Technologies as Normality Machines
Kristine Ask, Roger A. Søraa · 2023
Technologies will, in addition to being useful, also promote values and ideas about the world and its users. Through their design, technologies tell stories about the world that needs to be critically examined. Technologies shape what the authors understand to be “normal” and, as such, what they think of as right, correct, expected, and/or desired. In assessing what qualifies as a “successful digitalization,” they need to go beyond whether “it works or not.” They must also consider how digitalization is shaping society, what normality is created, and who stands to benefit or be harmed by it. Students who download this hypothetical app will not only get a piece of software but will also be presented with a story about what a student “should be” through various functions, default settings, aesthetic expressions, price points, and other features of the app. Through technology, they are encouraged to do things in a certain way and think about society in certain terms.