Liz Beilke

Dr. Amber Strother

English 170
2/6/19
Definition: Technology
Everyone uses technology every single day of their life, but has anyone ever tried to think

about a definition for the word technology? Defining technology is a challenge. Technology

includes so much more than most people think about. Before stepping foot in Dr. Strother’s

English 170 class, I never thought about defining technology. However, the first day of the class,

we were assigned to write a definition for technology. The following weeks, we read various

readings and definitions of technology to help us shape our very own definition. Through all the

classwork, my definition of technology has evolved to become a stronger definition by being

broader to fully describe what technology is.

On the first day of English 170, I created my own definition of technology based upon

my own life experiences. I stated in my original definition, “To me, technology is a tool designed

to make one’s life easier.” The two examples I mainly focused on were a microwave and the

internet. I wrote about how the microwave helps heat up and cook food in a faster, more

convenient way. For the internet, I focused on how it has various uses: entertainment,

communicating with others, and researching questions or topics. This makes life easier because it

is a lot faster and more convenient way of researching than driving to the library and finding

books. Also, this makes life easier because you can easily send an email to someone instead of

having to call or write a letter. All in all, my definition of the word technology was basic and not

that in depth.
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However, the various readings I read about defining technology opened my eyes to new

ideas and ways to improve my own definition. For example, technology is so much more than

just the physical objects. According to Thomas P. Hughes, who is a professor at the University of

Pennsylvania and has been teaching courses about technology for many years, “Technology

involved not only artifacts, but also the processes that bring them into being” (5). Technology

includes the process of making the artifact and the knowledge behind it. Technology is not just

an artifact. Hughes is allowing technology to be more than just tangible objects in his definition.

This differs from my original definition because my original definition only talked about the

products, and not everything that goes into it. I decided to put this in my new definition because I

agree that technology is so much more than just something you can touch and use. That product

would not be there without the knowledge behind it.

Along with technology being more than just physical objects, technology is also

constantly changing and being modified. Leo Marx, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of

Technology’s Program in Science and has wrote various books about technology, introduced me

to the idea that technology is everchanging and evolving. Therefore, it is important to think of it

as a concept, not just a word. Technology has been around since the beginning of Earth and has

evolved greatly. Technology includes so much more than what a word can offer (17). My

original definition did not emphasize that technology is constantly changing and evolving, nor

that it is so much more than just a word. I am putting this thought in my new definition because

technology has too much depth and meaning behind it to be thought of as just a word. A concept

is better at highlighting this point. Also, it is true that technology is constantly changing. In my

own lifetime, I have seen technology change drastically. Just think about the evolution of cell
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phones. Nowadays, virtually everyone has a smartphone. When I was younger, that was not the

case. Our society has become dependent on smartphones for virtually everything.

Even more so, technology has consequences that are not always a good thing. According

to Neil Postman, an author, media theorist, cultural critic, and professor at New York University

Steinhardt School of Education, “A new media does not add something, it changes everything”

(31). Although technology helps our community, it has its downfalls. Technology has a great

impact on our society. One invention can change the way of our society and culture. Phones have

made it easy to not have to communicate with each other in person. It is very possible to work

with someone without ever having to talk to them in person. This was not always the case.

Technology has made face-to-face conversations rare. Technology is very influential to our

society, and we need to be more aware of this. My first definition did not talk about the negative

aspects of technology, or the influence it has. It only talked about the positive. I included this in

my new definition because it is important to understand how technology impacts our society

when discussing what technology is. Especially considering how big of an impact it has on us.

Overall, my new definition of technology is much stronger after being exposed to different

definitions of technology.

Because of all the sources I looked at about technology, my original definition was

influenced, and therefore, changed to include new ideas about what technology is. Technology is

a tool that has the potential to make one’s life easier. However, it has downfalls. For example,

technology changes the way a society will function. Also, technology is more than just a word.

Technology is better described as a concept. Lastly, technology involves more than just the

actual product; the processes and knowledge behind that product is also technology. After

reading this, how would you define technology?

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Works Cited

Hughes, Thomas. “Defining Technology.” Technology: A Reader for Writers, edited by

Johannah Rodgers, Oxford University Press, 2015, pp. 3-7.

Marx, Leo. “Technology: The Emergence of a Hazardous Concept.” Technology: A Reader for

Writers, edited by Johannah Rodgers, Oxford University Press, 2015, pp. 15-19.

Postman, Neil. “Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change.” Technology: A

Reader for Writers, edited by Johannah Rodgers, Oxford University Press, 2015, pp. 26-

34.