ABSTRACT
The ubiquity of technology has had profound cultural impacts locally and globally. Thinking about technology as a network in and of itself, but also part of a larger network with nodes and connectors should encourage us to consider the reciprocal relationship that it has with users. And because of the ubiquity of technology today, sometimes our designs simply need to acknowledge and address a current situation that has been caused by, or exacerbated by, the introduction of technology in a specific situation or to culture overall. Sometimes we might be trying to undo damage, but at the very least, we need to be examining the impact that technology has on us as designers (in the types of designs we are creating) and to users and how they are engaging with design and how it might be impacting their quality of life through the technology our design is using or embedding. Through a series of case studies, this chapter will explore the ways that design can reveal hidden agendas and behaviors.
