1.  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…

2.  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/

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

4.  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/

5.  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/2
011-01/biostorage-scheme-turns-e-coli-
bacteria-data-storing-hard-drives

6.  "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/developmentalpsy
chology/a/sociallearning.htm

7.  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

8.  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.

9.  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

10.  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.

11.  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.

12.  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

13.  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

14.  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/

15.  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.

16.  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.

17.  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 Drives
retrieved 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/

18.  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
