By Chinanu Onuaku

COMM 303

Spring 2015

THE FUTURE OF COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGIES & THEORIES

• Cell phones

• Computers

• Gaming consoles

• Moore’s Innovation Adoption Rate

• Social Information Processing

• Media System Dependency Theory

CELL PHONES OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS

• In 2005, Sony released the first ever Walkman Phone, called the “Chirp.”

• In 2007, the first iPhone was released as the first smartphone.

• In 2009, Android released touch screens.

CELL PHONES IN THE PRESENT• Cell phones have many different uses today.

• They are used for

• making phones calls

• Texting

• Instant Message

• Banking

• Shopping

• Bill Paying

• GPS

• E-mail

CELL PHONES IN THE FUTURE

• It is hard to predict exactly what cell phones will look like 10 years from now.

• We can however, expect that cell phones will be more powerful, faster, have better cameras, and have more capabilities than they do now.

• In the future, cell phones will be able to be more customizable and consumers will have more choices when deciding what their device will look like.

• I think cell phones will start getting smaller again, because they started really big then got smaller, now they are getting bigger again.

• There will be better WiFi, Bluetooth, camera, GPS, and other applications to enhance the users’ experience.

MOORE’S INNOVATION ADOPTION THEORY• Changes in the way that cell phones look and what they do can be attributed to Moore’s

Innovation Adoption Theory.

• This theory states that innovations go through gradual changes and can take long periods of time.

• The word “adoption” refers to the stage where technology is selected for use by an individual or organization (Carr Jr., n.d.).

• Gradual changes will continue to take place to cell phones in the future.

COMPUTERS OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS

• Computers have made drastic changes over the past 10 years.

• Storage and hard drive space was more expensive in the past.

• Computers were much slower and had many less capabilities and functions than they do now.

• They were aesthetically less appealing because of their large size.

COMPUTERS IN THE PRESENT• Today, computers and laptop computers are used for many different things that people

probably never thought were possible.

• The internet has changed the capabilities of the computer, making it easier to access things and people from around the world.

• We can chat instantly with someone in another country.

• We can create presentations such as this one to share.

• Present-day computers are smaller with a more sleek design.

COMPUTERS IN THE FUTURE

• Computers in the future will be smaller and sleeker than they are currently.

• Trends toward these types of designs are obvious in today’s society.

• Future computers will be faster and more powerful, will have longer lasting batteries, and will contain new innovations that we do not have access to now.

• Holographs will be popular in the future with technology, and I think computers will follow this trend.

SOCIAL INFORMATION PROCESSING• Social Information Processing is a theory developed by Joseph Walther in 1992, and

it explains how people get to know one another online (Fishaw, 2014).

• This theory also explains how people develop relationships in an environment that is centered around the computer.

• These relationships may not have been created without the use of online technology, or social media and the advancement of computers.

COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION• The use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) has grown exponentially in the

last decade (Walther, n.d.).

• It will conitnue to grow over the next 10 years as social media changes and enhances users’ experiences.

• Social media will create new ways to connect users through applications.

GAMING CONSOLES IN THE PAST

• Xbox 360 was released in November of 2005.

• Playstation 3 was released in November of 2006.

• Each new console introduced a new type of technology.

• Better resolutions, new graphics, and new ways to connect were important to users of these gaming consoles.

GAMING CONSOLES IN THE PRESENT

• Current gaming consoles are – Playstation 4, Xbox One, and Wii U.

• Video game handhelds are also popular with the release of Nintendo 3DS.

• Current gaming consoles are WiFi capable and can allow users to do everything they would need to do on their smartphone or computer in one sitting.

• Another popular thing about current gaming consoles is the motion detection software that is used in each.

• This allows users to play games with no controllers and only their body movements.

• These consoles also come with wireless controllers, unlike those in the past.

GAMING CONSOLES IN THE FUTURE

• The popularity of gaming consoles will decline somewhat in the future.

• By 2025, I believe there will be less in-home gaming consoles.

• More handheld devices will continue to become popular and that is what consumers will want to use.

• There will be new features for these games, such as voice command, and more realistic graphics.

MEDIA SYSTEM DEPENDENCY THEORY• The Media System Dependency Theory states that there is an internal link

between media, audience, and the large social system.

• The audience uses more information from media to fulfill their needs.

• Media power can be used to influence the audience, their relationship, and dependence on media.

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE 3 COMPONENTS• Society and the media – media depends on societal systems

that are different because of political, economical, and cultural views.

• Media and the audience – key variable in this theory, because it affects how people will use a medium.

• Society and the audience – influences consumers’ needs for media use.

This theory can illustrate and explain how society, media, and an audience are influenced by one another. These influences affect how users interact in these three different components.

IN CONCLUSION...• As these communication

technologies have changed over the past 10 years, they will continue to change over the next 10 years.

• The ways that we communicate with one another will continue to grow.

• These technologies will make it easier to connect with people from across the world.

• By 2025, there will be new applications that allow us to connect easily to whose we wish to communicate with.

REFERENCES

• Carr, V.H. (2012). Technology adoption and diffusion. Retrieved from http://www.av.af.mil/av/awc/awcgate/innovation/adoptiondiffusion.htm

• Fishaw, J. (2014). How social media has changed in the last few years. Retrieved from http://www.digitalsherpa.com/blog/how-social-media-has-changed-in-the-last-few-years

• Wadwha, V. (2014). 10 years after Facebook launched, social media is only beginning to shake up the world. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2014/02/03/10-years-after-Facebook-sical-media-is-only-beginning-to-shake-up-the-world/

• Walther, J. (n.d.). Theories of computer mediated communication and interpersonal relations. Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/42241_14.pdf