For the description of the transforming self: An ecological approach to understanding the influence of technology

Abstract

This paper aims to confirm the possibilities and limitations of understanding the impact of technology by "affordance" through a comparative study with the standard theory of understanding technology. While the theory of technology extension, which can be called the standard theory, has a track record of pioneering issues related to technology and becoming the basis for derivative theories, it is also recognized as having the defect of omitting the work of determining effects and proceeding with the discussion based on the premise of extensional effects. The affordance theories of technology, which can describe the transformation of the self through technology, can be combined with the extension theory in a way that contributes to the process of discernment, but this combination is not one-sided. Rather, it identifies the points of contact between the two theories, and shows that the affordance theory of technology also has the benefit of being combined, that is, it clarifies the complementary relationship between the two.