Diffusion of Innovations Theory

Welcome to my first post! I am excited you are here.

To kick off the start of the course, the first readings focused on the Diffusion of Innovation theory. The Diffusion of Innovation theory explains how ideas are spread through a society and the process of accepting these ideas and using them as a way of life. Prior to learning about this theory, I had not thought much about the period of time between an idea being suggested and then being adopted by society. However, this period is explained by the Diffusion of Innovation theory. I now understand that it is crucial for target populations adopting an innovation.

As learned in the readings, diffusion takes place through convergent communication. This makes sense because diffusion is an idea or innovation being shared by one party, and understood by another party. In other words, diffusion is a two-way street. The purpose of convergent communication is that all participants will develop the same understanding of an idea. It is interesting to think that there is knowledge that not everyone knows and understands. Whenever I adopt a new innovation or start using a new product because I have seen it trending or because someone told me about it, it is easy to think that everyone must be doing it too. However, the Diffusion of Innovation theory tells us that is not the case. Before something is widely accepted, like a trending product, many steps must be taken. People must be educated about the innovation, explained to why something is a better alternative than following tradition, and informed of the consequences. For example, we can look at the British Navy scurvy crisis. Scurvy killed hundreds of sailors in the 20th century. At an attempt to prevent scurvy, English Captain James Lancaster experimented with serving sailors lemon juice. Lancaster found that the sailors who drank lemon juice stayed safe from scurvy, while others who did not drink lemon juice continued to die. While it seems like it should have been obvious to serve all the sailors lemon juice to prevent scurvy, it was not done for another 200 years. 

A similar situation that can be looked at is the adoption of digital media. For decades, newspapers have been delivered daily offering news and information. However, with the rise of digital media, newspaper publications have started to make the shift to digital platforms. This is very appealing to the “asset-light” generation, which is the younger generation known for favoring convenience, ease, and quickness. The asset-light generation would rather read the news on their smartphone than pick up a big newspaper. Not only is it bulky, but to find the information you are looking for, you have to read the table of contents and flip through many pages. On your smartphone, you can type in exactly what you are looking for and view it within seconds. Now that some digital news platforms are available, they are gaining popularity over traditional newspapers. However, not everyone is in favor of all their news being online. After reading through discussions of my classmates on this topic, I understand that many people still appreciate the beauty of reading a physical newspaper. With written news publications beginning to die off, the newspaper and magazine lovers have limited options, and must learn to adapt. The Diffusion of Innovation theory is seen here in the process of news publications aiming to appeal to people of all generations and help them adapt to new digital news platforms.

The Diffusion of Innovation theory is an interesting topic that explains the behaviors of adopting new ideas in society. Now that I understand this theory, I view the process of accepting innovations differently. 

I hope you enjoyed this first blog post. Get excited for more! Don’t forget to come back next week.

Maiya Sokol