the positive and negative aspects of social media outlined above impact individuals, for example, different generations differently. Whereas the cohesiveness aspect, which happens to be a positive impact on social media, does not have a significant impact on the older generation, it possesses a substantial impact on the youthful generation. Many youths use social media as part of their daily life routines. The frequent usage of social media makes them interact at some point on the varied platforms, hence promoting the cohesiveness aspect in the long run.

In conclusion, since the 1500s to present, technology has led to an evolution in many human cultures by shifting the ways in which people communicate, interact as well as present themselves. However, in comparison to the 16^th to 20^th centuries, modern technology, particularly the internet and social media, has negatively affected the ideals and cultural values of the society. Most people find solace and comfort in robots than fellow humans. Eventually, people must recognize the fact that technology has led to the deterioration of most aspects of life from social to economic. For instance, the increased use of the internet and social media platforms has led to a lack of emotional connection between individuals and decreased face-face communication and interaction among people. This has necessitated the need for the young generation to rise and become a better company than the robot models.

References

Anderson, M., & Jiang, J. (2018). Teens, social media & technology 2018. Pew Research Center, 31, 2018.

Mueller, K. (2014, March 17). 11 Reasons Why People Love and Use Social Media. Retrieved from https://www.business2community.com/social-media/11-reasons-people-love-use-social-media-0812775

Tignor, R. L. (2018). Worlds together, worlds apart: Volume 2.