From luxury to necessity
Subtitle: what the railways, electricity and the automobile teach us about the IT revolution
By: Sjoerd Bakker
Publisher: Boom
Published: 2017
Place of publication: Amsterdam
Language: eng
Number of pages: 294
ISBN-13: 9789024408511
Copyright date: 2017
Subjects: Information society; Social aspects; Digital media
Description: What do computers and smartphones have in common with the railways, electricity, and the automobile? Each triggered a technological revolution that radically changed the way in which we live, work, eat, shop and enjoy ourselves. 'From Luxury to Necessity' shows how these technological revolutions affected everyday life and led to new consumer practices. Even though they would develop into absolute necessities within decades, all of them started as novelties for which meaningful uses were still unclear. The true value of the technologies was only realized when consumers started using them as part of new and valuable practices. This book recounts the struggles of consumers, businesses and governments to make sense of the new technologies and their unexpected uses. The historical perspective of the book sheds new light on the current it revolution, shows the remarkable similarities between past and present, and helps us to understand how new and existing consumer practices evolve with technological innovation.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-265) and index.