Domestication in Media Technologies by Roger Silver Stone

Domestication in Media Technologies

Introduction

Throughout the technological revolution of the nineteen hundreds, society was confronted with multiple forms of information, communication technology which would change the way communication, social interactions and everyday life would be done for decades and centuries to come. However, experts of the time feared the strong embrace of these technologies and the effect it would have among their society and culture. Domestication was thought of as the theory of assimilation and integrating technology into the private life without risk of losing common values and morals of the household. However, as Rodger Silverstone suggests in his article “Domesticating Domestication. Reflections on the life of a concept “, that domestication is ‘Double Edged’ (Silverstone: 2006, pg 246).

Domestication was made common theory and practice by a scholar called Rodger Silverstone, who dedicated much of his life to explain the relation of domestication and our use of media technologies. Silverstone best describes domestication as ‘Domestication involves the appropriation of the new into the familiar’ (Silverstone:2006,pg 244)

Since Silverstone’s research and papers, Domestication has been adopted by many leading experts as the core concept of appropriation in media technology, and while Silverstone unfortunately passed away in 2006, his work can easily be brought into modern culture. Silverstone discusses the use of broadcasting and television with his theory of domestication in 2006, however, most recently he referenced the domestication of the mobile phone and other wireless and portable technologies into the home. Today, Silverstone’s theory of domestication is still being widely regarded as ...

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...late 1980’s, the computer, although commercially available, did not occupy the centre of our culture’s routine and lives. It was not until the late 1990’s when the computer first could be argued took the centre of some people’s lives with the advancement of the sound card, speakers, multi colour screens and printers, as Computers turned into a multimedia machine rather than a high tech novelty. It was not until the mid 2000’s, that computers began to overtake the television as the media centre of our lives. The emergence of the Internet brought about many social media websites including MySpace, and more recently, Facebook. Again, Haddon’s theory of critical-mass effect is evident as it was only through the mass consumption of computers both in the public (work) life, and the private (home) life that society began to domesticate the computer into their lives.