New Media Adoption

Edward Baca is a common man in most respects. He is the son of Mexican immigrants. He worked for the Fullerton California police department for most of his life. In more recent years he has worked in a bureaucratic position in the state government. Currently he is employed, for his own sanity, at ACE hardware in St. George Utah. He had a very common experience with the advent of TV. Just as the first time I logged on the internet in 1992 with my friend whose parents were technologically inclined, Ed’s first encounter with television was at a friends home whose parents were also on the cutting edge.

Ed’s parents were not early adopters, and neither were mine. Ed’s parents were lower middle class members of Southern California society. The price of a television at the time was very cost prohibitive. In 1938 when the first commercial electronic sets were sold they cost $395 from Du Mont Corporation. (History of Television) To put this price into perspective, two years later a new 1940 Chevrolet Special Deluxe Sport Coupe cost only $750. (University of Maryland) My family had similar problems financially affording the equipment necessary to access the internet. My parents were lower middle class members of an agrarian area of Southern Idaho, where if you were lower middle class you didn’t know it. Nobody was rich, and I believe I actually used the first internet connection established in the whole valley.

Ed’s most used media before TV was radio. My most used media before the Internet was TV. Ed remembers gathering around the radio with his grandfather and others to listen to Amos and Andy, and various mystery programs. He also remembers advertisements to products like cigarettes. Ed remembers how the radio created talking points for listeners. People still talked and visited with one another while listening to radio. It was not yet a cardinal rule that silence must exist while consuming media. Ed remembers this as a time of more social interaction. I remember the Internet bringing back social interaction. I remember my first chat room, my first discussion board, and the first time I used Myspace. Although my enthusiasm for chat rooms has faded, my use of discussion boards for academics, and Myspace to reconnect with old friends continue.

Ed remembers watching TV on what looked more like a square box. The screen was often no bigger than the size of a dinner plate. There was a movement to install large magnifying glasses on the front of the screen to compensate for this. I similarly remember my first experiences with the internet. It was on a 256 color 12-13 inch monitor. It was through a tediously slow connection.

Ed was not one to stay indoors until the TV came along. Like many children he was often outside playing. When the TV came, children spent more time indoors. “Both the public and social scientists have become increasingly concerned about the amount of time youngsters devote to television viewing…” (Jason, 245) Because of such concerns raised by many self described experts, the public has often tried to shift the reinforcement of a child to more active behaviors. However, Ed does not remember this as an issue of his day. “Parents were not too concerned about us spending time watching TV. It was new