WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.379 OK, so it's impossible to imagine modern life, 00:00:04.500 --> 00:00:07.740 at least here in the West, without digital technology 00:00:07.740 --> 00:00:11.759 just being totally essential. Yeah, right. Like 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:14.779 our smartphones, the internet, that's the basis 00:00:14.779 --> 00:00:17.339 for how we do almost everything. It really is. 00:00:17.719 --> 00:00:21.440 From our jobs to hanging out with friends, even 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:23.300 keeping up with what's going on in the world. 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:26.600 That article on hack science start education, 00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:28.899 I thought they were spot on when they talked 00:00:28.899 --> 00:00:32.479 about how dominant these technologies have become 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:34.820 for communication. Oh, for sure. When you think 00:00:34.820 --> 00:00:39.479 about it, the sheer volume of economic and political, 00:00:39.479 --> 00:00:41.859 cultural interactions that now happen through 00:00:41.859 --> 00:00:44.659 these tiny devices and the networks they're all 00:00:44.659 --> 00:00:48.039 hooked up to. it's a pretty fundamental shift. 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:50.200 It really is. In how society operates, yeah. 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:51.880 And that's actually what we're gonna, you know, 00:00:52.359 --> 00:00:54.960 really big into today. For you, our listener, 00:00:55.240 --> 00:00:57.520 you've probably experienced this firsthand, right? 00:00:57.600 --> 00:00:59.439 Absolutely. We're asking the question, like, 00:00:59.700 --> 00:01:02.579 how did information and computing technology, 00:01:02.679 --> 00:01:05.939 or ICT, become so mainstream, especially with, 00:01:05.939 --> 00:01:08.700 like, younger generations? Yeah. We're gonna 00:01:08.700 --> 00:01:11.900 explore how our perceptions of these technologies 00:01:11.900 --> 00:01:15.670 and how we use them has, like, totally changed. 00:01:15.849 --> 00:01:19.489 It's a fascinating evolution and I know a lot 00:01:19.489 --> 00:01:21.310 of you are interested in understanding these 00:01:21.310 --> 00:01:24.250 big shifts without like, you know, getting bogged 00:01:24.250 --> 00:01:26.049 down in the technical stuff. Right. We're gonna 00:01:26.049 --> 00:01:28.670 try to paint a clear picture of that journey. 00:01:28.969 --> 00:01:30.909 Exactly, because you know, if you think back, 00:01:30.909 --> 00:01:33.829 there was this very specific image, right? Oh 00:01:33.829 --> 00:01:36.590 yeah. Of early computer users. For sure. The 00:01:36.590 --> 00:01:39.269 classic computer nerd. Right. We gotta understand, 00:01:39.730 --> 00:01:42.969 like... where that stereotype came from, and 00:01:42.969 --> 00:01:45.870 even more importantly, how that perception has 00:01:45.870 --> 00:01:48.390 just completely flipped. It's almost the reverse 00:01:48.390 --> 00:01:51.530 now. Right. Yeah. That stereotype is really the 00:01:51.530 --> 00:01:53.909 perfect starting point for understanding this 00:01:53.909 --> 00:01:57.230 whole transformation. In those early days, much 00:01:57.230 --> 00:02:00.790 like how young people often embrace new forms 00:02:00.790 --> 00:02:03.269 of media, they were also some of the earliest 00:02:03.269 --> 00:02:08.900 adopters of computers. However, the most... intense 00:02:08.900 --> 00:02:12.379 levels of use were kind of concentrated within 00:02:12.379 --> 00:02:15.530 a pretty narrow slice of the population. Right, 00:02:15.569 --> 00:02:17.569 and the hack -science .education piece, they 00:02:17.569 --> 00:02:20.110 pointed out that initially heavy computer use 00:02:20.110 --> 00:02:24.550 was mainly wealthier white males. And so that 00:02:24.550 --> 00:02:28.110 computer nerd image, it wasn't some random invention, 00:02:28.469 --> 00:02:30.650 it actually reflected the profile of who was 00:02:30.650 --> 00:02:33.330 spending the most time with these machines. That's 00:02:33.330 --> 00:02:35.729 right, and it makes sense when you think about 00:02:35.729 --> 00:02:38.389 what those early computers demanded of their 00:02:38.389 --> 00:02:41.189 users. Like Landauer, he observed back in 97 00:02:41.189 --> 00:02:43.889 that these weren't intuitive, out -of -the -box 00:02:43.889 --> 00:02:46.449 gadgets. They required programming. Essentially, 00:02:46.469 --> 00:02:51.310 you had to speak their language code. And this 00:02:51.310 --> 00:02:53.650 kind of problem solving and detailed instruction, 00:02:53.650 --> 00:02:56.069 it tended to appeal to individuals who really 00:02:56.069 --> 00:02:59.909 enjoyed focused independent work, logical puzzles, 00:03:00.689 --> 00:03:03.270 often folks who might be described as more introverted 00:03:03.270 --> 00:03:07.629 and drawn to that kind of systematic thinking. 00:03:07.990 --> 00:03:10.069 OK, so let's break this down a little bit. So 00:03:10.069 --> 00:03:12.530 the fact that you had to actually write code 00:03:12.729 --> 00:03:16.069 to make these early computers do anything. I 00:03:16.069 --> 00:03:18.650 mean, that meant it attracted a very specific 00:03:18.650 --> 00:03:22.270 kind of person. And as we mentioned, these early 00:03:22.270 --> 00:03:26.129 heavy users, they also reportedly tended to have 00:03:26.129 --> 00:03:28.909 less interaction with friends and family and 00:03:28.909 --> 00:03:32.849 weren't as involved in extracurriculars. Yeah, 00:03:32.990 --> 00:03:35.169 precisely. The initial picture was of someone 00:03:35.169 --> 00:03:38.250 really deeply immersed in the technology, perhaps 00:03:38.250 --> 00:03:44.800 at the expense of other social But this image, 00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:47.939 it began to shift pretty dramatically around 00:03:47.939 --> 00:03:49.659 the mid -2000s. This is where it gets really 00:03:49.659 --> 00:03:52.479 interesting, because in 2005, the Kaiser Family 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:55.240 Foundation, they released this study, and it 00:03:55.240 --> 00:03:57.340 kind of threw a curveball at that whole nerd 00:03:57.340 --> 00:03:59.300 stereotype. It really did. What were some of 00:03:59.300 --> 00:04:01.379 the key findings? What was really surprising 00:04:01.379 --> 00:04:04.319 in that research by Roberts, for and right out. 00:04:04.430 --> 00:04:07.669 was this discovery that young people who reported 00:04:07.669 --> 00:04:11.930 high levels of ICT use were also highly involved 00:04:11.930 --> 00:04:14.629 in a wide range of other activities. They were 00:04:14.629 --> 00:04:16.769 actively spending time with friends and family. 00:04:17.050 --> 00:04:20.009 They were participating in extracurricular clubs, 00:04:20.470 --> 00:04:23.810 sports, holding down jobs, even getting regular 00:04:23.810 --> 00:04:26.410 physical exercise. So the young people using 00:04:26.410 --> 00:04:29.269 technology the most were also the ones leading 00:04:29.269 --> 00:04:32.910 active, engaged lives outside of it. Right. That's 00:04:32.910 --> 00:04:35.509 a huge change. It's a massive shift, and the 00:04:35.509 --> 00:04:39.269 researchers interpreted this as a really fundamental 00:04:39.269 --> 00:04:42.810 shift in how ICT was being integrated into young 00:04:42.810 --> 00:04:46.410 people's lives. It was no longer a new tool for 00:04:46.410 --> 00:04:49.230 a small, isolated group. It was becoming this 00:04:49.230 --> 00:04:52.790 broadly adopted technology across diverse segments 00:04:52.790 --> 00:04:55.689 of the youth population. OK, so what were the 00:04:55.689 --> 00:04:59.069 drivers like behind this huge shift? What made 00:04:59.069 --> 00:05:01.449 computers go from these complicated programming 00:05:01.449 --> 00:05:04.389 tools to something that just about everyone everywhere 00:05:04.389 --> 00:05:07.449 was using? I think a crucial factor, and this 00:05:07.449 --> 00:05:09.610 is highlighted in that hackscience .education 00:05:09.610 --> 00:05:13.569 article, was the steadily increasing usability 00:05:13.569 --> 00:05:17.230 of these devices over the preceding decades. 00:05:17.509 --> 00:05:20.490 Think back to those early computers in the 70s. 00:05:20.769 --> 00:05:23.259 As we said, you were essentially typing in you 00:05:23.259 --> 00:05:26.240 know, text commands. The input and output was 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:30.060 limited to these like basic alphanumeric characters. 00:05:30.139 --> 00:05:32.540 Right, very very text -based interface. You had 00:05:32.540 --> 00:05:35.139 to memorize commands and it wasn't exactly intuitive 00:05:35.139 --> 00:05:37.360 for the average person just wanting to, you know, 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:40.120 like write a letter or something. Exactly, exactly. 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:44.600 Now contrast that with the early 1990s. Suddenly 00:05:44.600 --> 00:05:47.180 you had the introduction of the mouse, you know, 00:05:47.180 --> 00:05:50.399 these visual icons and menus on a graphical user 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:54.360 interface, a GUI. and these pre -written programs 00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:58.560 that allowed you to actually do things without 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:00.620 needing to write a single line of code yourself. 00:06:00.839 --> 00:06:03.699 Right. And that dramatically lowered the barrier 00:06:03.699 --> 00:06:06.220 to entry for a huge number of people. Oh, yeah. 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:09.420 I remember those early GUIs. It was a whole different 00:06:09.420 --> 00:06:11.459 world. Oh, yeah. Suddenly you could point and 00:06:11.459 --> 00:06:14.160 click, and things would happen. And it made computers 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:17.319 feel so much more approachable and accessible 00:06:17.319 --> 00:06:20.199 to people who weren't technically inclined. It 00:06:20.199 --> 00:06:22.699 did. At all. And the evolution didn't stop there. 00:06:22.699 --> 00:06:26.660 Right. By the late 90s. computers, they gain 00:06:26.660 --> 00:06:31.220 the ability to display all sorts of rich media, 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:34.720 high resolution images, audio, video, animations, 00:06:35.860 --> 00:06:38.339 and critically, they could connect to networks, 00:06:38.519 --> 00:06:40.959 to the burgeoning internet, and this opened up 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:44.259 a whole new universe of possibilities beyond 00:06:44.259 --> 00:06:47.000 just running programs on your own computer. And 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:49.759 so suddenly, it wasn't just about doing calculations 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:53.040 or writing documents in isolation, it was about 00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:55.449 entertainment. It was about communicating with 00:06:55.449 --> 00:06:58.889 people across the globe, accessing this incredible 00:06:58.889 --> 00:07:02.329 wealth of information that broadened the appeal. 00:07:02.610 --> 00:07:05.329 Oh, exponentially. Absolutely. And that leads 00:07:05.329 --> 00:07:08.209 us to the media landscape we see today, which 00:07:08.209 --> 00:07:11.550 is overwhelmingly dominated by mobile devices. 00:07:11.990 --> 00:07:14.110 Think about your smartphone, your tablet. These 00:07:14.110 --> 00:07:17.430 are incredibly portable, always connected, and 00:07:17.430 --> 00:07:20.069 just incredibly versatile. It really is all about 00:07:20.069 --> 00:07:23.480 mobile now. It is. Cell phones and... portable 00:07:23.480 --> 00:07:27.259 music players with wireless internet access. 00:07:27.319 --> 00:07:30.600 It's just everywhere. It's ubiquitous. And this 00:07:30.600 --> 00:07:33.259 is where Stanley Schmidt's concept from 2008, 00:07:33.459 --> 00:07:35.779 which he called the digital melting pot, becomes 00:07:35.779 --> 00:07:39.339 really insightful. He was observing how these 00:07:39.339 --> 00:07:43.139 devices were now offering multiple functionalities 00:07:43.139 --> 00:07:45.879 that previously required completely separate 00:07:45.879 --> 00:07:48.639 pieces of technology. OK, let's unpack that idea 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:51.100 of the digital melting pot. What did he mean 00:07:51.100 --> 00:07:55.240 by that? He was essentially describing how diverse 00:07:55.240 --> 00:08:00.660 technologies were converging into single handheld 00:08:00.660 --> 00:08:04.519 devices. Think about Apple's iPhone, as the article 00:08:04.519 --> 00:08:06.980 mentioned. It's not just a phone. It's a high 00:08:06.980 --> 00:08:10.660 quality camera. It's a notebook for jotting down 00:08:10.660 --> 00:08:13.420 ideas, a way to read books, check email, and 00:08:13.420 --> 00:08:16.800 of course, access this ever expanding ecosystem 00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:20.360 of apps. just about anything you can imagine. 00:08:20.579 --> 00:08:23.819 It's crazy. And as the article rightly points 00:08:23.819 --> 00:08:27.350 out. Yeah. any list of functions that we come 00:08:27.350 --> 00:08:30.329 up with is almost immediately outdated. I know. 00:08:30.490 --> 00:08:34.090 Because new apps and capabilities are being developed 00:08:34.090 --> 00:08:36.950 constantly. It's true. My phone does things now 00:08:36.950 --> 00:08:39.350 that I couldn't have even imagined 10 years ago. 00:08:39.509 --> 00:08:43.309 It's like my primary communication tool, my entertainment 00:08:43.309 --> 00:08:46.490 center, my GPS navigator. It's crazy. It really 00:08:46.490 --> 00:08:50.269 has become this central hub for so much of our 00:08:50.269 --> 00:08:53.090 lives. And that's really the core of the transformation. 00:08:53.799 --> 00:08:57.879 ICT has moved from being these specialized programming 00:08:57.879 --> 00:09:02.019 tools used by a relatively small group to these 00:09:02.019 --> 00:09:06.539 incredibly multifunctional devices that now facilitate 00:09:06.539 --> 00:09:11.179 rich social interactions for a vast diverse population. 00:09:11.759 --> 00:09:14.039 It's no longer about being a computer person. 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:16.539 It's about using technology as an integral part 00:09:16.539 --> 00:09:19.919 of how we connect with each other and engage 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:22.980 with the world around us in countless different 00:09:22.980 --> 00:09:26.100 ways. So to kind of like bring this whole journey 00:09:26.100 --> 00:09:29.200 together for you, our listener, we've seen how 00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:32.200 computers started out as these like... complex 00:09:32.200 --> 00:09:36.200 tools, mainly for a specific demographic, people 00:09:36.200 --> 00:09:39.480 interested in programming. But over time, thanks 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:42.740 to increasing user -friendliness and the merging 00:09:42.740 --> 00:09:46.259 of different technologies into these mobile devices, 00:09:47.159 --> 00:09:49.940 ICT has become completely mainstream. Absolutely. 00:09:50.059 --> 00:09:53.279 It's woven into almost every aspect of life for 00:09:53.279 --> 00:09:57.080 a huge range of people, especially younger generations. 00:09:57.200 --> 00:09:59.679 Particularly younger folks, yeah. And the real 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:04.019 aha, moment here is that, like that old picture 00:10:04.019 --> 00:10:07.559 of the isolated tech user, that just doesn't 00:10:07.559 --> 00:10:11.000 reflect the reality of today. Technology in its 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:13.480 current form is often a tool for connection, 00:10:14.059 --> 00:10:17.379 for greater participation in social activities 00:10:17.379 --> 00:10:20.360 in the broader world. It's not necessarily about 00:10:20.360 --> 00:10:23.000 withdrawing into a digital world. It's often 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:26.419 about enhancing our real world experiences. Yeah, 00:10:26.500 --> 00:10:28.419 that's a good way to put it. And on that note, 00:10:28.600 --> 00:10:30.940 here's a final thought for you to consider. With 00:10:30.940 --> 00:10:34.539 this continuous blending of different technologies 00:10:34.539 --> 00:10:40.120 into single devices, how might the lines between 00:10:40.120 --> 00:10:42.759 various aspects of our lives continue to blur? 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:46.440 That's a good question. What new social or cultural 00:10:46.440 --> 00:10:49.740 shifts might emerge as a result of this ongoing 00:10:49.740 --> 00:10:54.120 integration going beyond just like... the capabilities 00:10:54.120 --> 00:10:56.659 of the devices themselves, something to think 00:10:56.659 --> 00:10:58.620 about. It really is. It's a fascinating question. 00:10:58.820 --> 00:11:00.460 It is. Yeah. All right. Well, thanks for listening 00:11:00.460 --> 00:11:02.440 to this deep dive. Yeah. Thanks for joining us. 00:11:02.539 --> 00:11:03.940 And we'll catch you next time. See you then.