Podcast Studies- Jessica Hardie

In addition to the presentations and class discussions from this week I wanted to talk more about technological determinism versus social constructionism because it was a topic that I found both interesting and a bit confusing. I would like to use this discussion to compare and contrast the two in order to better understand the two terms and what they mean in relation to podcast studies.

As discussed in “Podcast Studies and its techno-social discourses’ there are many scholars that are working to define podcasts as it is a newly emerged medium. However, there are many debates on what these definitional parameters are. It is important to gain an understanding of this new emerging technology as it has an impact on both our society and the people within it. Two heavily debated ideas surrounding podcast studies and how this new technology emerged are technological determinism and social constructionism.

Technological determinism views these new technologies as a driving force that shapes society and the way we choose to interact as well as our experiences within the world. This is saying that technology is basically what influences the decisions we make and our world is run by these new emerging technologies.

Social constructionism, however, is quite the opposite as it looks at how our social structures that are in place and the social-cultural and political factors are what drive the adoption of new technologies. This is saying that we as a society choose which technologies we adopt and therefore are in control of what technologies become popular within society.

Whether podcasting was the outcome of technological determinism or social constructionism is an idea that is heavily debated by many theorists. However, after completing the reading I would have to agree with Llinares, that podcasting is really the outcome of the two ideas combined. Podcasting is the product of an interrelationship of technologies that were already adopted by society which leads to the view of constructionism. The assemblage of these technologies, however, creates a new form of communication and interaction that can be considered as determinism.

What is your view on this? Are podcasts due to technological determinism, social constructionism, or a combination of the two?


Comments

  1. Sara HancockMarch 19, 2023 at 1:59 PM

    Hi Jess,

    I enjoyed reading your post on podcast studies and think you did a great job in synthesizing the concepts of technological determinism and social constructionism, great work! In regards to your question, I believe that the uptake and widespread popularity of podcasts can be attributed to primarily social constructionism. This is because podcasts emerged through society's desire for a radio-like alternative and the affordances already provided by cellphones, hence where the name 'podcast' emerged from - iPod and broadcast. Through socio-cultural and political factors, the mass adoption of podcasts came about. Further, I would go as far as arguing that the uptake of podcasts to be more aligned with cultural determinism, which argues that society's need for a technology due to cultural influences rather than technological. Feel free to add your opinion on this.

    Thanks for sharing (:

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