Analog to digital, and back again: How artistry and nostalgia counter technological obsolescence
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Department
Communication and Media Studies
Abstract
Technological obsolescence occurs when a product or service is no longer needed or wanted because it is superseded by a technology that, in comparison, has more advantages than the technology it is replacing. For instance, digital photography should have forced analog photography into obsolescence. However, over the past decade there has been a resurgence in both the sale and use of analog cameras. Drawing upon the work of Nicholas Carr and Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow, this paper argues that the ‘artistry’ and ‘nostalgia’ associated with analog photography counters the belief that newer technologies make other technologies obsolete.
Analog to digital, and back again: How artistry and nostalgia counter technological obsolescence
Technological obsolescence occurs when a product or service is no longer needed or wanted because it is superseded by a technology that, in comparison, has more advantages than the technology it is replacing. For instance, digital photography should have forced analog photography into obsolescence. However, over the past decade there has been a resurgence in both the sale and use of analog cameras. Drawing upon the work of Nicholas Carr and Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow, this paper argues that the ‘artistry’ and ‘nostalgia’ associated with analog photography counters the belief that newer technologies make other technologies obsolete.
