Future of Communications

Kevin Ware & Wayne Blackshear

COMM 303

Fall 2012

Final Project

The future of Communication Technology

TopicsCommunication Technology

Theories

Smart Phones Media dependency theory

Internet Diffusion of innovations

Video Games Uses and gratifications theory

Cell Phones of the Past

The first cell phone was developed in 1947.In 1983 Motorola made the first commercial cellular phone. It was called the brick and it called $3,500.(Meadows)

Current cell phones

91.3% of the United States has a cell phone.20% of the United States population live in a wireless-only household66% of Americans between the ages of 16 and 29 would opt for a cell phone over a landline and 34% of Americans between the ages of 25 and 29 live in a wireless-only household.(Meadows)

Future cell phonesIn the future, you won’t have to touch the screen on your phone and voice recognition will be improved. Also, like the IPhone, your cell phone will talk back to you with a recognizable personality. (Futurist)

Media Dependency Theory

More and more people are starting to rely on their cell phones day by day instead of using your house phone. We are dependent on our cell phones because we don’t use landlines or phonebooks. I can say that if I were to lose my cell phone, the only person’s number I would know is my mothers! With that being said, you can see depending on media such as your phone has changed from the past until now. (Meadows)

Early internet

In 1968 you could say the birth of the internet occurred when the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network was founded. Back then the trend of email accounts were becoming a lot more popular because they weren’t only using it for collaboration and research, but also to interact with their peers.(Meadows)

The Internet Today

As of June 2012, it was recorded that over 7 billion people are using the internet. With Asia, making up almost 45% of the total. (WorldStats) Early versions of the internet did not emphasis entertainment or information. Old media is joining the new and convergence is taking place.(Meadows)

The Future of Internet

It is hard to imagine the internet getting much better, but most experts seem to think that data transmission speeds will increase. The costs of producing ultra high speed networks will decrease to make it more widely available to the every day person. A person will be able to download a DVD in a second. The other thing that experts seem to agree on is that it will become even more popular than it already is. (How Stuff Works)

Diffusion of InnovationsThis theory describes how new technology spreads through a culture. It has four main parts. They all can correlate to internet usage very clearly. (Meadows)1. Innovations-The internet is relatively new.2. The Channels of Communication-The channels

are becoming larger and more complex3. The Social System-It is now socially

acceptable for everyone to use the internet4. Time-Enough time has passed for most

people to learn and find a way to access the internet

Video Games of the past

“Tennis for Two” was created in 1958, it was not created to be played, it was intended to be an science experiment. This came before space invaders and pong.Some other earlier games were Sega genesis, Nintendo 64, dream cast, Atari, Game Cube, PlayStation 1 & 2, XBOX.The reasons why these games went out of popularity was because newer, better, faster, smaller, quicker, versions of these systems were created. (MSNBC)

Video Games today

Today, Play Station 3 and XBOX 360 control the game world. Your allowed internet access and online gaming against people across the world using either of these systems. With these systems, your most popular games are: Call of Duty, NBA 2k13, Madden 13, Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, Hit man, and Resident Evil. Statistics state that 65% of all households play video games. Between the ages 18 and under 25%, most of the users are between the ages 18 and 49 with 49%, and 26% percent with people over the age of 50. (Video Game Statistics)

Future of video games

The average age of the user that plays video games is most likely going to go up. Consumers will move network TV to gaming.Records are going to try and promote video games. There going to try and promote there music through video games, so if you want to hear the next music track you’ll have to hear it through your XBOX or Play Station. There also going to try and create massive shared experiences online.(Dolan)

Uses and Gratifications Theory

This theory states that people deliberately choose media that will satisfy given needs. (Meadows)

According to a recent study the top five reasons people play video games are because: (Why People Play Video Games)

1. Fun 2. Challenge 3. Boredom 4. Connectedness 5. Emotional Satisfaction (Addiction Blog)

In Conclusion..

After taking this class and doing this research, it is clear that communication technology will continue to grow. New media is something we will be surrounded by for the rest of are lives.(Meadows) We think that the future of videos games along with the Internet will only expand and get better as it continues to be be used. It’s popularity will grow and get better!

Bibliography

Michael, Dolan. "The Video Game Revolution." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/future.html >.

Galning, Kristen. "Anatomy of the First Video Game." MSNBC. MSNBC, 23 Oct. 2008. Web. 7 Dec. 2012. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27328345/ns/technology_and_science-games/t/anatomy-first-video-game/#.UMIyCEJRnHg >.

Internet World Statistics. Miniwatts Marketing Group, 30 June 2012. Web. 7 Dec. 2012. http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm .

Meadows, Jennifer, and August Grant. Communication Technology Update and Fundamentals. 12th ed. Burlington, MA: Elsevier, Inc., 2010. N. pag. Print.

Strickland, Jonathan.  "What is the future of the Internet?"  10 May 2010.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://computer.howstuffworks.com/future-of-the-internet.htm>  07 December 2012.

"Video Game Statistics." Educational Database . N.p., 2012. Web. 7 Dec. 2012. "Video Game Statistics." Educational Database . N.p., 2012. Web. 7 Dec. 2012. <http://www.onlineeducation.net/videogame >.

"Why People Play Video Games: Top 10 Reasons." Internet.addictionblog.org. N.p., 18 Apr. 2011. Web. 7 Dec. 2012. <http://internet.addictionblog.org/why-people-play-video-games-top-10-reasons/ >.