The Wired Child:How Social Technologies

Impact the Brain

Dr. Pamela RutledgeDirector, Media Psychology Research Center

American Museum of Natural HistoryOctober 6, 2011

Social media is about psychology, not technology

Roadmap

Media Landscape & Networks The Impact Of Change

Moral Panics & Cognitive Resistance Biological Bases Of Motivation Hierarchy Of Needs

Rewiring Maslow How Technology Amplifies Behavior The New Normal

Technology Has Rewired the World

Communications Model: Few to Few

Mass Media Model: One to Many

Network Model: Many to Many

The Small World Studies

Who Do You Know…

Omaha

Boston

Who Do You Know Who Knows…

Omaha

Boston

What a Small World!

Omaha

Boston

Social Technologies Are Interactive Information Organizers

Many types Information searches Folksonomy/Tagging Blogs Wikis Social Networking

Similar properties Participatory Interactive Constantly changing Create social connections Respond dynamically to

user

Impact: Structural & Experiential

Interactive ⌘ On-Demand ⌫ Asynchronous ⌥ Broad Access

Net Generation Has New Assumptions

We expect to participate, be heard, collaborate, and connect.

By doing so, we increase our our empathy, our social capital, and our efficacy

beliefs.

Technology is the new oxygen

Changing Roles and Uses

Is There No Respect?

Brief History of Media Technologies

10,000 BC 4,000 BC 1000 AD 1440 1860 1920 1950 1995 2004 2011

(NOT TO SCALE)

Mass Media’s Piece of the Pie

Old Game + New Rules = Cognitive Dissonance

• New is different• Different is scary• Adaptation takes effort• Willingness to change

History is Full of Moral Panics Over the Introduction of New Technologies

Socrates

People will forget how to use their memories

if they can write things down

Anthony Comstock

Vile books and papers are …used by Satan ... to debase, pervert and turn away from lofty aims to follow examples of corruption and criminality

John Phillips Sousa

Because of the gramophone, our vocal cords will

shrivel up

1930s Radio

Parents beware: The compelling excitement of the loudspeaker disturbs the balance of excitable minds

Now

Why Do Moral Panics About Media Matter?

Drive distance between generations

Become embedded in public policy

Bias research

Ignore the complexity of the environment

Divert resources away from real problems and more effective interventions

Disregard subjective experience of media use

Let’s say that media technologies are as awful as everyone fears.

Then what?

Technology is Just a Tool

The Biological Imperative

survival

Maslow’s Hierarchyof Needs

Self-actualization

Esteem

Belonging and Love

Safety

Biological and physiological

Maslow Rewired: Social Connectivity

Esteem, Reputation

& Competence

Safety, Order & Certainty

Community, Belonging & Love

Food, Shelter &

Sex

Social Behaviors Based on Survival

Collaboration

Reciprocity

Trust

Social Validation

Social Identity

Competence

Human Motivations and Goals

Intrinsic Motivation

• Autonomy• Mastery• Relatedness

Meet Bob

Online And Offline Merge

The same neural patterns

Mediated experience enriches face-to-face

Adoption driven by connection goals

Social media provides glue

autonomymastery

relatedness

self-efficacy engagement

competenceoptimism

resiliencepurpose

agency

Technology Enables Individual Action

Google+

Grandma’s On Facebook

Where’s the Mouse?

The New Normal: Blurring Boundaries

The New Normal: Learning to Blog

The New Normal: Collaborative Management

The New Normal: Customers as Fans

The New Normal: Creative Participation

The New Normal: Remixing Culture

Mash-up of 8 artists’ tracks:• Black Eyed Peas • Katy Perry• Snoop Dogg• Jay Sean• Nicki Minaj• Flo Rida• David Guetta• Kings Of Leon

The New Normal: Civic Engagement

The New Normal: Gaming for Good

The New Normal: Donating Through Gaming

The New Normal: DIY Philanthropy

The New Normal: Micro-Volunteerism

The New Normal: Citizen Science

The New Normal: It Gets Better

The New Normal: Participatory Social Change

The New Normal: Old People on Facebook

Going Forward

No distinction online and offline

More mobile means more autonomy Increased celebration of local

Increasing global awareness

Flattening hierarchies Respect, authenticity, and

transparency New business models &

entrepreneurship

The most important impact on the human brain is this:

Technologies have not only changed the way people can do things,

it’s changed their beliefs about what they can do.

Thank You.

Dr. Pamela RutledgeMedia Psychology Research Center

@mediapsychology