engleski

Innovative Communication

Despite all controversies following the recent technological development, and considering the necessity of contextualizing this development in a broader socioeconomic and cultural frame, the contemporary research has shown a positive correlation between the social capital and information-communication technologies. Against the pessimistic anticipations about the increasing of social 89 alienation and weakening of social ties, it is worth to examine the argument about the civilizational shift from the communities based on tight groups towards communities based on social networks (Wellman et all, 2001). This broader shift does not necessarily produce the decrease of social capital. The flattening of the world induced by new technologies and new media platforms is changing the organizational models from the primarily vertical system of commands and control to a more horizontal cooperation and connecting. Authoritarian regimes worldwide try to control the way their citizens use those technologies. Their fear is maybe the best indicator of the emancipatory potential of ICT. The political and social changes sweeping through the Arab world in the beginning of 2011 owe some of its success exactly to new media. Marc Lynch, a professor of international relations at the Washington University pointed out: “All these media platforms and individual contributors layer together to collectively challenge the ability of states to control the flow of information, images, and opinion.” (Foreign Policy, January 15, 2011) A further development of communication technologies and ways in which they will be used depends very much on the media literacy of new generations, who are more and more socialized within the virtual social spaces. However, media literacy should not be apprehended only as a technical skill. In order to prevent the misuse of powerful high-tech tools, it is necessary to redesign educational curriculums, so that students are able to reflect critically and ethically. Because “the most important question is not what is the Internet going to do to us, but what will we do with it” (Putnam, 2008: 237)

Communication, information, inovation, tehlologies, social capital.

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