THE INFORMATION

AGE AND SOCIAL

MEDIA

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY,
AND SOCIETY LECTURE 9
THE INFORMATION AGE

It took a lot of time for communication

to prosper and develop to what is being
used today. Along with the development
of technology, the impacts of distance,
location, and time were eradicated.
THE NATURE OF INFORMATION

Information
• From the Latin word “informare”
which means to give form, shape or
character to something.
THE NATURE OF INFORMATION
Purpose
• Basis of all communications.
• Destined to be communicated to
someone or something.
• Convey representation of reality.
What is the role of
Gutenberg revolution in
the advancement of
information technology?
THE INFORMATION AGE
Technology has the power to transform
society. The most famous example of
this is German craftsman Johannes
Gutenberg’s invention of the printing
press in the 15 th century.
THE INFORMATION AGE
The period of human history typically
described by the change from traditional
industry to an economy based on
information computerization is known as
the information age, digital age, or new
media age.
 PRE-GUTENBERG WORLD

• Printing press was not yet

available. Information could
be processed in a tedious
manner.
• Books are written and
produced by hand.
 PRE-GUTENBERG WORLD

• It starts with the use of clay

tablets, papyrus, and paper
made of bamboo, wood, or
silk.
• These books are exclusive
only for those who can afford
it.
 PRE-GUTENBERG WORLD

• For others, information will

only be given through a
“word-of-mouth”.
• In 1440, the first printing
press was built which heralded
the start of mass
communication.
 GUTENBERG REVOLUTION

• Begun with the introduction of

printing press.
• The information has been
democratized.
• Books printed in the
Gutenberg Era are called
“Incunabula”.
 GUTENBERG REVOLUTION

• Most first books printed are

religious books written in
Latin.
• Later on, scientific and
geographic discoveries spread
at a high rate. Even medical
books were printed.
 GUTENBERG REVOLUTION

• Distribution of information was

institutionalized and mediated.
It is the beginning of media.
• To distribute information to a
lot of listeners or viewers, one
must have a ton of money.
 POST-GUTENBERG WORLD

• It describes the emergence of

internet and the world wide
web.
• Enables people to easily
publish and spread
information.
 POST-GUTENBERG WORLD

• It paves the way for the

possibility of uploading and
downloading all forms of
media instruments such as
video, audio, and images.
SOCIAL VS. TRADITIONAL MEDIA

Gutenberg Principle
- Paying for the information provided by a
media institution.
- It includes buying newspapers and DVDs,
and advertising on radio and televisions.
SOCIAL VS. TRADITIONAL MEDIA

Social Information Principle

- Information is owned not by institution but
by everyone.
- Freely accessing information which is
considered to be owned by the society.
THE RISE OF DIGITAL AGE

With the advent of modern

technologies, printing press
is not the only tool used in
spreading information.
Nowadays, information is
readily available in different
sources
COMPUTERS

• Charles Babbage, an English

mathematician and inventor, is
credited with having conceived the
first automatic digital computer.
 COMPUTERS
The machine was
designed for
mathematical
calculations and
simple decision-
making
capabilities.
INTERNET
• Developed in California, US in the late
1960.
• Mostly used by scientists to communicate
with other scientists.
• Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn was
recognized as the men behind these tech.
WORLD WIDE WEB

• Invented by Tim Berners-Lee which is

basically for commercial purposes.
• Home pages were made by companies,
business owners, or corporations to
promote and sell products.
Electronic Mail (E-Mail)

• E-mail is thought of as a new way of

sending messages.
• In the 70’s, there were no electronic
ways to send something to a specific
person at a specific address.
 E-MAIL
The first e-mail was
created in 1971. It
was sent through an
American
government
computer network
by Ray Tomlinson.
 E-MAIL
Tomlinson chose “@”
symbol to connect
the username with
the destination
address and it has
now become a
cultural icon.
THE INFORMATION AGE
What’s Good?
• The information age links individuals and
groups together.
• It has created tools that are catalysts for
sharing ideas. Ideas can be shared, and
innovations can be accelerated.
THE INFORMATION AGE
What’s Good?
• Knowledge and opportunities in every
field are at our fingertips.
• The information age forces
competitiveness on a global scale.
THE INFORMATION AGE
What’s Bad?
• The information age can break down our
relationships.
• Digital technology breaks apart our sense
of political and regional community.
THE INFORMATION AGE
What’s Bad?
• The digital realm encourages passivism,
rather than discernment.
• Privacy can be easily invaded nowadays.
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

Facebook
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

Instagram
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

YouTube
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

Snapchat
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

WhatsApp
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

Twitter
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

LinkedIn
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

Yahoo
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

TikTok
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

Telegram
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

Quora
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

Reddit
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

Messenger
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

Viber
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

Discord
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

Twitch
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

WeChat
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

Pinterest
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

Skype
GUESS THE
ICON/LOGO

Teams
 MOST COMMONLY USED SOCIAL
MEDIA PLATFORMS

FACEBOOK

• Mark Zuckerberg co-founded the

social-networking website
Facebook out of his college dorm
room at Harvard University.
 MOST COMMONLY USED SOCIAL
MEDIA PLATFORMS

FACEBOOK

• Facebook is a social networking

site that makes it easy for you to
connect and share with family and
friends online.
 MOST COMMONLY USED SOCIAL
MEDIA PLATFORMS

TWITTER

• Twitter was created by Jack

Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone,
and Evan Williams in March 2006
and was launched in July of that
year.
 MOST COMMONLY USED SOCIAL
MEDIA PLATFORMS

TWITTER

• Its primary purpose is to connect

people and allow them to share
their thoughts with a big
audience.
 MOST COMMONLY USED SOCIAL
MEDIA PLATFORMS

MESSENGER

• It is an instant messaging service

owned by Facebook, launched in
August 2011, replacing Facebook
chat.
 MOST COMMONLY USED SOCIAL
MEDIA PLATFORMS

MESSENGER

• A messenger is an app that

enables a private messaging
function between two or more
people.
 MOST COMMONLY USED SOCIAL
MEDIA PLATFORMS

GOOGLE
• Founded by Larry Page and
Sergey Brin, PhD students at
Stanford University.
• It is considered as the top search
engine in the world.
 MOST COMMONLY USED SOCIAL
MEDIA PLATFORMS

GOOGLE
• The primary goal of Google is to
provide users with the most relevant,
highest quality results based on user
search queries, i.e. their wants and
needs when performing a search
online.
 MOST COMMONLY USED SOCIAL
MEDIA PLATFORMS

YOUTUBE

• It was founded by Steven Chen,

Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim
and was launched on February 14,
2005.
 MOST COMMONLY USED SOCIAL
MEDIA PLATFORMS

YOUTUBE

• An American online video sharing

platform owned by google.

• It is a free sharing website that

makes it easy to watch online
videos.
 MOST COMMONLY USED SOCIAL
MEDIA PLATFORMS

INSTAGRAM

• Instagram was founded by Kevin

Systrom and Mike Krieger and was
launched on October 6, 2010.
 MOST COMMONLY USED SOCIAL
MEDIA PLATFORMS

INSTAGRAM

• It is a free, online photo-sharing

application and social media
platform that was acquired by
Facebook in 2012.
SOCIAL MEDIA
It is a form of electronic communication
(such as websites for social networking
and microblogging) through which users
create online communities to share
information, ideas, personal messages,
and other content (such as videos).
SOCIAL MEDIA
Some Impacts of Social Media
• Education
• Business
• Society
In several recent studies, teenage
and young adult users who spend
the most time on Instagram,
Facebook, and other platforms
were shown to have substantially
(from 13 to 66 percent) higher
rate of reported depression than
those who spent the least time.
Smartphones were introduced in
2007, and by 2015 fully 92% of teens
and young adults own a smartphone.
The rise in depression symptoms
correlates with smartphone adoption
during that period, even when
matched year by year, observes the
study’s lead author, San Diego State
University psychologist, Jean Twenge.
A 2017 study of over half a
million, eighth through
12 th graders found that
the number exhibiting
high levels of depressive
symptoms increased by 33
percent between 2010
and 2015. In the same
period, the suicide rate for
girls in that age group
increased by 65 percent.
Over that same time
period there was a sharp
spike in reports of
students seeking help at
college and university
counseling centers,
principally for depression
and anxiety. Visits jumped
30 percent between
2010 and 2015.
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

Current teenagers and young adults

spend much less time connecting with
their peers in person and more time
connecting electronically.
 “The less you are connected with
human beings in a deep, empathic
way, the less you’re really getting the
benefits of a social interaction. The
more superficial it is, the less likely it’s
going to cause you to feel
connected, which is something we all
need.”
(Alexandra Hamlet, n.d.)
One exception to the depression
correlation are girls who are high
users of social media but also keep
up a high level of face-to-face social
interaction. The Jean Twenge study
showed that those girls who interact
intensely offline as well as through
social media don’t show the increase
in depressive symptoms that those
who interact less in person do.
 SOCIAL MEDIA AND PERCEIVED
SOCIAL ISOLATION (PSI)
• Another study on a national sample
of young adults (age 19-32) showed
correlation between the time spent
on social media and perceived
social isolation (PSI).
• “Do people feeling socially isolated
spend more time on social media, or
do more intense users develop PSI?”
 SOCIAL MEDIA AND PERCEIVED
SOCIAL ISOLATION (PSI)
If it’s the latter… then,

“Is it because the individual is

spending less time on more
authentic social experiences that
would decrease PSI? Or is it the
nature of observing highly curated
social feeds that they make you feel
more excluded?”
▸
SOCIAL MEDIA AND SELF-ESTEEM

Another theory about the increase in

depression is the loss of self-esteem,
especially in teenage girls, when they
compare themselves negatively with artfully
curated images of those who appear to be
prettier, thinner, more popular, and richer.
“Many girls are bombarded with
their friends posting the most
perfect pictures of themselves, or
they’re following celebrities and
influencers who d o a lot of
Photoshopping and have makeup
and hair team. If that’s their model
for what is normal, it can be very
hard on their self-confidence.”
Kids who are spending a lot of time
on devices are not getting much in
return to make them feel g o o d
about themselves. Yes, you get a
little dopamine burst whenever you
get a notification, or a like on a
picture, or a follow request. But
those things are addicting without
being satisfying.”
Another possible source of
depression may be what teenagers
are not doing during while they’re
spending time on social media,
including physical activity and
things that generate a sense of
accomplishment, like learning new
skills and developing talents.
 3

SLEEP DEPRIVATION
6

AND DEPRESSION
Research shows that 60 percent of adolescents are
looking at their phones in the last hour before
sleep, and that they get on average an hour less
sleep than their peers who don’t use their phones
before bed. Blue light from electronic screens
interferes with falling asleep.
 3

SLEEP DEPRIVATION
7

AND DEPRESSION
“Social media can have a profound effect on sleep.
You have the intention to check Facebook or
Instagram for 5 minutes, and the next thing you
know 50 minutes are gone. You’re an hour behind
in sleep, and more tired the next day. You find it
harder to focus. You’re off your game, and it spirals
from there.”
HOW DO WE
MITIGATE
THE
NEGATIVE
IMPACTS OF
SOCIAL
MEDIA?
Thank You for
Listening!