The document discusses the social impact of emerging telephone services. It notes that new technologies can provide economic, political, and sociological opportunities but also raise issues like invasion of privacy, inequity of access, mediated reality through automated systems, and compulsory disclosure of personal information. The telephone has been very successful due to attributes like personal communication, reliability, and universality, but designers must consider public perceptions of how information is used as well as actual usage to avoid problems arising from new services.
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The social impact of emerging telephone services
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The social impact of emerging
telephone services
William H. Dutton
Powerpoint by:
Corey Christiansen
2. Social Impact of
Telecommunication
Controversial and complex
Needs to be examined before
technology is utilized
Driven more by technical than social
rationality
Consumers are unaware of
consequences until they arise
4. Problems That Arise
Invasion of privacy
Most pervasive
Sharing of personal information, usually by
family members
In the UK especially, the telephone was
seen as being intrusive & impolite
Ex. Caller ID
5. Problems (con’t)
Inequity
Less well-to-do individuals and businesses
are less likely to be able to afford services
Newer technology often is used by those
with the most money
6. Problems (con’t)
Mediated reality
Voice processing systems or computer-
mediated communication
Increasing difficulty in reaching a live
person
Systems are poorly used, often no option to
reach a live person
7. Problems (con’t)
Compulsory Disclosure
Unless we block it, every call we make has
the potential of transmitting personal
information including our name and
telephone number
Some service do allow anonymous users
such as Santa Monica’s Public Electronic
Network (PEN)
8. Prospects
The telephone is one of the most successful
communication technologies in history
Personal
Friendly
Simple
Reliable
Universal
Private
Designers need to worry as much about
perceptions of the public as about the actual
use of information in the network - James Katz
9. Prospects (con’t)
Future technologies like the picture or
video phone may lead to more personal
rather that computer-mediated
communication
The industry and public sector lack any
compelling and attractive social vision
10. Reference:
Dutton, W.H. (1992). The social impact
of emerging telephone services.
Telecommunications Policy. (eReserve)
Retrieved on July 7, 2009.
https://eres.lib.washington.edu/eres/coursepa