2022: Communication Technologies

Andrew Crowe

10 Years TimeIn the past ten years:

Mobile smartphone technology and Internet social media have become a part of our culture and shape our everyday lives.

We are at a drop off in history. The next leap will be exponential.Our mobile devices will

become integral to our way of life.

Uses and Gratifications TheoryPeople adopt

technology based on their needs and wants.

Our mobile devices will continue to adopt more applications.

Online identities and presence of individuals on the internet will become a common medium.

Media System Dependency TheoryAs new media are

diffused into our society they become more integral to our way of life.

The cell phone of the future will have everything that you need.

It becomes unfeasible to rely on outdated technology.

Rogers Diffusion of InnovationsTechnology trends

are adopted by innovators who validate the usefulness and spread the applications to the early adopters.

Twitter seems to be an early adoption that is entering into the majority.

Critical Mass TheoryA technology will

become self sustaining once it has been adopted by a sufficient number of people.

That sufficient number of people is the critical mass necessary to operate the technology.

Social Information ProcessingMobile technology gives

people access to a large collaborative network at any time.

This allows people to get and give real-time feedback to raise awareness or solve problems.

The government will rely more on the input of electronic collaboration to make decisions based on public opinion.

The Long Tail TheoryAs media become more

decentralized the number of channels in a medium grows.

The internet is a medium without limit to channels. Content is produced and distributed by many users.

The future will be more decentralized as more people become content creators.

There will be more opportunity for high quality niche markets.

SourcesGrant, August E. and Jennifer H. Meadows,

eds. 2012. Communication Technology Update and Fundamentals, Thirteenth Edition. New York: Focal Press.

Naughton, John. 2012. From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg: What You Really Need To Know About the Internet. London: Quercus.

Images were obtained from Google image search