Diffusion of Innovations

 Diffusion of innovations is defined as a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread.

There are four key concepts involved with this theory which are: innovation, communication channels, time, and the social system.  Furthermore, Regulatory Capture is when industries meant to be regulated by the government, actually take over the parts that are supposed to be regulating them.

This results in a less competitive market, which has negative effects for consumers. When there are competitive companies within the same market, they are competing against each other to make sure consumers buy theirs and not the other companies. This competitiveness is the driving force behind pricing, advertising, and the quality of the product. When multiple companies are battling for the consumers attention, it results in the best version of the product and most reasonable price. 

Check out this video regarding the detrimental effects of regulatory capture https://www.policyed.org/intellections/danger-regulatory-capture/video

This has and continues to happen in the technology world. 

Facebook, one of the most influential companies in the world, has bought instagram. How long until Facebook buys Twitter, TikTok, and snapchat? 

By these large, and powerful companies taking over all of the other companies within the social media realm, we are being given the same opinions, which can lead to biases.

One company could potentially regulate all of the information we receive through social media because they own all of the different outlets.

One may think that the government holds the most power and influence over citizens, but I would have to disagree. The media holds tremendous influence over all of our lives, and the scary part is we don’t realize the extent of their power, or notice it at all. The media, whether that be radio, television, newspapers, or social media is how everyone receives information. In order to keep our world evolving we need to look at things from all different perspectives. The more ideas and versions of something, the better. But if one company, or person, were to take over a complete market, there would be no reason to question faults when there is nothing to compare it to. A small market is dangerous and can harm consumers.