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Sally Wyatt: An Example Of Technological Determinism

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There is a simple explanation: the development of technology. Technological determinism claims that “technology causes or determines the structure of the rest of society and culture” (Dusek, 2006:84). This essay will contend that social and cultural change has taken place as a direct result from the revolutionary improvements and developments in technology. There are both good and bad elements to this adjustment. To understand and examine this, the work of Sally Wyatt (with references to hard and soft determinism) will be discussed as she examines technological determinism through a symmetrical viewpoint. In conjunction with this, Marshall McLuhan's work will be analysed, with particular reference to his celebrated statement “the medium is the message”. Finally, Wyatt and McLuhan's views will be compared and contrasted in accordance with my understanding of

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