Abstract
The author argues that resistance to new technology does not result from “technophobia” but rather from the fact that the new technological object is inscribed with new meanings and frameworks of action that may disturb the existing networks of practices, beliefs, and knowledge. Based on an analysis of 24 dyadic in-depth interviews and 52 individual in-depth interviews with people aged 47–91 living in Warsaw and Poznan (Poland), five sources of resistance to new domestic technologies were identified: (1) disruption of “flow” (Csikszentmihalyi 1990) – the pleasure resulting from a habitual and automatic action, the synchronization between the body and its material surroundings; (2) disruption of the “natural order of things” (the “mental map,” Kaufmann 2001) – a sense of security, durability or safety resulting from the stability of the spatial and material arrangement of the home (a sense that everything is in its place); (3) differences of standards and cultural ideals regarding acceptable practices, the quality of their performance, and their effect; (4) possible disturbance in relationships between members of the household; (5) beliefs about what is right, moral, or correct, as well as dissonances between different pieces of knowledge and beliefs, and between an opinion or belief and an embodied practice.
Highlights
Reductionist approaches to the issue of technology’s spread define resistance to new technology as “technophobia” (Brosnan 1998), strengthening the ideology of progress, a certain normative postulate about the necessity to adapt to new technological innovations
The violation of certain habits can break down the strongly assimilated and often silent natural order of things (Sørensen 2006) or sustaining regimes (Krajewski 2009; see Zalewska 2011). This aspect in the context of the domestication of technology is indicated by Meintjes (2001), who describes in her work how the incorporation of the washing machine into a community living in the Soweto district of Johannesburg, South Africa, aroused strong resistance due to the strongly entrenched practice of hand-washing and its symbolism referring to norms and expectations of women
The entry of a new object into the house is associated with script-translation processes, as it constitutes a kind of violation of the familiar, habituated space by something alien – an object or technology
Summary
Reductionist approaches to the issue of technology’s spread define resistance to new technology as “technophobia” (Brosnan 1998), strengthening the ideology of progress, a certain normative postulate about the necessity to adapt to new technological innovations. She emphasizes that she has passed the driving test (twice), and in extremely difficult weather conditions (a snowstorm), her reason for not using a car is not lack of competence Wyatt completes her autobiographical statement with a confession that her social circles could not understand her decision not to have a car and described the choice as “weird,” “abnormal,” or even a manifestation of immaturity (a “real” adult drives a car). Into the home system ( the user “does not think” to take the food processor out of the cupboard or sweeps the floor without thinking of using the vacuum cleaner) At this stage, the device is in use, but use is limited, controlled, and/or both old and new technologies are used in parallel. I will move on to discussing the state of the art in home-appliance domestication, and go on to discuss the research results in detail
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