Misconception of Immigrants in the context of Technology

Immigrants in the US are not associated with technology. We imagine immigrants as permanent residents of the agriculture and service sectors. At best we think of immigrants as our caretakers and nannies. At worst we think of them as criminals.

Contributions to technology are not qualities we associate with immigrants. We ourselves seldom understand our relationship with technology and the difference between being technology users versus technology makers. The sophisticated advertising apparatus of mass media can easily deceive us into believing that gadget ownership is equal to knowledge.
We are beguiled by the power of branding. It’s easy to believe that manipulating a device makes us powerful.

Imagine one of those beautiful luxury car commercials with sublime vistas and endless roads on coastal mountain sides. We see the car from the perspective of both driver and designer. We are expounded on attributes of technological prowess. Persuaded to feel that a combination of automotive engineering and the latest gadgetry is paramount to our own standing and value in society. “If you own this car you are smarter, sexier, more successful, you have a better grasp on what is important in life…”you own technology as a superior tool.

What actually happens when your car suddenly stalls to a stop at the side of the road? Your car is broken. What do you do? Do you open the hood and inspect it? Do you happen to have an OBD(On Board Diagnostic Tool) and do you know how to use it? Can you actually correctly diagnose and fix it?

No. Most people will go to a mechanic or a car specialist. The power technology users have is limited to being passive recipients of the benefits of the tool…Not as active producers with knowledge of the tool. This fact equalizes almost everyone into a docile relationship with technology. Ironically, it’s more likely that an immigrant assembly line worker in a car factory, has a better grasp on the nature of our car components than we do. I am not saying this immigrant is a better mechanic than you or me. But I am saying that their relationship to the technological elements of your car is more profound than yours. After all, they spend at least eight hours a day assembling parts with a general awareness of how they work. We only drive our cars and treat them like valuable artifacts. When they break down we take them to a mechanic.

Before we can determine if immigrants are less apt or capable within the ubiquitous definition of technology, we need to understand our own relationship with it. And we need to be honest about what we have been subtly deceived into thinking. Technology is not something that we own because we have a tool or a gadget. We can only own technology when we understand it and have the capacity to define it.

by Adan Garcia-Bugarin