"Did you know 4.0"

Rapid Surge in Technology and Social Media Innovations

The video, "Did you know 4.0",   http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=6ILQrUrEWe8&vq=large#t=16  gives staggering statistics on how the "surge in technologies and social media innovations” is altering the media landscape and in turn, our culture and world. It goes beyond the classroom technology that I discussed in my previous post, giving us further insight into the effects of these changes.

This video begins with the premise that it is easier to reach a larger audience but harder to “really connect” with it.  It definitely shows how it is easier to reach larger audiences, however the second part of the premise that it is harder to really connect with them is not supported. The creators never defined what they meant by "really connect".  As experience with the media depicted in the video can be tailored to the user, it appears to me, that the opposite would be true. For instance, advertisers can connect better with facebook users based on their surfing habits and history, than relying on demographic information on subscribers to a magazine. Carefully targeted advertisement seems more efficient.  As technology continues to evolve, a " real connection" as the video creators had in mind may or may not be easier to approximate.

A question is asked at the end of the video that I discussed in my previous post, ("What if"), is "What if we had listened?"  What if we had listened to the naysayers ? What if we listen to the naysayers today?  Again, I believe we should be cautious when adopting new technology and not completely tune out the naysayers. 

New problems evolve when new technology is put into use. For example, in 2009,  93% of adults in the US have cell phones, but were hesitant to use them when making purchases. This proves to be a legitimate concern.  The growth of cell phone features did not coincide with as rapid a growth in security technology. http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/24286/?mod=related 

Skills needed in this new world of technology include critical thinking skills along with the ability to assess potential threats and problems that can result from using this technology. Adopters of today's rapidly changing technology are much more vulnerable than the students who gave up their slates for paper. They are exposed to much greater risks. The ease of use often masks the complexity of consequences.

"Did you know 4.0" ends with a few predictions: 2020, should bring us primary access to the internet through smartphones and computers with computing power of a cell phone that could fit in a blood cell.  I am not so sure that these predictions will come true.  Something that we have not yet imagined may be the primary means of accessing the internet at the end of this decade; there may be a limitation to miniaturization, only time will tell.