The Role of Information & Communication Technology
Twitter burst onto the communications scene with a vengeance at the end of 2008. It, Facebook and other social networks have changed the face of communications in the modern world. Information is now at your fingertips during every moment of the day. Anyone who has Internet access now has the ability to communicate across the globe in a few keystrokes.
Other People Are Reading
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Learning the Tools
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In 2009, the main tools for communicating online are blogs, social networks and photography sites and video sites. Networks such as Twitter and Facebook allow users to sign up for the service and invite or add connections as they like. The networks also give people the option of keeping their information private or making it public. Anyone can set up a blog on WordPress and start posting stories right away. Flickr and YouTube appeal to the more visual among us, offering ways to share our photographs and videos with people.
Getting to Hidden Information
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Many writers, activists and citizen journalists use online tools to provide information that mainstream sources do not. The Daily Kos, a conglomeration of blogs dedicated to political analysis and activism, offers bloggers a chance to write about political events and reach millions of people. Americas MexicoBlog offers people information about current political events in Mexico that may not be offered by mainstream news sources.
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Mobilizing for Social Justice
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Journalists and citizen journalists view these online tools as a way to get their stories out. During the election protests in Iran in June of 2009, the Iranian government shut down the media. Citizens and citizen journalists started Tweeting what was happening, and news organizations such as Time magazine were reporting it in the U.S. In December 2008, Greek dissidents demanded democracy from their government and used Twitter and text messaging to organize a protest.
Reducing Attention Spans
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There is a downside to the new technologies: a decrease in attention spans. According to Susan Greenfield, a professor of pharmacology at Oxford University, children and people who spend a lot of time online have a hard time communicating in person. According to Greenfield, children may be emotionally underdeveloped while the social skills of adults who spend too much time online may regress.
Changing the Way We Live
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Indications are that more interactive, online technology is coming and will continue to change the way we interact with each other and live. In 2009, Twitter had 1.3 million users; there were more than 300 million people on Facebook; and American adults spent an average of 8.5 hours online every day.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit William Hook/Flickr
