Member-only story
The Great Unbundle and Rebundle: How Technology Is Fragmenting and Reweaving Society
“Technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral.” — Melvin Kranzberg
In the last two decades, technology has not just disrupted industries — it has systematically dismantled the very fabric of how we, as a society, function. Education, commerce, media, and even social relationships have been “unbundled,” torn from their traditional institutions and scattered into fragmented, hyper-specialized components. But this isn’t the end. Far from it. Technology isn’t just pulling us apart — it’s also weaving us back together. The process is messy, controversial, and profoundly transformational.
Understanding Unbundling and Rebundling
At its core, unbundling is the process of breaking apart complex systems, services, or products into their individual components, allowing each piece to operate independently. Technology often drives this by creating tools that bypass traditional systems, offering consumers the freedom to choose specific services without the constraints of a bundle.
Rebundling, by contrast, brings those fragmented parts back together in new configurations — often via digital platforms. Instead of bundling under a single traditional institution, these re-bundled ecosystems unite services…