Rodgers' Diffusion of Innovations Theory

            Rodgers’ Diffusion of Innovations is a “theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations). Rodgers believed that diffusion is “the process by which an innovation is communicated over time among the participants in a social system”. According to Rodgers, there are five main elements that influence the spread of a new idea: the innovation hall, adopters, communication channels, time, and a social system.

              Through the lens of the Diffusion Theory, when the first camera was invented it caught on because of its ability to capture a moment in time and spread like wildfire. There were many early adopters of the camera, as people were just so excited to try out this new technology. Late adopters could have been those who could not afford a camera at the time, and the non-adopters may have either been financially unable to get a camera or they may have simply been uninterested. While there are a few downsides of cameras in today’s age (security cameras, phone/laptop cameras spying), I would say that – especially back then – the positives outweigh the negatives.