Effects of Technological Developments
In Section 6 we are going to be looking at current and historical technological developments and how they have had an effect on the work of designers and technologists and their social, moral and ethical impacts.
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Current and historical technological developments have had a significant effect on the work of designers and technologists. There has been quite an impact on society including moral and ethical issues. The industrial revolution in 18th century and the increase population explosion around the same period lead to urbanisation and the increase desire for products. Mass production evolved to satisfy this increase need; with less hand crafting and more machine produced goods being developed. As a designer you need to operate in the world you live in but be aware of the way products have been influenced by history, fashion, culture. Be aware that all products were designed by someone for some purpose at some point in time. Tap into these to help you with the design of your own.
Technology has improved the lives of millions, if not billions of people worldwide. However some of the developments have significant social consequences.
Technology has improved the lives of millions, if not billions of people worldwide. However some of the developments have significant social consequences.
Mass Production
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Today the world is awash in material goods and a higher standard of living for increasing numbers. We live longer, have access to increasingly sophisticated entertainment and modes of communication, and travel greater distances. In short, we are the greatest consumers in the history of life on earth. Yet we seem to be less happy and more anxious. Has our consumer culture become a curse rather than a cure? We are surrounded by a manufactured world. Almost everything we touch or use in our homes, our garages, our offices is the by-product of an intense and complex industrial system: from potato to crisp, cowhide to seat cover, petrol to plastic pen.
Ours is a world of mass production. Clothes, furniture, toys, cars, food are produced in factories—large factories—somewhere. Because only a very few of us participate in the actual making of these everyday items, we tend to take their existence for granted; it is as if they magically appear on the shelves of our on our doorstep from DPD or Amazon or any other delivery/retail provider. So, just as we tend not to think of the farmer or farm worker in the field who grows, picks and sorts our fresh foods (nor the immense integrated processing systems that synthesize our common packaged foods), so we are oblivious to the story line behind almost everything we use in our daily lives. The industrial revolution has enabled the expensive and time consuming craft work to be replaced by machine work, the transportation of such goods to be more efficient and recently the computerisation of shipping goods more efficient and timely. This meant they were cheaper and accessible by more people, more readily and within budget. Mass production brings quality good to the ordinary folk.
![Picture](/uploads/1/1/1/3/11139306/published/mass-production-jeep.jpg?1585750027)
Ours is a world of mass production. Clothes, furniture, toys, cars, food are produced in factories—large factories—somewhere. Because only a very few of us participate in the actual making of these everyday items, we tend to take their existence for granted; it is as if they magically appear on the shelves of our ubiquitous superstores. So, just as we tend not to think of the farmer or farm worker in the field who grows, picks and sorts our fresh foods (nor the immense integrated processing systems that synthesize our common packaged foods), so we are oblivious to the story line behind almost everything we use in our daily lives.
The industrial revolution has a lot to answer for; not only did it bring cheaper goods to the masses by changing production methods, the workforce, transportation and infrastructure it also needed to change the way that things were designed. Many new fields of designing were needed to support this so this is where the modern day professional designer was born.
The industrial revolution has a lot to answer for; not only did it bring cheaper goods to the masses by changing production methods, the workforce, transportation and infrastructure it also needed to change the way that things were designed. Many new fields of designing were needed to support this so this is where the modern day professional designer was born.
The Consumer Society
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In towns and cities where production was centred and a new way of urban life was created there were huge population explosions. These people demanded more products and mass production responded to this need being able to produce such products at an affordable price. As the modern world developed and became more affluent the modern mass consumer society was born. These peoples' wants are satisfied by a continuous flow of new products with this comes an ever increasing demand for products that are convenient such as fast food and over package products.
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After the Second World War things became harder and there are few luxuries as country struggled to overcome the hardship caused by the fighting. This lasted for about 10 years but by the 1950s there was a new consumer society starting to develop. It mainly started in America but soon spread to Europe but this time the consumer at the helm was the teenager. Previous to this there was no distinction between young men and women because they wore similar clothes and listened to similar music as their parents. The arrival of rock ‘n’ roll changed all that and soon teenagers were rebelling against their parents’ values, creating their own independence and developing a style of their own. This new teenage market evolved and the expanding needs meant that design evolved to incorporate fashionable clothing and consumer goods such as transistor radios as well as cars motorbikes and scooters the scooters for the more mobile and independent youth culture
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For a more contentious look at mass production see below!
For a more contentious look at mass production see below!
Targeting Children as New Consumers
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Worryingly, modern consumerism targets younger and younger children through marketing in order to capture interest in products at an early age to 'hook' them in on products and create brand loyalty. Associated merchandising is released with films for example. Branding is stronger than ever and the notion its "cool" to have specific brands is now part of daily life for example consider Batman as a brand and type that into amazon and see what comes up... T-shirts, lunch boxes, even rubber ducks! (there are loads of them...) When a new film is released be ready for the onslaught of these 'add-ons' and the resulting pestering of children who 'need' them.
Previously, children were targeted through low cost items such as sweets and toys. However, as technology has developed and the ipad has, to some extent become the modern day dummy, marketing has followed this route; children are specifically targeted through TV adverts, the internet and email. Some marketing companies even pose as children to entice them with some products. The development of 'free apps' on smart phones and tablets is a recent development in software use. Companies offer free software and pay for this by selling advertising space which effectively pays for the cost of the development. It has proven be a lucrative way to earn their money instead of outright sales (they need paying somehow!). Children (and other users also) are subject to specific targeting of products to a much more defined target group. This means that consumers only see adverts that are interesting to them thus making the efficient use of advertising.
'Detoxing Children' by Sue Palmer explains how children are being 'hooked'. There are 3 main marketing strategies that have been identified in targeting children as new consumers.
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Growing Younger Older - exploiting the natural urge for children to become more grown up and can include role-play in shopping or going to work as well as things like make-up and pretend power tools.
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Collecting a set - this meets the urge for children to have a collection of items either all of the Thomas and Friends engines (a book and a die cast model of each) or a collecting trading cards such as frozen or football events.
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Being Cool - this taps into children's need to feel secure by fitting in by wearing the correct brands. This can be a social stigma if some students in some groups cannot fulfil their desired need to fit in.
Built-in Obsolescence
Sometimes called "planned obsolescence". This is a method of stimulating consumer demand by designing a product that becomes outdated, or wears out and breaks or simply becomes old technology. Watch the following video to see how it works (only up to 6:10 then it becomes an advert!)
The Effect of Mass Production on Employment
As a result of the industrial revolution, craftspeople were replaced with low-skilled workers working in highly mechanised assembly lines. This wonderful opportunity for people to find work and be able to buy mass produced cheap goods resulted in misery for others.
Low skill meant low wages and the use of women and children in sweatshop type factories. This poverty led to workers uprising and the trade unions developed combatting poor living conditions , poverty an increasing pollution as a result of industrialisation. |
Working conditions have improved over time however the implementation of more automated robotic workers on production and assembly lines has reduced the number of people needed to work in many factories. We have a situation now where the employment is either low skilled manual labour on low wages doing specialist but monotonous repetitive work with low job satisfaction and low morale. Otherwise it is higher paid technical work such as developing or programming, setting up or maintaining machinery. The left image below shows a production line where parts are assembled. It is fiddly work so not easy for a robot to do but is repetitive. On the right, a robot is being programmed to do specific repetitive work by a highly trained engineer.