The Present and Future of a Technology

The Present and Future of …(a technology of your choice) Reflection Paper
For this assignment, first pick a form of technology that you use or you have used or are interested in, such as social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat), fitness tracker (e.g., Fitbit, Apple Watch), voice assistant (e.g., google home, Amazon Alexa), new forms of technology (e.g., Kindle, virtual reality, Internet of Things), teleworking software (Slack, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Team), and telehealth applications.
Based on what we have covered about the mutual shaping of society and technology and the role of technology in society:
1. Review of scholarly discourse around your technology: You will review and synthesize ONE of the significant intellectual debates around your technology in your chosen context and thematic area. What is the primary debate, controversies, or questions scholars/public policy experts/governmental officials/NGOs address around the debate? How is the discussion framed? Why is the discussion important?
● For example, some of the major debates around social media is its relationship with the spread of fake news and democracy, mental health, or romantic relationships. Debates around fitness trackers involve privacy concerns, and whether or not it should be classified as medical devices, etc. Debates around telework and telehealth applications include whether they are as effective as face-to-face meetings or in-person visits. Debates around streaming platforms like Netflix include whether they are good or bad news for the media industry. You can also identify other debates that are of interest to you.
● Please consult library databases such as Communication and Mass
Media Complete, as well as Google Scholar

2. After reviewing the intellectual debate, please reflect on the current industry and user practice in terms of developing/using the technology and propose your solution(s) to the discussion or make predictions regarding where the debate or the technology itself is going.
● You will present an original analysis of the relevance and importance of the debate in current society by outlining technology’s influence on society and vice versa. The analysis should respond to a specific

question(s), debate(s), or concern(s) around the technology that you
identified in Part 1.
● This is where you will present your original argument. To do this you
should critique the literature; rather than just summarizing and reporting the literature, you should synthesize and evaluate the main arguments, look for gaps that you can fill, identify any assumptions or biases, and develop an original response.
Please support your arguments with (mostly) empirical evidence throughout. This means that you may draw on scholarly (e.g. peer-reviewed articles) and/or popular writings(e.g.newspaperormagazinearticles)tosupportyouressay.Thepapershould strictly adhere to APA Guidelines (7th ed.).

To help you get started, you could follow the instructions below.
1. Choose one item from each column below: one from A (type of technology), one from B (context), and one from C (major theme).
2. Second, construct a search with these keywords that will help you identify the related scholarly discourse.
3. This debate should look at the relationship between digital technology and society, focusing on the areas you have chosen (for example, music streaming services + personal relationships + privacy OR video games + education + race). Example: How do Islamic beliefs and values (B – Religion) influence gender expressions (C) on social networking sites (A)?
Column A: Technology (choose one)
Column B: Context (Choose one)
Column C: Major theme (choose one)
Mobile phones
Politics, government, policy, and/or law
Power and oppression

Social media (including social networking sites, music streaming services, microblogging, video sharing/streaming, etc.)
Business and industry
Gender and/or sexuality
Internet of things or smart devices
Family and personal relationships
Race and/or ethnicity
Artificial intelligence
Education and learning
Freedom, democracy, and/or rights
Big data, algorithms, machine learning
Health and medicine
Social support
Video games
Arts and entertainment (including popular culture)
Social capital
Virtual reality Fitness trackers
Software e-books
News media and journalism Religion and spiritual life
Privacy Security
Labor/work Economics
Computers
Choose something else
Interpersonal interaction
Choose something else
Choose something else