As we rapidly propel ourselves forward through the information technology revolution, questions are starting to be asked about the value of the technology and the potential shortcomings that it is engendering. Often, when a technology is being explored for value the questions of the time relate to that which is known. There are numerous unknowns that prevent up front questions as no one is really aware of them.
The Smartphone
The evolution of the Smartphone is a good case in kind. When what was referred to as Integrated Office Systems was making its way onto the stage in the 80’s and 90’s, it was part of a precursor movement to the integration of data and communications systems. Don Tapscott was one of the pioneers of IOS being led by Bell Northern Research, Northern Telecom and Bell Canada.
The Smartphone itself’s lineage can be drawn directly back to this grouping, that was both informal and formal yet seminal in nature. As the analogue cellphone was giving way the digital cellphone that was to follow, Bell Canada was tasked with a mission to potentially bring what was at that time being referred to as Personal Communications Services (PCS) to market.
Tapscott made a name for himself in those days as an independent consultant doing research in the area. Although Bell Canada itself did not receive a license to deliver PCS services, Bell Mobility did. During those days, no one asked any questions about social media and the thought had not even born fruit. PCS was being conceived as a business service which was more efficient at delivering functionality faster and allowing decisions to be arrived at in a quicker, more comprehensive form.
However, if one were to look at the Smartphone today and its impact it would be strikingly different than what was being conceived in the labs. The real world does that. The fallout is different from the questions that were being posed in the day.
Benefits
That PCS, as it was conceived, or that todays modern smartphones has benefits, is irrefutable. The question though that can be posed is are the benefits as staunchly sound as the benefits that were being conceived. Put another way, is social media without harm or at least a downside or is it all positive. Remember, the concept of social media did not exist at the time of the systems development.
I would answer the question of benefits from the original through to that of the Smartphones use in social media as all having benefits. However, the benefits with social media are much more obscure. It is great to be able to keep up with people, find people from our past and dialogue with them again but with social media has come issues that have not been resoundingly studied yet that is beginning to happen.
That the Smartphone enhances dramatically the business process is without contest. It simply allows us more immediate, real time access to information if you will, that assists with sound decision making. It enhances the flow through of product and also the viability of product as it is more immediately studied and one can therefore determine the positives as weighed against the negatives quickly.
Assuming the original benefits of say the Smartphone flow through, let’s turn our attention to that which wasn’t studied but is now being studied. Observational psychology can determine that social media has both positive and negative consequences. A student studying can be very easily distracted by these systems affecting their ability to study as positively as in the past. That these systems affect socializing are without doubt and one must also ask the question, just based on human engineering, are we designed to consume so much information.
Distraction
We know that it is not safe to drive and text as texting is a very distracting activity. It can be equated to a certain number of drinks. Texting and driving are against the law but that doesn’t stop everyone and people get hurt.
When we’re studying for an exam and what to escape the tedium of our studies, social media provides a wonderful outlet. How good is this for someone spending a lot of money to get through a program only to have it side swiped by social media activities. Not much.
Finally, we’ve all heard of the group that decides to go out for dinner and the only way they can control social media from impacting their having a nice dinner where they actually “talk” to each other is to turn off their phones, throw them into the middle of the table and the first one to use their phone is punished by having to buy a round of drinks.
Socializing
How many people are now finding that they are socializing through a telephone and not of the voice to voice kind. Kids that live next door to each other but are socializing by chatting to each other rather than going by and doing something together are missing out on one of man’s essential needs: that of socializing and the skills that go along with it.
Learning
Distracted by social media, learning becomes difficult. Few like to study but in the past it might have been considered a more beneficial past time than knowing what a high school so and so is doing right now: having a cup of coffee with his computer.
Psychological Studies to Determine Pro’s and Cons
The concern has mounted to a level to garner such attention that the benefits of knowing the outcomes our technological toys are having might be worthwhiled. Now that we know some of the questions to be asked, it is easy to design studies that will answer them. The benefit of knowing these answers is perceivable and at least choices made based on the answers changes the dynamic so that if one chooses something and the benefit is not necessarily positive then the decision to undertake the activity cannot be sloughed off theas we didn’t know.
The old saying that “knowledge is power” is most fitting in this circumstance. Your choice is an informed one and accountability for outcome is the result of that knowledge. It would not be appropriate to say, at this stage, that knowledge is king and your choices drive outcomes definitively. It is yet just one more step in taking back power and assuring you’re making the best decisions with the information that is available. With that said, a substantive leap can be made from pure helplessness to the best one can do given the facts of the time.