Tag Archives: Mobile Phones

Zuckerberg’s Dream of Connecting the World: What Can We Expect? (Part 5 – Implications)

09 Sunday Feb 2014

Posted by in Media Psychology, Psychology, Social Psychology

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Recapping the previous four posts on this topic, Mark Zuckerberg’s new non-profit consortium of information and communication technology (ICT) corporations would like to connect the remaining 5 billion inhabitants of the planet to the Internet who are not now connected (Internet.org, 2013). This post examines the implications of what the  studies conducted on a reduced scale involving the distribution of laptops in Ethiopia found.

What has been established is that when Western ICT is available on a daily, long term basis to an individual who lives in a third-world, collectivistic environment, the ICT does cause change in individual self-construal, fosters the growth of individualistic, modern and agentic values, and increases levels of abstract reasoning among children. Although, these changes are individually significant, it does not immediately alter the individual’s culture and they are, from what appears to date, subsumed into the culture’s uniqueness (Hansen & Postmes, 2013; Hansen & Postmes, 2013; Hansen, Postmes, van der Vinne, & van Thiel, 2012; Kocsev, Hansen, Hollow, & Pischetola, 2009).
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Zuckerberg’s Dream of Connecting the World: What Can We Expect? (Part 4 – The Findings)

20 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by in Media Effects, Media Psychology, Psychology

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Recapping the previous posts on this topic, Mark Zuckerberg’s new non-profit consortium of information and communication technology (ICT) corporations would like to connect the remaining 5 billion inhabitants of the planet to the Internet who are not now connected (Internet.org, 2013). Many of the five billion people in question will most likely come from collectivistic non-western cultures. This post examines the results of studies conducted on a reduced scale involving the distribution of laptops in Ethiopia during which the researchers claim to have found the “first systematic evidence that usage of Western ICT can instigate cultural change in a traditional developing country” (Hansen N. , Postmes, van der Vinne, & van Thiel, 2012, p. 230).
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Zuckerberg’s Dream of Connecting the World: What Can We Expect? (Part 3)

30 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by in Media Effects, Psychology

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Recapping the earlier posts on this topic, Mark Zuckerberg’s new non-profit consortium of information and communication technology (ICT) corporations would like to connect the remaining 5 billion inhabitants of the planet to the Internet who are not now connected (Internet.org, 2013). Many of the five billion people in question will most likely come from collectivistic non-western cultures. What effects can we expect?

As connecting the world’s populations has never been attempted before, literature focusing on the potential effects is non-existent. As a result, a reduced scale of the effort can be examined in regard to the insertion of Western ICT into countries that have not been previously exposed to it en masse or subject to its effects.

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Zuckerberg’s Dream of Connecting the World: What Can We Expect? (Part 2)

28 Thursday Nov 2013

Posted by in Media Literacy, Psychology, Social Psychology

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Recapping the previous post on this topic, Mark Zuckerberg’s new non-profit consortium of information and communication technology (ICT) corporations would like to connect the remaining 5 billion inhabitants of the planet to the Internet who are not now connected (Internet.org, 2013). Many of the five billion people in question will most likely come from collectivistic non-western cultures. From here we’ll look at the following questions:

  1. What types of individual psychological effects can be expected from the insertion of Western ICT in a collective environment devoid of such equipment?
  2. Will there be changes in culture, and if so how might they manifest themselves and how long might it take?
  3. What may religious beliefs have to do with the impact of ICT?

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Zuckerberg’s Dream of Connecting the World: What Can We Expect? (Part 1)

13 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Media Effects, Psychology, Social Psychology

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There’s been a drive in the first part of this century to bring information communications technology (ICT) to parts of the world that have not previously enjoyed it. In 2007, and in the years since, One Laptop per Child (OLPC), funded at various times by companies such as AMD, Google, Intel, and News Corporation, has provided computers for children in various countries to enhance their educational experience (One Laptop per Child, n.d.; Martins, 2007).

In June, Google announced it would bring wireless connectivity to Africa by blimp. This left some Africans criticizing the move as addressing the wrong problem—it’s the cost of equipment that prevents access, not the ability to connect (Stibbe, 2013; Talbot, 2013).

In August, Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive officer of Facebook, published a white paper entitled Is Connectivity a Human Right and shortly afterwards established a nonprofit organization called Interent.org. This consortium is made up of major corporations that include Nokia, Samsung, and Ericsson (handset makers), Opera (a browser manufacturer), and both Qualcomm and MediaTek which are both infrastructure manufacturers (Levy, 2013; Zuckerberg, 2013). Continue reading →

Killing with Words – From One Second to the Next

18 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by in Media Literacy, Psychology

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German film director Werner Herzog’s recently released a short film titled From One Second to the Next with the support of AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon that has racked up almost 2 million views on YouTube since its release August 8 (Miller, 2013). Using the personal narratives of both the victims and the perpetrators, Herzog documents the price of texting and driving on different families. Continue reading →

Anytime, Anywhere Access – Psychological Use of the Media

16 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by in Psychology

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Army Col. (ret) Lawrence Dietz, a former Psychological Operations officer (now called Military Information Support Operations, or MISO), recently observed that no matter where a military operation was taking place in the world, the military could leverage mobile phones to communicate directly to a host population, more so than any other communication medium.

“IO (Information Operations) tools are never fixed. One AO (Area of Operations) demands TV, while another can hardly read…//…Which brings me to the only constant, regardless of AO – the mobile phone. It appears that no matter where you go, whether urban or rural, developed or not, the cell phone is an important, if not the most import means of communication – the way people get or give information. To be effective the IO needs to know how to use mobile phones as a medium, but also how to deny individuals the use of their phones at certain times, or perhaps to alter the messages they receive” (Dietz, 2012).

ITU

There are almost six billion mobile cell phone subscriptions which is a global penetration of 87 percent (ITU, 2011). Srivastava notes that the rapid expansion of the internet was quickly overtaken by the development of mobile phones, both the analog varieties and Smartphones. In a three year period, twice as many people decided on cellular subscriptions instead of on home internet subscriptions (Srivastava, 2008). The majority of this growth can be attributed to personnel convenience. Six years ago there was more than one analog mobile phone for every three people on earth, while as of 2011 one third of the earth’s population was using the internet (Srivastava, 2008; ITU, 2011). Obviously the potential for using this medium to communicate messages to mass audiences for more than military applicatons is almost indescribable, if service providers cooperate.

References

Dietz, L. (2012, Dec 13). IO Refined in New Version of JP 3-13. Retrieved Dec 14, 2012, from PSYOP Regimental Blog: http://psyopregiment.blogspot.com/2012/12/io-refined-in-new-version-of-jp-3-13.html

ITU. (2011). ICT Facts and Figures. Retrieved Dec 8, 2012, from ITU: Commited to Connecting the World: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/facts/2011/material/ICTFactsFigures2011.pdf

Srivastava, L. (2008). The Mobile Makes Its Mark. In J. E. Katz, Mobile Communications Studies (pp. 15-27). Cambridge: MIT.

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