FaceTime in the 1960’s.
When I was a kid, I remember looking through my dad’s illustrated World Book Encyclopedia from 1969. In a section featuring artist renditions of “the future,” I found an illustration of someone enjoying a conversation on their telephone. Next to the handset was a small computer screen, featuring the face of whoever was on the other end of the line. “Before you know it,” my dad said, looking over my shoulder, “that’s how we’ll talk to people on the phone.”
He was right. Less than fifteen years later, that’s how we talk to people. Well, that’s one way we can talk to people, if we so choose. Today, it’s not even necessary for a smartphone user to have WiFi access to FaceTime on the iPhone. So, if technology is evolving this quickly, what sorts of technologies will we have access to in the next fifteen years?
Who knows? But, as Nancy Baym wisely reminds us, it’s important for us to remember how we should react to the arrival of new technologies. We don’t need to worry so much about whether or not they are good or bad. Instead, in her words, “We need to understand the social dynamics into which technologies are introduced and in which they play out.” Thankfully, many have already begun to realize this. However, future generations, also, must adopt attitudes of understanding and adaptation. Because, in Baym’s words, “Technologies do not arise from blank slates. They are first developed and deployed in social and cultural contexts.” This, first and foremost, is the lesson we must learn well, and teach the next generation.
It’s also important for us to understand that digital natives are, and will continue to be, more adept in grasping current issues regarding technologies than we might think. For instance, the public seems to assume that the tech-savy youth of today don’t care about their privacy online. However, in Boyd and Hargittai’s study on Facebook privacy, the researchers’ findings suggested that most younger users were both knowledgable and concerned about these issues. They say, “…it may appear that all is fine regarding related issues on Facebook since many young adult users are actively managing their profile’s public access.” They acknowledge that their study is only the beginning of overcoming our assumptions about how people think about privacy online. However, if their findings continue to prove true, maybe it’s time we focused the discussion about social media and online interactions toward how to wield these tools for maximum professional and personal success instead of worrying quite so much.
Love your picture. It is so true that in the past parents predicted how we would communicate in the future. I also agree with Baym’s statement that “we do not need to worry whether or not they are good or bad” we need to be focused on the way we use them. In the future we can look back on these post and see that we actually predicted how will will communicate in the future.
The think I always find fascinating about those predictions, and the image you shared, is how they never, ever got the impact of mobility/portability. The picture shows video communication – sure we have Skype, and FaceTime, and Adobe Connect, etc – and we have cell phones and smart phones. The screens aren’t mounted to our walls, they are in our pockets. And instead of one communication device, we have many. I have no fewer than FOUR devices with video conferencing capability: an iPhone, iPad, laptop, and an iMac at work. Three of these four devices are mobile. New research from Pew that I didn’t include in the class indicates that a growing number of young people are accessing the internet increasingly from mobile devices. How will that change our communication in the future?
Stay tuned…..
Just to play devil’s advocate, Star Trek (yes, laugh at me now) did get the mobility thing. It’s the only futuristic show or film that I can remember that emphasized handheld devices and other small portable communication devices. However, I think the affordability of mobile played a huge role in its success. If monthly cell phone plans didn’t heavily discount the upfront cost of our mobile devices, do we think the revolution would have been so wide scale? I have my doubts.
Girl you know I am a major Star Trek nerd, right? No laughing here.
It’s a good point, actually, I didn’t even think about sci fi – I was thinking more about industrial predictions, like this promotional move made at the 1962 World’s Fair. Scroll to about 4:30 in the video, when they get to the Bell Labs exhibit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgCQWEyvdl4
I agree that worrying about new developments in technology isn’t completely necessary. Trying to understand something and its effects is most important. If you don’t try to understand the new developments and shun them for being different from what you’re used to, you miss out on something that could be really helpful and great. Technology is helpful in so many ways and when you use it your way, you get the most out of it.
I ,too, agree with Baym’s words, “Technologies do not arise from blank slates. They are first developed and deployed in social and cultural contexts.” Only time can resolve problems and help generation x to find ways to communicate and adopt with generation Y and their fast motions in everything. In fact, everything is going so fast around us, people can’t catch up with the new technologies whether it is iphones, smartphones,SNSs and so on. Meagan had a good point about the affordability of mobiles. Until few years a go not all people had cell phones because it was new advent and so expensive, hovwever, we see that most elementary school students even in public schools they have cellphones, iphones, DS, and ipads.
I am also awe-struck as to how much technology has improved over the past few years alone. How technology has influenced the lives of countless people around the world is even more scary. Some people spend their entire lives centered around some form of technology. This way of life could easily lead to social seclusion for these individuals. Seclusion could ultimately prove harmful, so use of technology must be restricted in order to prevent excessive seclusion.
It’s crazy how much it has all evolved. It’s actually good though for people in the military cuz the men can skype their wives/girlfriends and their worries will be alleviated some because they can see that their men are physcially okay.