I’d like to find some support about the fact individuals tend to associate modernity with technology, in line with the concept of dehumanization towards older individuals (who would be seen as more traditional, primitive - being excluded from new technologies, and therefore maybe more animal-like).
Would you have any suggestion of studies/authors or some leads ?
You may look at Anthony Giddens studies on modernity. I found his argument very useful.
Hi Séléna,
A good place to start would be Giddens' structuration theory and consequence of modernity. The main notion of structuration theory is that structures in terms of rules and resources are produced and reproduced by knowledgeable actors who continually monitor their actions (Giddens, 1979, 1984). These structures are enacted through social interaction and are therefore continually influenced by the agents' perception and in turn influence their perception. Although, Giddens did not specifically consider technology in structuration theory, in his later work he acknowledges the role that technology plays in modern world by “stretching” of social systems through disembedding mechanism (Giddens, 1990). A number of authors have specifically applied structuration theory to understand technology, such as information systems (for a review, see Jones & Karsten, 2008).
Hope this helps!
Viren
Giddens, A. (1979). Central problems in social theory: Action, structure and contradiction in social analysis. London: Macmillan.
Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. Cambridge: Polity.
Giddens, A. (1990). The consequences of modernity. Cambridge: Polity.
Jones, M. R., & Karsten, H. (2008). Giddens' structuration theory and information systems research. MIS Quarterly, 32, 127-157.
While Giddens no doubt will be useful, the connection between technology and modernity is central to the history of modernity itself. You find these connections in Heidegger, Adorno, Benjamin, David Harvey, Jean Baudrillard, Hanna Arendt, Jurgen Habermas, Garcia Canclini, and, in more contemporary settings, Jennifer Petersen, Thomas Misa, Robert Kargon, Karen Fiss, and many others. I think what you are also asking is a generational question of how and when youth became associated with technology and, for this, I suggest you start with research that tracks down the rise of youth culture AS technology culture. In music, for instance, since the electric guitar, youth culture has been associated with technological innovation and consumerism, both markers of modernity and age. So, check the work of Joel Dinerstein, Joe Austin or Paula Fass or, newer, Jon Savage
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