Diffusion of Innovation
Diffusion of Innovation
This idea looks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas spread. There are 5 established adopter categories:
Innovators – people who are first to try new things; adventurous, risk-takers, and interested in new ideas.
Early Adopters – people who embrace and are aware of a need for change; comfortable with adopting new ideas.
Early Majority – people who adopt new ideas before the average person; prefer to see evidence of innovation’s success before adapting to it.
Late Majority – people who are skeptical of change and will only adopt to the innovation once it’s been tried by the majority.
Laggards – people who are traditional and conservative; very skeptical of change and generally the hardest to convince; may never adapt to the innovation at all (Rare, 2015).
I found this idea fascinating because of its personal relevance and application to my life. I've thought about where I've stood throughout my life in terms of how quick I've been at adopting and accepting new ideas when it comes to emerging technology. A bit of a personal anecdote but I remember our family being one of the first to own a home computer when I was 5 or 6 years old. We were also one of the first to adopt cell phones (and ditch our land lines) when they became a hot commodity around the time I was 12 or 13 years old. All in all, I believe myself to be an early adopter thanks to these lived experiences!