Transcript COMM 3353: Information, Internet, and the World Wide Web

COMM 3353:
Communication
Web
Technologies I
Chapter 9a:
Social
Implications
www.class.uh.edu/comm/classes/comm3353/ppt/_Pres9a.html
Social Implications
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Internet Use, Abuse, and Addiction
Mass Media Use
Societal Changes and Technology
Effects of Media Messages
Internet Use, Abuse, and
Addiction
 Technology aside, internet growth brings about
all kinds of new questions about its use.
 People don’t stop to think about the impact this major
technology has (or will have) on our lives.
 Researchers have been studying the psychological,
sociological, physiological effects on humans.
 This is just as important as studying the technology itself.
 Ergonomics, for starters. . .
Internet Use, Abuse, and
Addiction, Continued…
 The effects of TV
 The “Couch Potato” syndrome
 98 percent of all homes in the US have at least
one TV.
 +/- 7 hours daily
 TV, Newspapers, Magazines, etc. . .
 People like to read as well as watch TV.
 With work, TV, and other entertainment, how
much time is left for the internet?
Internet Use, Abuse, and
Addiction, Continued…
 Some people spend hours in front of the
computer
 Chat, games, email, surfing. . .
 People seem to spend too much time
online.
 Economics of time and the “Online” issue.
Internet Use, Abuse, and
Addiction, Continued…
 The Web as an Opiate
 Some people’s happiness is dependent
upon their daily fix of the Internet.
 Socially awkward because the mind is
psychologically fooled into believing that time
spent online is part of the norm
 Physiologically causes the brain to produce
endorphins (pleasure) whenever someone is logged
on.
Internet Use, Abuse, and
Addiction, Continued…
 Internet Addiction
 Caused by the body’s need for the Internet Fix. .
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 CIU (Compulsive Internet Use) and IAD (Internet
Addiction Disorder)
 Major advancement in the medical field.
 Doctors actually treat patients who overuse the
Internet.
 IAD changes people’s behavior for the worse. . .
 Missed work, relationship trouble, academic trouble.
Internet Use, Abuse, and
Addiction, Continued…
 The Internet’s Addictive Technologies:
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MUD
eMail
UseNet Newsgroups
The WWW in general
Internet Use, Abuse, and
Addiction, Continued…
 IAD Warning Signs:
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1) Compulsively checking email.
2) Anticipation of the next Internet session.
3) Spending too much time online.
4) Spending too much money online.
Internet Use, Abuse, and
Addiction, Continued…
 CIU and IAD Research:
 Columbia University
 IAD Support Group and major researcher in the IAD
phenomenon.
 Dr. Ivan Goldberg, professor of Psychiatry
 University of Pittsburgh
 Founded the Center for Online Addiction.
Internet Use, Abuse, and
Addiction, Continued…
 Other Research:
 22 percent of survey respondents reported
a “cocaine”-like rush while online.
 Most of these people were addicted to caffeine
as well.
 12 percent said that the Internet “relaxed”
them.
Mass Media Use
 Why has the Internet and WWW become so
popular, so quickly?
 People like lots of choices.
 Mass media has paved the way for electronic
interaction.
 First Newsprint, then Radio, the TV, and now. . .
 People like the web because it has millions of pages, but
its unlikely that any one person will ever view every
single page on the web.
Mass Media Use, Continued…
 Speed
 Another aspect of Mass Media and the Web is the
speed at which people access different locations and
documents.
 The ability to sit in Houston while instantaneously
communicating with someone from Europe is very attractive and
convenient.
 People not only like all these choices, but also like the
speed at which those choices become available.
 Human wants and needs are insatiable.
Societal Changes and
Technology
 The Evolution of a Modern, Technical
Society
 Classical Theorem on Social Living
 A result of major social interaction.
 Strong community
 Strength in Numbers
 Group Norms and Values
Societal Changes and
Technology, Continued…
 The Evolution of a Modern, Technical
Society, Continued. . .
 Modern Theorem on Social Living
 A result of little or less social interaction by the
general populous.
 Strong individuality
 Lacking in behavioral responsibility
 Individual idealism
 If it feels good. . . Do it!
Societal Changes and
Technology, Continued…
 Gemeinshaft vs. Gesellschaft
 Two basic types of Social Organization
 Ferdinand Tonnies (1877)
 Gemeinshaft (Community)
 A Society bound tightly together in many ways:
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Blood relationships
Tradition
Ritual
Religion
Work
Societal Changes and
Technology, Continued…
 Gesellschaft (Society)
 A society whereby its members coexist
contractually with industrialization, division of
labor, specialization, and urban expansion.
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Acquaintance relationships
New ideas
Contacts
Consequences
Corporate America
Societal Changes and
Technology, Continued…
 Mass Society and Mass Media
 WW1 and Propaganda
 Brought about the need to study the effects of
Mass Media on society.
 Allies needed a way to rally civilians toward the
war effort.
 Mass Media organized propaganda
dissemination.
Effects of Media
Messages
 Categories of the effects of mass
communication on society:
 Researchers and Sociologist have been
studying mass media’s effects on
individuals since WW1 and have
developed three main categories:
 Cognitive Change
 Emotional / Attitudinal Change
 Behavioral Change
Effects of Media
Messages, Continued…
 Cognitive Change
 Occurs when an individual learns
something new as a result of time spent
online.
 Book example:
 Herpes Homepage
 Virtual Frog
Effects of Media
Messages, Continued…
 Emotional / Attitudinal Change
 Occurs when exposure to items online effect
someone’s attitude and/or emotion.
 WW2 and images of genocide
 Starving children in Africa
 Clinton scandal
 Repeated exposure to the Internet may bring
about emotional change, and the Internet’s
unlimited storage capabilities make this easy.
Effects of Media
Messages, Continued…
 Behavioral Change
 Occurs when a person acts differently than
he or she normally does as a result of time
spent online.
 Buying eProducts
 Online (unsecured) spending
 Online chat group participation
 Economics of time and the online experience.
The Internet and the
World Wide Web
• End Chapter 9,
Part I.