How Technology Changes Cultural Practices

Something that Faris tweeted the other day piqued my interest. In response to an observation that technology doesn’t change human nature, he noted that it does however “change cultural practice”.

It’s a brilliant piece of insight. Though I wasn’t sure at first what it meant. Or indeed if it was useful. So it’s been rumbling around in my head for the last twenty four hours now. In what ways does technology change cultural practice? And how does it change it if at the same time, it isn’t actually changing human nature?

In attempt to order my own unordered thoughts, here’s my stab at it. It certainly isn’t rocket surgery. Or anything blindingly new. And it will not explain everything, I'm sure.

But it does seem to be able to explain (to me, at least) how technology is changing what we do. How it’s changing as Faris puts it, cultural practice.

And perhaps more importantly, it does seem to provide a starting point for thinking about the kinds of thing we could make for people. Making things being the whole point.

So even if it’s rubbish it might be a bit useful.