The Virtual Revolution
Aleks Krotoski – Broadcaster and social psychologist who presented BBC documentary The Virtual Revolution. She also presents ‘The Digital Human’ radio programme on BBC Radio 4
| TOPIC | NOTE / COMMENT |
| The Printing Press (Gutenburg) in the Medieval period mid 1400’s | The impact of new technology Habermas – Transformation of the public sphere |
| Social Media Statistics | In the second quarter of 2022, the average time spent on the internet per person was 397 minutes (six hours and 37 minutes) per day.] 8 hours and 39 minutes – Daily screen use for ages 13-18 (New York Times – March 24, 2022) A total of 5.07 billion people around the world use the internet today – equivalent to 63.5 percent of the world’s total population 2.93 billion active users on Facebook and 2 billion active users on Instagram Humans spend an average of 5 years and 4 months on social media 16 million new users on Netflix over the COVID-19 pandemic |
| Theodore Vail | The Network effect |
| Norbert Weiner Loop Theory | Loop Theory – predictive behaviour But is behaviour shaped and altered through networking and digital communications (pushing / pulling) Issues around privacy and individual psychology (mental health / wellbeing) and the environment Virtual worlds / virtual identities (hypperreality, simulation, implosion – Jean Baudrillard) (Judith Butler ‘gender performance / David Gauntlett, Anthony Giddens etc ‘fluid & multiple identities’ |
| Robin Dunbar – The Dunbar Number | The Dunbar number suggests that connectivity for individuals, communities or groups is typically 5 o 6, with an upper limit of 150. So who benefits from greater connectivity? Companies, organisations, institutions – ‘small elites dominate’ (Andrew Kean) |
| Clay Shirky | He looks at how previous passive audience consumption has progressed and transformed into a connectivity that is more interactive. He says that the lines between consumption and audience are blurred. Because everyone consumes and uploads in the digital age |
| Vannavar Bush | associative not linear thinking the demise of long form reading So changing rules for logic, rationality, truth, understanding, knowledge. Baudrillard implosion (a culture imploding in on itself rather than expanding and developing?) |
| Tim Berners–Lee | Inventor of the World Wide Web. He created it without wanting any financial gain. Was this for the good of society? |