Technology and the Discomfort with Change

Understanding the hesitation towards change and the evolution of the media.

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Psychology Behind Fearing Change

The rate of change is unsettling because individuals as a whole are fearful and correlate the concept of the rate of change with fear. With change comes new situations and new challenges, which we are not prepared for or have not previously faced. As Eleanor Lara informed us on the discussion board, change is uncomfortable and unfamiliar which causes us to fear. Change requires us to adapt and requires us to use both our previous knowledge, which we have acquired over our years of living, as well as induct new forms of strategies and techniques, which we may not have previously tried. Change requires a certain level of discomfort. As Rhys Schueren informed us on the discussion board, change implies a loss of control. Change is unsettling for this specific reason. Humanity as a whole has developed a certain level of routine to which we have become accustomed. We have adapted customs, traditions as well as other habits, which have become routine. When change enters our life and when we are faced with situations or events, which are unfamiliar to us or not second nature, it can become overwhelming or difficult to embrace change. However, change is inevitable. Change is always occurring and it cannot be stopped, it cannot be changed and it cannot be predicted. There is a certain level of certainty to which individuals have become accustomed.

The Problem of Transience

Alan Toffler’s Future Shock discusses the nature of individuals to hold on to their own desired form of reality, which he entitled ‘The Problem of Transience,’ which is entirely unique and distinct from other individuals’ form of reality. The digital and technology age is growing and constantly evolving. Businesses and marketers who recognize this change and use this change to their advantage through consistently updating their current structure or model based upon the current trend will experience the greatest success. “Each person’s model of reality, while different in certain features from that of other persons, is largely cultural rather than personal. And with cultural changes, ‘that individual must turn over his own stock of images at a rate that some way correlates with that pace of change. His model must be updated’” (156.3). Businesses and organizations who fail to keep up with change and innovation will fail to reach their target audience with their message as they will not have the proper structure or format to properly engage and efficiently reach them.

Change and the Consumer

An article from Forbes entitled, ‘Three Signs That Technology Is About To Change Your Industry’ discusses the shift in consumer preferences. “The internet upended our lives and expectations as customers. Then the smartphone changed everything again. Now voice-based search is leading another revolution, as will (we’re told) artificial intelligence in the near future. It’s easy to write these changes off as relevant only to those in e-commerce, but it’s smart to understand what they mean for customer expectations in any industry.”

Mass Media Consumption and Dependency

We are able to see change take place through technology and the digital age specifically through the accessibility and evolution it has created. However, with this change it has caused individuals as a whole to retain information less as we are being subjected to mass media on a regular basis. William L. Wonderly’s Article Review on “Insights From Alvin Toffler’s ‘Future Shock’” states, “People are thus becoming conditioned to a faster intake of information than ever before. Through the media, information is presented to the person in as concentrated a form as possible, short of completely overloading the channel of the person’s receptivity” (4). We are able to see the unsettling consequences from changes as well as the efficient and proactive ways change, specifically change in technology, has created. However, the lack of retrospect and the lack of routine in change is fear producing for humanity as it is unknown and therefore up for interpretation. Additionally, an article entitled, ‘Emerging Trends in Psychology: Technology Dependency’ published by Concordia University Saint Paul by Trisha Hussung cites both the benefits as well as the threats technology has created for society.

“There’s no doubt that the exponential growth of technology has benefited society, but there is a darker side to the rise of the machine. Based on a 2013 British study, 51 percent of surveyed individuals admitted to suffering from “extreme tech anxiety” when separated from their devices such as smartphones or tablets.”

References

Concordia University, St. Paul Online. (2015). Emerging Trends in Psychology: Technology Dependency.

CSP Online. Retrieved from https://online.csp.edu/blog/psychology/technology-dependency on 2 Feb. 2019.

Harper, S. (2018). Three Signs That Technology Is About To Change Your Industry. Forbes.com.

Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2018/08/07/3-signs-that-technology-is-about-to-change-your-industry/#7fa17409b327. Retrieved on 2 Feb. 2019.