Communicating new ideas: The potential impact of information and telecommunication technology

Information and telecommunication technologies are expected to facilitate rapid information diffusion and homogenize society. These expectations, however, are based on the assumption that the underlying structure and culture of society remains unchanged. When new technologies are introduced and the structure of society changes, the advantages of the new technology may not be clear. Specifically, in conjunction with the move to modern information and telecommunication technologies, if both the size of the group and the amount of information increases, then the expected speedup in information diffusion may not be realized. Moreover, ITT may also increase the relative rate at which information diffuses to smaller and more intellectually advantaged groups, thus exacerbating social differences.