Social Determinism

   Social determinists view technological developments as symptoms of some type of other social change. According to Williams (1974), this perspective considers technological development to be "a by-product of a social process that is otherwise determined". For example, Tim Berners-Lee originally developed the World Wide Web technology to solve a social problem. Physicists and other academics were having a problem sharing files and information through the Internet. In order to share a file, computer users had to have the same software programs and information had to be stored in compatible file formats. These conditions made it difficult for academics to easily share resources. To solve this problem, Berners-Lee developed a universal system that would enable computer users to read files on any type of computer; he called it the World Wide Web.

   The creation of a universal system that solved the social problem of incompatible files and documents is an example of how technology was used to meet a social need. In contrast to technological determinists who view technology as being the cause of social change, social determinists identify social problems that technology was developed to solve. Both social and technological determinists view the relationship between technology and society as a linear one of cause and effect.