Theoretical Insights for Developing the Concept of Social Technologies

Purpose—Social technologies continue to grow in popularity in society. Even though the term “social technology” is most commonly used to refer to new social media such as Twitter and Facebook, a redefinition of this concept based on the original definition is needed. Nowadays the concept of “social technology” has several aspects, which destabilize the dominant image of technology. It emphasizes the social sciences and the humanities as shapers of society, reconsiders the strength of “soft technologies.” The aim of this paper is to provide rich insight into the concept of social technologies’ and to develop the meaning of social technologies in information and knowledge society by analysing new needs and application forms of social technologies.<br /> Findings—the research contributed to the understanding of the concept of social technologies. Based on the analysis and synthesis of the scientific literature, a theoretical framework for defining social technologies was developed.<br /> Research limitations/implications—the research is limited in a few aspects. For a deeper understanding of social technologies and for developing technological perspectives in social sciences a broader theoretical, as well as empirical, research is necessary. In order to generalise the research findings, further research should include different dimensions from the perspective of other sciences.<br /> Article Type: conceptual paper