I have chosen to look at three different theories to predict what the future holds. Listed are the theories, and examples of them as of 2012.

Media systems dependency theory Social Learning Theory/Social Cognitive Theory Social Information Processing Theory

Following them are possible futures that could be…

A national survey found that a notable percentage of people depend on the Internet as a valued source of in-depth information about health, science, and business. Between 31% and 50% of the respondents said they use the Internet weekly for in-depth information in one of the three areas. These respondents valued the Internet more than magazines, books, or friends and families as a source of in-depth information. In-depth information is useful to people who depend on media for understanding and orientation about issues and topics. Individual background variables were better predictors of whether people use the Internet for such information than they were of people’s evaluation of that information’s quality.

http://www.scripps.ohiou.edu/wjmcr/vol11/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media-system_dependency

Social media hits its strides. Facebook goes public and twitter has over 500 million users as of June 2012

People use social media to connect with family and friends more and more abandoning traditional means of communication like phones and letter.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/30/analyst-twitter-passed-500m-users-in-june-2012-140m-of-them-in-

us-jakarta-biggest-tweeting-city/

While still having devices that are capable of making calls. People of this age use the “construct” for all social communications. No longer bound by having to talk to people directly, rather this era is one of clever banter and movie quotes to convey meanings. Everything is viral and nothing is private. Much like the fictional accounts in the movie The Matrix, we are connected at all times. There are no more private conversations. broadcasting ones inner most thoughts are seen as the newest form of art. Because of this the need the Adam Corp. builds the first biologically powered computer in 2020. With virtually unlimited storage capabilities all on a device the size of the 2012 iPhone 5, all the information on the former internet is stores on the “one device”. The one device has all the information and media ever produced, and connects to the “construct” network to give people instant gratification. The “one device” rules us all, while the construct has us.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-01/biostorage-scheme-turns-e-coli-

bacteria-data-storing-hard-drives

"Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action."-Albert Bandura, Social Learning Theory, 1977

http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/sociallearning.htm

Elementary students who spend more than two hours a day watching TV or using a computer are more likely to have emotional, social and attention problems. Exposure to video games also increases the risk of attention problems in children. Children who watch excessive amounts of TV are more likely to bully than children who don't.

Too much exposure to violence on TV and in movies, music videos, and video and computer games can desensitize children to violence. As a result, children may learn to accept violent behavior as a normal part of life and a way to solve problems.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/children-and-tv/MY00522

Children can be exposed to good media like leapfrog and Sesame Street that promote learning and social norms

However other media that focus on sex and violence children lead to them acting out what they see on TV, internet and YouTube.

In the present case, the 5-year-old child performed a "pile driver" move in which he placed his cousin's head between both of his knees, lifted the infant's body and dropped to the ground. After the baby's head hit the floor, the caretaker, who was in a different room when the incident occurred, heard the baby crying and later saw that he did not seem to be able to move.

http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/archive/index.php/t-30122.html

The US population has split into two distinct classes. These groups have formed based on their beliefs and rituals rather than on socio-economic, racial or cultural ties. The first group “eloi-quents” , follow the teachings the “flower child” of the 1960’s. They shun most modern media in favor of all natural living . They do not ingest meat processed by factories, drink milk un-pasteurized, and make their own cloths. They feel a natural connection to the Earth, and superiority to others. They are a short lived breed typically succumbing to infections from drinking un-pasteurized milk. But they tend to breed at an alarming rate and teach their children to never trust any one over 40. By contrast the other class is the “dumb-locks”. This group is constantly connected to the “construct” with their “one device”. They mimic popular culture and follow what ever is popular on YouTube. This has led to number of deaths, particularly in the southern states, while trying to mimic the popular show called’ Hey y’all! Watch this!”. They are a short lived race as well being that their primary food source is Taco Bell and Mountain Dew. High rates of diabetes and cardiovascular disease are common due to their refusal to change their habits or seek medical help. Their reasoning for this is that their progenitor also know as their “grand pappy” lived unto old age, and he smoked till the day he died at the ripe old age of 42.

Social Information Processing Theory (SIP) is an interpersonal communications theory developed by Joseph Walter in 1992 explaining how people get to know one another online, without nonverbal cues, and how they develop and manage relationships in the computer-mediated environment.

Walther, Joseph B. (1992). "Interpersonal effects in computer-mediated interaction: A relational

perspective.". Communication Research 19 (1): 52–90.

The focus of this study is the way we act differently in our communications styles and behaviors based of if we are using computer mediated communications (CMC) or face to face communication (FtF). The question is can we communicate effectively without the presence of non-verbal cues. Does the lack of these cues diminish the experience and do CMC relationships take longer to reach the same milestones as FtF

In the 1990's, less than 1 percent of relationships started through personal ads or online intermediaries. By 2005,37% of Internet users had at least one relationship with someone they met online. Today, 20% of all relationships start online.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-blake/online-degree-distance-learning-

_b_1557016.html

More than 6 million students -- nearly a third of total enrollment at degree-granting postsecondary institutions --were taking at least one online course in 2010, the most recent year available in a 2011 study by the Babson Survey Research Group at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/education/growing-

number-of-college-students-choose-online-courses-85483/

With the accessibly and speed of the internet today society finds its self not having the social interactions that we did less than a decade ago. No longer are we meeting as many people in our day to day lives. Our digital footprint thru social media and or matchmaking sites are what we rely more heavily on to form connections. Instead of meeting people we can research them like a private detective from years ago. We can learn about them without ever meeting them. We also seem to be more communicative thru electronic means like text and email than we are actually talking to people. While this may increase the number of people we communicate with, the argument could be made that we are having less substantial communication. For example having 500 friends on Facebook or 1000 followers on twitter. Our mass communication volume is greater, while our personal communications suffer. We are not as close digitally. A personal story is a friend recently de-active her Facebook account. When questioned why I discovered she recently found out her father had cancer, not through a phone call but through a Facebook post, with hundreds of other people. Our personal connections suffer while our digital presence grows.

In 2022 there are physical schools. Colleges exist only for sports now. All learning is done online where there is no need for a classroom, only software. Teachers have no personal interactions with student there role now is moderator or software facilitators. Students don’t ever meet anyone inside the classroom bucause there are none, only messages sent through Blackboard and consultations on homework assignments. Students having spent years in this enviroment find romance or pair boding difficult if not impossible. They turn their attention to sites that make their pair bonding matches for them. When they do meet, their social skill are lacking and find it difficult to manage a coherent conversation. This inevitibly leads to a decline in marriage rates, but oddly not population decline. The “hook up” has replaced long term relationships as those require communication skills. And as those children grow they face the same challenges of their parents that they have hardly ever spoken to, except on the occasional email.

Daniel Riffe, Stephen Lacy, and Miron Varouhakis, 2011, Media System Dependency Theory and Using the Internet for In-depth, Specialized Information, retrieved from: http://www.scripps.ohiou.edu/wjmcr/vol11/

Ball-Rokeach & DeFleur's (1976) MSDT conceptual model retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media-system_dependency

Ingrid Lunden 7/30/12 Analyst: Twitter Passed 500M Users In June 2012, 140M Of Them In US; Jakarta ‘Biggest Tweeting’ City retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/30/analyst-twitter-passed-500m-users-in-june-2012-140m-of-them-in-us-jakarta-biggest-tweeting-city/

Clay Dillow, 1/10/11, Biostorage Scheme Turns E. Coli Bacteria into Hard Drivesretrieved from: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-01/biostorage-scheme-turns-e-coli-bacteria-data-storing-hard-drives

Albert Bandura, 1977 Social Learning Theory, retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/sociallearning.htm

The Mayo Clinic, Children and TV: Limiting your child's screen time, retrieved from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/children-and-tv/MY00522

Amy McConnell Schaarsmith, 2/16/12, Growing number of college students choose online courses, retrieved from: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/education/growing-number-of-college-students-choose-online-courses-85483/

Charnicia E. Huggins, 6/26/2002, Baby's Injury Points to Danger of Kids Imitating TV retrieved from: http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/archive/index.php/t-30122.html

Walther, Joseph B, 1992. "Interpersonal effects in computer-mediated interaction: A relational perspective.”. Communication Research 19 (1): 52–90.

David Blake, 5/31/12, Online Dating vs. Online Education, retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-blake/online-degree-distance-learning-_b_1557016.html