Each Thursday the New York Times has a section of its newspaper entitled ‘Circuits’ devoted to new technologies, generally digital gadgets and new computer programs. Regular features include reviews of new pdas, discussions of digital effects in films, or new functions in the next generation of mobile phones.

The critical edge is applied only very lightly, for eight to ten broadsheet pages the articles express a celebration of technology and the cult of the new. ‘Circuits’ represents a very long tradition with relationship to technology: new inventions express the superiority of the modern over anything traditional. It is a reading of technology as a new Darwinism: each succeeding technology improves on its previous generation and liberates humanity that much more. The New York Times is not alone in providing a regular space for this celebration of the future in the present manifestations of technology in fact every major newspaper in the world allows for these fluff pieces about the promise of technology. In the last decade, they have developed into a larger niche of the press and have become regular features on television – whole shows such as Tech tv are devoted to the love of new electronic and digital gadgets.

Thinking about the role of these articles helps us tackle the larger issue of technology in new media culture. These newspaper sections help create an environment of adoption of new technology. They bestow not only a building familiarity with the various gadgets’ functions, but also a sense of fun and pleasure in learning and adapting to technological change.