Information Technology in the Working and Everyday World

A review essay on eight books discussing the increasing importance of information technology in social structures. The conquest of technical determinism over the analysis of current information processes characterizes a series of recently published monographs. No longer simply a machine for complex work, information technology & its networking capabilities are an established communications medium, generating numerous new questions regarding changing communication relationships, more flexible forms of work organization, as well as what type of society we now live in. In the addressed texts, the way in which the medial character of information technology becomes ever more prominent & widespread in the working & everyday world is clear. Instead of explaining the social change potential of technology from itself or from its genesis, investigation of our interaction with technology in ever-different practice contexts provides new models of subjectivity & self-regulation. These indicate an autonomous participant that is comfortable with the instability, temporary, & short-term flexibility of work organizations, although many passages in the literature indicate that the subjective potential is only possible when the appropriate communication relationships exist, when interpersonal & media-mediated communication provide the necessary information. 10 References. Adapted from the source document.