KIT311 Assignment 2: Impacts of Smartphones on Society Analysis

This essay examines the multifaceted impact of smartphones on society, delving into the perspectives of technological determinism, social determinism, and uses determination. It explores how smartphones have reshaped societal structures, communication patterns, and individual behaviors, considering both utopian and dystopian viewpoints. The analysis investigates the evolution of smartphones from simple communication devices to integral components of modern life, influencing areas such as economics, social interaction, and political landscapes. It highlights the interplay between technological advancements and societal adaptation, examining how smartphones have become essential tools while simultaneously raising concerns about privacy, security, and the potential for manipulation. Furthermore, the essay discusses the role of social media, capitalism, and government in shaping smartphone usage and its consequences, offering a comprehensive overview of the ongoing transformation of society in the digital age.

Running Head: IMPACTS OF SMARTPHONES ON SOCIETY
Impacts of Smartphones on Society
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note:

1IMPACT OF SMARTPHONES ON SOCIETY
IMPACT OF SMARTPHONES ON SOCIETY
The use of smartphones and their impact on society is considered to have changed its
dynamic structure and construct due to the development seen in its advancement.
Smartphones started as a means of attainment of connectivity in the financial world in order
to facilitate better and quicker mean of information transfer to fulfill the need of globalization
and to ensure smooth working of the different branches of society to work together. The
concept of Technological Determinism (TD), which is associated with the rapid adaptation of
smartphones technology drives home the notion that technological acceptance and
advancement within a society reflects its social determinism. It implies that the impact of any
technological advancement is co-related to social structure. Nevertheless, the effect of social
structure on technologies is not definite or defined; instead, it is unpredictable and depends
on various social factors that will be discussed in the paper. The paper aims to evaluate the
impact of the use of smartphones in society with the perspective of Social Determinism (SD)
and Technological Determinism (TD), identifying the direction of growth towards Utopian or
Dystopian society. The thesis statement of the paper is the formation of the complete view of
the future society one should look forward to with the help of social determinism.
Smartphones- Technological Advancement or Capitalism Façade
Smartphones and the area of impact expanded exponentially with the addition of
various other accessories added to it, making it the epitome of focus and the first accessory in
the hands of every individual in the modern society. Smartphones are considered to have
evolved from all the pre-existing mobile media, which were put together under the same
banner in order to facilitate working. However, recent researches have sho4wn the
smartphones are no longer a simple internet access device but rather one which combines the
identity of an individual with the position in the society (Hauer 2017). Barcode readers and
scanners are the latest addition in the smartphone devices, which is one of the critical

2IMPACT OF SMARTPHONES ON SOCIETY
infrastructures of the Internet of Things and associates the device as no longer in the private
communication devices. These mobile media additions to the device make the device-
readable, and they are enabled to communicate with other devices leaving digital prints. It has
resulted in opening avenues for organizations to stay in continuous contact with the society,
which is more likely to create a circle that is more often than not harmful (Hauer 2017). It
gives unrestricted access to personal information of the user, which makes the society a harp
which is played by the capitalist and industrialist part of the society for their gains.
Social Determinism
The theory of social determinism dictates that any individual behavior is the result of
the combined interaction and attitude in society. The primary point of the theory dictates that
individual behavior has no connection to their biological or genetic influence. It is explained
with the help of an example from daily life, and social phenomenon which has accelerated the
growth and acceptance of technology is social routine. The determination factor is used with
the different social media applications, which comes as a part of the smartphones (Marler
2018). The tenant of social determination dictates the understanding of society as a whole
rather than an individual, for it believes in social behavior as a collective. It is shown by
setting it against biological determination. Modern society and its dependence on
smartphones can be seen against biological determination. It is established with the portrayal
of the same society two decades back where there was no urgency and obsession for the
possession of the device. It has been institutionalized in society through various agents,
which creates an illusion in the society about the importance in the sense that it becomes an
urgency (Papageorgiou and Michaelides 2016). It is accomplished with the psychosomatic
play of institutionalization where every individual becomes an inherent part of the play and
feels compelled to participate in it. This completes the process, and it takes the shape of an
ideology.

3IMPACT OF SMARTPHONES ON SOCIETY
The ideological understanding of social determination can be used to understand the
influence of smartphones in society. It is one of the most common sights and no longer
requires one to step out of their houses to understand the important position held by
smartphones in the society. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, we saw the change
in perspective about the use of smartphones when the first free social media platform was
made accessible with the help of the Internet at the touch of the finger (De La Cruz Paragas
and Lin 2016). The interaction and communication was no longer the need of the society; it
transformed into the universal adherence of the elites of the society to be able to display their
lifestyle to society. However, it influenced the start of the understanding of the economic part
of the society of the scope of capitalism when social media no longer remained as the
necessity and a step to bring about change in the understanding of different societies about
each other and became a norm, a popular culture. It started the formation of various social
media platforms and the emergence of different kinds of opportunities where the society, part
of the society that remained obscure their entire life, got the chance to portray and convey
their expression (Ul Ghafar et al. 2018). One could see this as an impact en route to the
formation of the society, which can be seen as Utopian in perspective. However, when the
variable of technological determination is added to the context, we see the rise of effects that
falls in the category of positive as well as negative implementation. The technological
relationship that the society has formed with the government can be seen as a start of a lethal
method where the foundation is being formed where the boundary of dependency and
correlation is getting blurred (Marler 2018). When the law enforcement agencies takes the
help of technology attached to the smartphones and solves a crime then the society applauds
but the implication of being under continuous scrutiny is missed.

4IMPACT OF SMARTPHONES ON SOCIETY
Technological Determinism
The theory of technological determination is not a simple subjection of practice in
society; instead, it is taken as the understanding of the relationship between society and its
development or rather the transformation (Drew 2016). However, a technological
determination is argued in two variants, namely- harder and softer. It can be seen as a
division of the theory into its principle terms- technology and determinism. The first variant
shows the relationship of technology and its impact due to social determination. It is the
behavior of the society which they choose as a whole to adapt in their life, which influences
the direction of the technological advancement of that particular society. The second variant
is determinism, which portrays the inclination of the society in which the technology of the
time sways. In the case of smartphones and the implication of its use can be evaluated from
both the perspectives (Özsu 2018). It is because the use of technology in the society has
evolved to the point that it is now impossible to imagine or even conceive a day without its
use. It can be seen with the most recent example with the chaos of the Corona pandemic
across the globe; an increase in internet facility was seen as the essential requirement of the
population shows the involvement of smartphones and the Internet has in the society now. It
is a clear portrayal of the hold that social determinism has on the technological determination.
Technological determination can be seen as the universal adherence of the society
towards the acceptance of social changes that are conveyed by them. It can be seen in every
aspect, whether it is in education, fashion, and healthcare, political or social conventions
(Frith and Özkul 2019). These factors also show the hold of capitalism because technology
and its spread is the result of the capitalist society understanding the power leverage behind
their investment. Smartphones have become a means of mass production of the forces of the
social convention, which can be determined by the direction in which society turns. It was
seen in the recent event of the last few critical elections in the world, including the

5IMPACT OF SMARTPHONES ON SOCIETY
Presidential election of the United States, how the use of social media was impactful in
turning the chain of the event in the preferred direction. It was only possible because they
understood the importance of smartphones and gullibility, which can be utilized over social
media (Frith and Özkul 2019). The political impact of a smartphone can be seen as the
negative, for it has brought the whole society under the direct restriction of the governing
bodies, which is against the democratic understanding of the society. It is also seen in the
social structure of religion and race.
The effect of social determinants on technology seen in case of race and religion falls
in the first variant of TD, where the social norm and conventions are seen to be propagating
with the use of smartphones. However, there is various government around the world who
censors their social media reach, which is against the right to privacy and speech (Van
Deursen et al, 2015). The description of smartphones as an exemplary mobile media device
being attached to the barcode reader and scanner is accelerated even further with the
attachment of the Mobile sim cards, which is the primary component of the smartphones,
which is attached to the personalized number. Those chips have now become an accessory in
locating in and every movement of every single individual in the society (Callen et al. 2016).
However, the implications of the use of smartphones when it comes to the comprehension of
the working of society, there has been considerable areas where smartphone technologies
opened the option of the facility of a more comfortable life, such as applications which ensure
home delivery of almost every product now, educational facilities which help the disabled
with the availability of education in the comfort of their home, and the most significant
achievement is the provision of better security chances.
The use of smartphones was enhanced by the competing gesture from technological
giants in order to appeal to customers towards a purchase. This lead to the emergence of the
technical industries manufacturing sim cards that come attached to a chip that can access the

6IMPACT OF SMARTPHONES ON SOCIETY
internet facility. It is again noticed that though the facility of availability of services at the tap
of the finger, it also meant discrepancy in information which is provided by the individuals in
the society. It can be established with the recent proof of information leak from Facebook,
which was accessed by various service providers who accessed personal information to
facilitate customize advertisements (Van Deursen et al, 2015). It has also led to the exposure
of information to the hand of various volatile groups who could use it for projecting
negativity. It comes in direct conflict with the enhancement of security, which is seen with
the use of smartphones.
Uses Determination
The theory relates to the understanding of the human approach towards relatedness
and competence in the society and how they relate it to the technological knowledge and to
being equipped with it. This perspective provides us with the benefits which the technological
advancement in the smartphones have brought upon the society (Elhai et al, 2018). When it
comes to technology and the associated merging of the different components of social media,
two sections is more involved than other namely the economic sector and the youth who uses
it for educational as well as recreational mode. It cannot be denied that growth and
development have come with their equal share of violence, such as theft. Smartphones can
now be used to keep complete and continuous surveillance without having to depend on any
help. Most of the security cameras comes fully equipped and attached to smartphones, which
can be used from anywhere to access (Yeh, Wang, and Yieh 2016). Smartphones and their
impact have not been entirely detrimental. However, it is dependent on social determination,
for one can see that the possession of one has ended up being a symbol of status and position
in society (Haryanto and Ali 2019). Few of the leading smartphone company has succeeded
in adding artificial intelligence to already packed and accessorized world of technology. Both
Siri and Alexa are now recognized as the next generation of technology, and even before they

7IMPACT OF SMARTPHONES ON SOCIETY
are given a physical form, the smartphone has given them identity and recognition, which
almost ninety percent of the human population die without (Frith and Özkul 2019). There
have already been instances around the world where the use of these applications have saved
a human life. However, it also showed substantial evidence of the availability of data from
the users, which were private and were not meant to be recorded. It shows the control which
these technology giants have been enabled and equipped with due to the use of smartphones.
Conclusion
The impact and the hold of smartphones on society shows a very unpredictable result
and the constant uncertainty in terms of security of the society. The complete understanding
of the social determinants and how the theory acts in the formation of Technological
determination is clearly shown in the various forms of applications utilized by society. It is
not possible to completely categorize the unique technology as negative or restrictive because
of the freedom it has provided in terms of being able to challenge the conventional ideologies
of society. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that there are various variables which point in the
direction of the discrepancy of privacy. It opens up prospective research ahead in the
direction of understanding the involvement of smartphones in each sector. It can help in
understanding the need for maximizing or minimizing the use of services available.

8IMPACT OF SMARTPHONES ON SOCIETY
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