I looked at the idea of the user of the relationship of power between the technology and it's user, specifically the internet. I used pages 22-24 of the book "The Body and The Screen: Theories of Internet Spectatorship", by Michele White (2006).
Alain J-J. Cohen
The spectator of the internet has now been replaced with a "hyper-spectator", who, using their ability to create their own numerous online identities, can view the internet and its content from infinite positions.
New technologies reconfigure peoples thoughts on their current online identity, which allows them to constantly be escaping their real world identities, which is held back by things such as age, gender and race. Online this doesn't exist, you can be who you want to be, or at least who you think the internet wants you to be.
The idea of using verbs in relation to the doing things online gives us the idea that we have some physical power over the internet. A good example of this is the use of the term "surfing" when referring to using the internet, as this makes us think of the ease of which a surfer can negotiate waves, which in turn makes us think we have that sort of ease and power when negotiating the internet.
Justine Cassell and Harry Jenkins
From a young age it is innately suggested that technology is more of a male thing than a female thing, despite studies showing that women use the internet more than men. This is because we associate womens interaction with the internet with shopping and instant messaging etc, whereas the stereotypical image of a computer program is a "fat middle-aged man", which suggests that men have the power over technology, whereas to women it's more of a novelty.
The unbalanced nature of the programmer-user power balance makes us question or right to have or want control over our own technology, which shows in the blind way in which people upgrade their apple products, even if they're more than happy with their current one, they accept the programmers word that the new one is better.
Both these points will continue to be the case as long as society continues to be scared or confused about technology, as "women's and abjectly figured men's lack of control is contrasted with the programmers skill", and this is exemplified by the stereotypical story of a technophobe mistaking a CD-ROM try for a cup holder. This sort of issue very much reminds me of an episode of the Simpsons where Homer becomes the driver for the Springfields Monorail (Season 4, Episode 12).
Similarities and Differences
Whilst both theories imply some sort of balance of power between the spectator and the technology, Cohen's theory suggests that people are much happier to embrace and challenge this balance than Cassell and Jenkins' does, with Cohen suggesting that people want to master technology rather than submitting to it, which is what the latter theory seems to be suggesting.
I also notice that both theories look upon the spectators from different points of view. Cohen looks at it in the sense that the spectator fully decides their own identity, whereas Cassell and Jenkins look it in the sense that the spectator is using their real world identities. This is why the the theories differ in my opinion, as the spectator that appreciates their ability to chose their own identity has a basic understanding of technology anyway, which explains their willingness to want to master it. This is in direct contrast to someone who approaches technology from the point of view of their real world self.
Applications to Graphic Design
I suppose the biggest thing that should be taken from this is to understand your target market when doing digital design. These two theories suggest two extreme groups of people, the technology nerds and the technophobes. Whilst this isn't the be all and end all of peoples relationship with technology, it's important to understand your target markets relationship with technology, as this should inform your approach to communication through such things as wording and iconography. For example, it's no use using an envelope as a symbol for e-mail if your audience is an older generation who might see the use of an envelope more literally. In the same way it's probably not suggestible to use lots of specialist or unfamiliar terms, cache and cookies for example.
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