Journalism, Mass Media and Communication - Term Paper Example

Journalism, Mass Media and Communication (CCT 109) al affiliation Journalism, Mass Media and Communication (CCT109) Internet and Mobile Phones Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Introduction 3 Origin of the internet 3 Landmarks in the history of mobile phones 4 Uses of cell phones and the internet in surveillance 5 Types of surveillance 7 Adoption of mobile phones and the internet 8 Smartphone adoption and usage 9 Conclusion 10 References 11 Introduction Mobile phones form a very powerful tool for communication as well as internet access. Thus, internet and cell phones mostly work together in unison. Mobile phones can also be used to track ones location, contacts and other daily activities in what is known as security surveillance. This paper talks about the historical development of both the internet and the cell phones and notes some crucial aspects and notable landmarks in the history of telecommunication. In addition, the paper discusses in detail how phones and the internet could be used on security surveillance. There are also various discussions on the usage and adoption of mobile phones in the market. This paper also seeks to explore the various forms of surveillance facilitated by mobile phones and the Internet and discusses the issues of control over personal information and privacy in these contexts (Zhu & Zhou 2002).The issue of security surveillance is very critical. One may generally assume that we are not being monitored in our daily activities but with the current technological advancements, one could be traced by the use of mobile phones and the internet. Information and communication technology has numerous benefits in its application within various sectors of the economy. It is in this regard that the contemporary business environments have embraced the application of technology to tool to facilitate realization of their aims and objectives. Billions of people around the globe presently use internet and mobile phones, which has become a significant component of their everyday lives. Cell phones use is ubiquitous with roughly 6.8 billion subscriptions around the globe (Anderson &Rainie, 2008). In fact, mobile phones play a significant role in the modern telecommunications. Origin of the internet The original aspect of the internet can be traced to the first launch of the first artificial earth satellite. In 1957, the USSR launched a successful Sputnik whereas the USA launched the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). ARPA was launched by the US Department of Defense so as to establish US supremacy in technology and science which was applied in the military. It was within ARPA that the first seed for the internet used today developed (Zhu & Zhou 2002). After the introduction of the internet in the market, there was a remarkable adoption of the internet and a speedy penetration. For instance, the penetration was more pronounced in South Korea than any other country. Family support has been termed as one of the most important factors that have contributed to the excessive internet use for both current users and the most frequent users. Social family support has been of an effect on the internet users as it does on group pressure and social facilitation. Other factors that have proved to be significant in the adoption of the internet by users are age, level of education, perception by an individual among others (Stempel, Hargrove & Bernt 2000). Landmarks in the history of mobile phones The beginning of the story of the modern mobile phones can be traced back in the year 1940s at a time when engineers of AT&T came up with cells, which were designed for mobile phone base stations. The very first gadget of mobile phone was not really a mobile phone at all. Such mobile phone gadgets were merely two-way radio stations that only allowed people such as taxi drivers and other emergency services to communicate together. These types of mobile phones were often 0G mobile phones or zero Generation mobile phones. Mobile phones have developed such that people today rely on third-generation mobile technology or 3G (Zhu & Zhou 2002). Some of the notable landmarks in the development of mobile phones are as follows (Lin 1998). In 1979, Japan became the first nation to have a commercial cellular mobile phone, which was a network within the widespread city. By 1981, the Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) system was launched in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. In the mid 80s, there was another major step in the history of mobile phones whereby the first 1G fully automatic cell phone was introduced. In 1983, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in USA approved the first Motorola Dyna Tac. Uses of cell phones and the internet in surveillance Organizations, which use the internet and mobile phones major, have standards and technical teams, which comprise of engineers, researchers, users, and interested people who have joined hands with objective of developing standards and protocols to facilitate smooth functioning of the Internet (Andrejevic, 2006). The historical development of the internet and mobile phones has been involving both the governmental and non-governmental organization. Besides the private sector playing various roles, there is also involvement of some government entities. Cell phones are inevitably critical instruments for passing message from one place to another. For instance, in the United States, roughly over 302 million individuals are cellular telephone subscribers. With the arrival of the iPhone and other advanced models of cellular telephones such as the smart phones and the android phones are becoming devices that are used to access and administer data through desktop and PCs. A research conducted by Pew Internet networks showed that the vast majority on the planet will access Internet through cell phones by the year 2020 (Andrejevic, 2006). Cell phones are just like social networks on the internet which give clients alternative ways of interacting with a number of people. Interpersonal interaction through the use of cell phones majorly depends on clients imparting their area and other individual data with different clients using these services. Inquiries have thus emerged regarding the manner in which these mobile users manage and understand issues of privacy and surveillance when diffusing personal information on the Internet (Anderson, &Rainie, 2008). The increased advancement in data engineering recognizes numerous issues with respect to security and surveillance. Privacy and surveillance are regularly considered as counterpoints when examining issues of individual data and the advanced technology. Security has been characterized as the capacity to control what data around oneself is or should be accessible to others. At the point when one cannot control what data around oneself others receiver or get to know, one may be interested in surveillance by others. Anderson, &Rainie (2008) consider surveillance as “any gathering or handling of individual information, whether identifiable or not, for the reasons of dealing with those whose information have been assembled”. Innate to the meaning of surveillance is the impact it has over others. The secret power behind surveillance is that individuals whose discrete information are gathered or observed may not know when or in the event that they are being consistently viewed. As Couldry & McCarthy (2004) says, the information community believes that reconnaissance is part and parcel of the most important issues in the society. Computing and information technology encourage the accumulation of individual data. Data engineering databases take into account the incorporation and layering of various types of data from distinctive sources. The most critical part of this point is that it permits the individuals who control the databases such as the government and other corporate entities to know more about others. This coupling of data highpoints behavioral and cognitive propensities that people sometimes fail to put into consideration. It is noteworthy information collected from the Internet can likewise be commoditized and possibly utilized for despotic exercises. Types of surveillance The first form of surveillance offered by the internet and the mobile phones is the voluntary panoptic on, which refers to the act of voluntarily submitting information to the surveillance department. It can also be termed as participatory panoptic on. It is much different from the well-known traditional older systems of surveillance (Couldry& McCarthy, 2004). This form of surveillance is essential since people volunteer themselves to get involved in the whole process of monitoring their personal conduct. The second form of surveillance is known as the lateral surveillance, which is usually asymmetrical monitoring of persons by others. With the new technology, people have become capable of disseminating information that was initially in the hands of the government and corporate entities (Whitaker, 1999). Citizens use this form to monitor other people’s behaviors via non-reciprocal systems of watching. The last form of surveillance is the self-surveillance, which refers to people recording their undertakings via the Internet and advising others to do the same. Technologies such as camera phones and video cameras enable people to capture their aspects that they later replay. Through technology and the Internet, such recorded information or captured images can be uploaded online, and this acts as a self-surveillance (Whitaker, 1999). Finally, it is noteworthy that safety and investigation have long been concerns of researchers of sensitive media. Past studies have investigated privacy issues when using mobile phones and the Internet. These studies propose that the utilization of most of the technologically advanced systems creates security issues to most individuals because many people barely have control over their individual information. Many forums have created by various stakeholders raising questions on the issue of Internet governance and the people behind its control (Whitaker, 1999). Adoption of mobile phones and the internet The decision to use the internet is influenced by behavioral pressures such as pressure from social groups, for instance the family. Various differences exist between groups of population of users and non-users of the internet. Adopting the use of the internet indicates changes in the society whereby users of the internet and non-users may be differentiated depending on social demographics, use of conventional media, and people’s attitude towards the internet as well as social support. Adoption of new technologies focuses on individual’s social and economic characteristics, perceived characteristics of innovation, and clusters of other forms of technology as well as other situational factors. Past research activities by scholars’ show that those who adopt the use of new forms of technology are more upscale, well educated and relatively younger than the non-adopters. This shows that higher education leads to an awareness of the benefits and importance of the use of new technology. Moreover, higher levels of income enable people to buy new technological gadgets such as smart phones that are highly inaccessible to others due to financial constraints. Young people are termed as more adventurous than the old people when it comes to adopting new technologies. The initiation of the usage of personalized computers and cell phones as a new wave of technology was mostly adopted by younger generations who were better educated and relatively more affluent. In the early stages of the diffusion of internet, the young, educated and the more affluent were the first typical adopters of new technologies such as the mobile phones (Stempel, Hargrove & Bernt 2000). Recent surveys show that the rapid rate of the use of the internet in South Korea is the uppermost gobally. It is one of the leading nations in terms of the access of high-speed broadband access. Internet users in South Korea nearly dominate the entire gamut of all the activities which take place in the web from searches to games to messenger chatting. Also, they are one of the leading consumers of the use of online shopping of goods and services commonly known as e-commerce. Most of the popular social movements worldwide have gone online with civil, governmental and non-governmental organizations effectively mobilizing their resources and other activities through internet networking (Zhu & Zhou 2002). Nonetheless, there has been a widespread disparity in the use of internet which has come to light recently. The use of the internet has been clearly divided by generations which have threatened to create a new generational gap and there is even a possibility of further generational conflicts likely to emerge in the society. In the context of development, the term technology is much limited to its economic dimension whereas the meaning of technology on the same perspective has been widely neglected. Smartphone adoption and usage Various companies such as the Pew Internet Project have conducted survey and research activities and some of their results show that 42 percent of American adults own smart phones. 83 percent of US adults own a cell phone of any kind irrespective of whether it is a smart phone or not. The definition of a smart phone owner covers either of these two categories: (Lin 1998). On third of all cell phone users (33 percent) claim that their cell phone is a smartphone. Two in every five cell phone owners (39 percent) say that their cell phones operate on a smart phone platform such as iPhones as well as Blackberry devices and also phone sthat run the Android and windows operating systems. Several groups that have higher levels of smart phone adoption include the following: Those who are well-off financially and well-educated- 59 percent of adults who live in households which earn $75,000 are owners of smart phones whereas 48 percent of those with a degree own smart phones. Those who are under the age of 45- Research shows that 58 percent of US citizens between ages 25 and 34 own a smart phone. African-American and Latinos- 44 percent of Latinos and Americans who have African attributes are users of smart phones. Conclusion Levels of income and affordability are believed to be having no effect on the adoption of internet since it is easily accessible and widely available to the public. Internet has been made available in public areas such as in government offices, and institutions such as post offices, cafes among other places. Thus, affordability can be seen as a very negligible factor in the adoption of internet especially in South Korea (Zhu & Zhou 2002). It can clearly be seen that the se of the internet and the mobile phones did not just start the other day and that cell phones did not just come into existence in the same quality they are today. Mobile phones have undergone a lot of developments since their inception in the market. They have developed such that people today rely on third-generation mobile technology or 3G, android phones and the smart phones as discussed in the paper. From the discussion, it can be concluded that the mobile and internet are not merely meant for communication, synchronization, and interaction, but also monitored spaces. Continuous use of technology to meet people through social networks that shares true locations are potentially conveying a lot of information to people. This means that mobile and internet spaces are likewise spaces for production. However, it is noteworthy that mobile and Internet also allow for the monitoring of behavior in ways that were previously unavailable. In fact, as many people spend their time using two contemporary ICTs services, they should understand that some of their private information goes to commercial scrutiny. Above all, these new interactive technologies are central tools for exploring how information is collected and utilized. The purpose of privacy and supervision within the process is integral, as elaborated in the discussion. References Anderson, J. Q., &Rainie, L. (2008).The future of the Internet III. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project. Andrejevic, M. (2006). The discipline of watching: Detection, risk, and lateral surveillance. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 23, 391 – 407. Couldry, N., & McCarthy, A. (Eds.). (2004). Media Space: Place, scale and culture in a media age. London: Routledge. Lin, C. A. (1998). Exploring personal computer adoption dynamics. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 42, 95–112. Stempel III, G., Hargrove, T., & Bernt, J. (2000). Relation of growth of use of the Internet to changes in media use from 1995 to 1999. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 77(1), 71–79. Whitaker, R. (1999). The end of privacy: How total surveillance is becoming a reality. New York: New Press. Zhu, J. H., & Zhou, H. (2002). Diffusion, use and impact of the Internet in Hong Kong: A chain Read More