Post 9 - EOTO 2 React

 The Spiral of Silence

Why Write About It?

I chose to use the spiral of silence for this post, as I feel it is an extremely important theory that, despite its extreme relevancy in the world today, does nod get talked about nearly enough. I also believe this to be one of the more shocking terms we covered in this round of presentations.

The Theory

The Spiral of Silence essentially states that due to a subconscious fear of isolation, the further away a person's opinion on a subject strays from the majority, the less likely that person will be to voice their opinion. A very prominent example of this theory in action (from my personal experience) comes in the form of three "volatile" topics. I had the belief instilled in me by my parents that I should never bring up money, politics, or religion in casual conversation, as it might lead to discourse.

The Theory's Origins

The Spiral of Silence theory was popularized in 1974 by German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann. Noelle-Neumann's research for the theory began with the 1964 German Federal Elections. The two parties, the Christian Democratic Union–Christian Social Union (CDU-CSU), and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDP), were each projected to receive 45% of the votes. This was true until about two weeks before the election, when surveys showed that the CDU-CSU had somehow climbed up to a projected 50% of the vote. Like the survey indicated, the CDU-CSU took the election, but what changed in those last two weeks? Noelle-Neumann attributed the shift to a visit from the Queen of England, which supposedly greatly improved the morale of the CDU-CSU. With CDU-CSU party member confidence and vocality at a high, it led the SDP to keep quieter, as they felt they no longer held as strong of a position. It was the spiral of silence that cost them the election.

The Spiral of Silence Today

Today, although the theory rings incredibly true in regards to conversation, its validity has been weakened by modern communication methods. With the rise of the internet and social media, any person of any status can voice whatever opinions they might have almost anonymously with little consequence. This has given power to vocal minorities, for better or for worse. Another weak point of the Spiral of Silence theory lies in the rich, who will voice their opinions regardless of controversy, simply because they have the means to back themselves up.

Helpful Links

MassCommTheory.com Article: https://masscommtheory.com/theory-overviews/spiral-of-silence/

Britannica Article: https://www.britannica.com/topic/spiral-of-silence

Post 8 - Diffusion of Innovations

 The Diffusion of Innovations Model

This model is a visualization of the diffusion of innovations theory, popularized by Everett Rogers. The model depicts the distribution of people who adopt an idea or innovation over said idea or innovation's lifespan.

Diffusion of Innovation Through TikTok

Since the application is quite relevant both in national news and to my age group, I will be examining diffusion of innovations through the lens of TikTok. As someone who could be considered an early adopter of TikTok(considering I downloaded and used the app in 2018), I feel qualified to accurately dissect the diffusion timeline for TikTok.

Innovators

In the case of TikTok, I would consider the innovators to be high school students. At its inception, TikTok's target audience was high schoolers. I think of it as a spiritual successor filling the same niche as Snapchat and Instagram. These innovators likely discovered the app through targeted advertising in early 2016.

Early Adopters

TikTok's early adopters are not dissimilar to the innovators in the sense that they are still people in their early to middle teenage years. These people, however, were likely exposed to the app through word of mouth from an innovator. I consider myself a part of this category, as I was persuaded by my friends to download the app during my freshman year of high school (late 2018).

Early Majority

With the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic came TikTok's early majority. As a majority of people had nothing better to do with their free time due to lockdown, more and more people spend it scrolling. It was during 2020 that I feel TikTok's audience expanded to more age groups.

Late Majority

Even as the pandemic wound down (I would say from late 2021 to mid 2022), TikTok remained prominent. The Late Majority of TikTok, at least in my eyes, downloaded the app for the same reason as the early majority, only reactionarily as opposed to proactively. I also consider, due to TikTok's continued popularity, that the app is still in this position on the timeline.

Laggards

Designating the laggards for TikTok is interesting, as I feel it is entirely predictive. Despite President Biden signing off on the ban, the app is still incredibly popular. Iwould say that the laggards will come when we enter the months nearing the ban's enactment.

The Impact of TikTok

As a piece of information technology, TikTok has revolutionized media consumption. Because of this app and the rise of the short-form video, a vast majority of the public's attention span has shortened dramatically. The people crave as much information as they can intake, only now in overstimulating 90-second doses. This single app has changed the way people consume news, media, and entertainment. I can only imagine what the future of media holds if we continue down the path of TikTok.

Post 7 - Whistleblowers

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Post 6 - EOTO 1 React

 The Personal Computer

Why write about it?

Of all of the communication technologies, I feel the personal computer (beyond video games themselves) is the one that has the greatest impact in my field of study. As a game design major, I do a majority of my work on my personal computer, programming in game engines and rendering in modeling programs. It should come as no surprise that I am also writing this blog post on my personal computer. None of this work would be possible without the bulky, glorified word processors of old.

The Origins of the Personal Computer

The oldest computers were massive machines that often took up an entire room. These behemoths were often used exclusively to crunch numbers. With the invention of the microprocessor in 1971 however, computer technology was forever changed. The very same computing power offered by room-sized computers could ow fit on top of a desk. 

In 1976, the very first commercially available computer, the Apple Computer 1, or the Apple 1 for short, was made available to the public. The product was incredibly barebones as no display, protective casing, mouse, or keyboard was included. All a purchaser received was the actual computing components themselves.

The first "real" personal computer, Apple's Macintosh, was released to the public in 1984. I use the word real in quotes, as I believe that the Macintosh is the blueprint for the modern computer. Depicted at the top of this post, the Apple Macintosh featured not only a graphical display, but an external keyboard and mouse.

The Personal Computer Today

Computers have evolved significantly since their conception. They have become more compact, more efficient, and thousands of times stronger than their ancestors. They are also present virtually everywhere in day to day life; in cars, at registers, and in the palm of our hands.

Post 4 - Privacy

 How am I affected?

Google Me!

While there are quite a few people named Luke Harless on the internet, I am the first one to appear. Not only is my LinkedIn page the first actual link result, the first image result is my profile picture for that very site. These search returns could just be a result of searching using my personal google account, which is why I embedded the link above. Clicking the "Google Me!" text will take you to the Google search results for my name.

The information does not stop with me. My internet presence, or "digital tattoos" as one of the TED Talk speakers dubbed them, leads others directly to my friends and family, many of whom I have connected with on LinkedIn. Purely By existing on and using the internet, I have given so much of my personal information away for anyone and everyone to see and use.

What should the government do?

Currently, the government has access to not only the whole of the internet, but the usage data generated by every American on the internet. The government is collecting this data as a preemptive measure, a sort of background check on everyone in case they might commit a crime in the future. However, the very same backdoors that are being used by the government to collect this data are also  breached by foreign entities, be they hackers or governments from overseas.

What the government should do, in my opinion, is shut these digital backdoors to prevent any further data leakages. A vast majority of people on the internet aren't using it to commit crimes, so why waste time, effort, and storage on those people? While it would certainly make tracking the criminals that are out on the internet more difficult, shutting off the constant data stream for the government also shuts it off for everyone else.

How can we protect ourselves?

There are numerous measures you can take to protect yourself and your data. Make sure your messaging application provides end-to-end encryption, as this will prevent your texts from being digitally usurped and read by anyone other than the sender. Beyond that, switching your browser from Google Chrome to a browser like Brave (a secure browser I personally use and definitely recommend), using ad blockers, and using a VPN can protect your data and prevent trackers from embedding themselves in your computer.