New media technology and youth: Trends in the evolution of new media

An information environment is emerging from the simultaneous, rapid, and interconnected evolution of transmission systems, interfaces, and content quantity, quality, and structure. It will be easy to underestimate the collective impact of the sum of these changes on how young people communicate and absorb information. Ultimately, it will be more important to understand how these technologies will facilitate, amplify, or alter the cognitive processes and/or social behavior of the Internet generation. The article analyzes the impact of the following trends on media use and cognition among youthful users: Information expansion and overload: Accessible networked information will continue to grow at a rapid pace for at least the next 10-20 years. Rapid increase in interface diffusion: The number of access points into the Internet is expanding in number, variety, and mobility. Evolution toward more embodied computing: Interfaces are evolving to use more of the sensorimotor system to transfer information to and from the user. The evolution of more intelligent sensors to interpret use behavior and intentions. Evolution toward anthropomorphic agent techniques: Computers are evolving to use more social and interpersonal communication techniques to interact with the user. Copyright (C) 2000 Society for Adolescent Medicine.