The Adoption Process of New Technology: A Personal Experience with an MP3 Player, Papers of Communication

Download The Adoption Process of New Technology: A Personal Experience with an MP3 Player and more Papers Communication in PDF only on Docsity! Stacy Scharf February 10, 2005 COM 218 Applying the Adoption Process When adopting a new technology must of us think it only involves going to the store, buying it, and putting it to use. There is much more going on beneath the surface. Unconsciously we all go through an adoption process with the new technology we purchase. This process consists of five steps including knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation and confirmation. Recently I received an MP3 player. Looking back, I can clearly identify the stages which I went through as I accepted this new technology into my life. First I became knowledgeable about the MP3 player. One of my best friends was going on a trip to Europe and explained to me that she wanted to get an Apple iPod so she could have her favorite songs with her on the trip. I had no idea what an Apple iPod was or what its function was until my friend explained it to me. From her, I learned that you could download songs and listen to it like you would a CD player. After I became aware of the product I then began to see ads for MP3 players in the newspaper and it seemed like everywhere I look they were being sold. In addition, I also saw students on campus listening to their newly adapted MP3 players. I then began to think seriously about getting one. My next step was to evaluate the MP3 player decide if it was something that I really wanted to have. I looked at advantages, complexity, compatibility, reliability, and observability. Being a music lover, I have over two hundred CD’s. I was always losing them and they were always getting scratched. I realized with an MP3 player I could put all my CD’s into one little device. This alone was enough to convince me that I needed one. I was unaware of the complexity or reliability but I had never heard anything bad about them at the time was I was getting ready to buy one. I knew that most MP3 players were compatible with all computers possessing a USB cable. As far as I could observe almost everyone was taking the plunge and purchasing some type of MP3 player. My mind was made up. I decided I wanted one. By this time it was close to Christmas and my boyfriend decided that was going to be my gift from him. As soon as I received the MP3 player I experienced the fourth step of the adoption process, implementation. I put my MP3 player into use the very next day. It took a couple of hours to figure out the hardware but once I understood everything I was inseparable from my new technology. I was downloading songs and loading all my CD’s to it. Having all my music accessible to me at one time was very convenient. I used my MP3 player while cleaning the house, exercising, and I also used it to help me fall asleep at night. I confirmed that the adaptation of this new technology was a good decision. I believe the adoption process model to be very accurate when predicting the steps that one will go through when adopting a new technology. Looking back, I can clearly identify which step I was in through the whole process. At the time, I was unaware that I was actually going through steps but it is interesting to know how people adopt new innovations into their lives. One thing I would change or be curious to know is how long people spend at one stage or how long the process takes as a whole for the average person. For me the whole process took about three or four months from the time I