A Technology Fanaticism Model?

Those of us in the Information Science/Information Systems disciplines are intimately familiar with TAM, or, the Technology Acceptance Model. At its most basic level, this is the idea that adoption of IT is predicated on perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use. For example, I choose to adopt Photoshop as my software of choice for photo-editing based on perceiving it as a very helpful tool for particular (or potential) tasks, and on the simplicity of its interface. If I see it as more useful, and easier to use than a competitor's tool (such as, let's say, PaintShop Pro), I thus adopt Photoshop. At its core, TAM operates under the assumption that humans are rational creatures.

In the 20ish year since its inception, there have been numerous additions, expansions, and variants of the model. Some, accounting for less rational factors, such as hedonic perceptions; others considering context such as for personal use or as a job requirement; while still others consider facets such as demographics, social pressures, and experience. But when I look at the news over the last few weeks, and see the extremes to which some people have gone to acquire their new iPhone 4s (myself being an eager adopter), existing TAM studies immediately feel irrelevant in explaining individuals' behaviors.

The iPhone 4 takes the idea of Technology Acceptance to the level of Technology Fanaticism. We've seen images of people standing in long, long lines, some camped out for days, awaiting their new iPhones. There are minute-by-minute blogs and Twitter postings documenting experiences of buying a phone (from getting in line to unpacking the box at home) which read like the play-by-play of an intense football game. It would be unfair to single these people out as the only fanatics of technology. It has happened before with other Apple products (such as the poorly-named iPad), and even non-Apple products; especially game systems! I remember the PS2 launch being a (somewhat) comparably big deal in 2000!

Yet, is this any different than the holiday brawls which erupted in the 80s over Cabbage Patch Kid Dolls, or in the 90s over Tickle-Me-Elmos? Is it different than when hoards of fans turned out for the new Harry Potter books dressed in costume? Or when Star Wars fans waited for tickets to Episodes 1-3 in their costumes? Is the insanity expressed over the iPhone 4 terribly unlike the enthusiasm of fans who camp out to get tickets for popular concert events? Is it any more or less extreme than those who follow around the Grateful Dead? Hell, what about Beatle Mania several decades ago? In all of these instances, what one might call fanaticism, another might say you have to experience to understand.

I think that in general, people are rational when adopting new IT, and behave in ways that demonstrate the explanatory power TAM and its variants. Yet, I also believe that there is something buried deep within the human psyche that causes endorphin flow when we satiate our need for "cool things". This might be stronger in some people than others, and "cool things" might be defined as very different entities by different people. I am sure this has been studied and researched in Psychology, and I am sure that the entities on which we focus our fanaticism may say a lot about who we are, our society, our values, and so on. Why some people go to extreme lengths to satiate this need probably says a lot about their personalities, backgrounds, and perceptions. I could sit back, try to delve into my own psyche, and consider the things I get fanatical about; or I could look up research on fanaticism. I could, but I think it is enough to recognize my fanaticism when it occurs, and to enjoy it for what it is, so long as it doesn't take away from the truly important things in my life which transcend materiality and superficial experience.

Ironically, I started this post on 6/24 and didn't finish until more than 24 hours later. The reason: I got my new iPhone 4 of course! But hey, at least it gave me something to write about....