The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is a book on the history of science written by philosopher Thomas Kuhn. In the book, Kuhn challenges the prevailing view of normal science: science develops through the accumulation of established facts and theories. Kuhn proposes an episodic model in which periods of such progression in normal science are disrupted by periods of scientific revolution. During revolutions, anomalies are discovered, a crisis spawns between existing theory and new theory, the scientific community begins to adopt the new theory, and the new paradigm pushes out the old and directs research in new directions. Kuhn’s model is known as “paradigm shift”. Although Kuhn’s model was mainly applied towards hard sciences at the time, it has since been applied to philosophy, sociology, and numerous non-scientific contexts to describe a profound change in a fundamental model or notion or events.

Paradigm shifts are ubiquitous with the emergence of modern technologies. PCs unconditionally transposed the workforce and spawned an entirely new industry. The World Wide introduced global communication. From artificial intelligence to virtual reality headsets, each new invention is its own paradigm shift in the cosmos of modern technology. One particular paradigm shift I have experienced and is central to my generation is the maturation of social media. From Facebook to Snapchat to other modern social media platforms, these applications have indubitably enacted a paradigm shift in human communication. What was once a letter mailed across the country, a conversation over the phone, an email over the internet has become a post or picture shared with everyone in one’s social media circle. Social media is a paradigm shift and is the future of communication. Although social media differs from hard sciences, Kuhn’s model of paradigm shift can still be applied accurately to the adoption of social media in today’s world. Kuhn’s model of paradigm shift begins with the invention of a new theory that challenges existing theory. Entering the 21st century, telephones, mail, and email were unquestionably the primary way of communication between individuals. If one wanted to share their latest adventure with a family or friend, he or she would most likely send a nice postcard or email with picture attachments. In 2004, though, a small internet platform known today as Facebook would launch and forever shift the world of communication. Facebook’s community was originally restricted to universities, allowing students to share photos and write posts. This was one of the earliest concepts of communication being not just one-to-one, but rather a social exchange between one individual and an entire “social network” that individual is a member of. Just as Kuhn highlights the tension a new anomaly creates in the scientific community, Facebook was still very novel at birth and most investors were skeptical of its utility.

The fresh concept of social media, though, was beginning to challenge the already existing telephone and email. Kuhn highlights how the transformation to a new paradigm goes through a struggle between the existing paradigm (in this case telephones and email) and the new paradigm (Facebook and social media). This struggle results in only one champion, and whether the new can topple the old is determined by the new paradigm’s ability to fill holes in the old, appear more acceptable, and garner more adopters. Facebook did exactly that when it was released publicly. After establishing a strong foundation between university students, Facebook captured the interests of the general public, which saw the advantages of using such a social media platform. From 450 users in 2004 to a whopping 500 million in 2010 to today’s 1.79 billion users, Facebook’s ability to push out email and telephones (old paradigm) is accredited to its growth in adopters. Gradually, other models of social media began to emerge, such as Instagram whose focus is on sharing photos; LinkedIn, which connects business professionals; Snapchat who focuses on non-permanent photo sharing. All of these contrastive social networks are a part of a unifying social media paradigm that Facebook has initiated. What should be stressed is that social media’s ability to emerge as the new paradigm stems from its ability to capture a young generation. The young enjoy connecting with a network of friends, sharing photos of their daily lives, and voicing their opinions through posts. The young, though, continues to conflict with an older generation that still prefers traditional forms of communication. This conflict is explained in Kuhn’s writing as a conflict between new adopters and older adopters of theories. Denouement is reached when the number of new adopters outnumbers old, and when more and more old begin to also adopt the new. Social media has been accomplishing exactly that, and the social revolution it has set in motion is irreversible.

Kuhn’s model does, however, have its shortcomings when applied to modern technologies such as social media. When Kuhn refers to a new paradigm gathering more adopters, he focuses on the field’s main experts adopting it and thereby influencing other scientists and laymen to follow suit. Modern technologies today, though, have received such acclamation not because of the impact of experts, but rather the strength of a technology to capture the attention of the general public. Social media is the epitome of trendiness being the main factor in adoption. While Kuhn’s model predicts new paradigms able to rationalize nature better and resolve holes in the old paradigm, modern technologies often play on what is trendy and can readily attract the public. Such a difference is most likely due to a discrepancy between science and technology. Science flourishes in an expert community, while technology aims to empower the common man. To add on, Kuhn’s model becomes hard to apply because science is based on a search for ways to explain the universe and thus old paradigms are “replaced” by new ones and the two can almost never coexist. Modern Technology, though, does not always follow this pattern of new replacing old. Telephones and email today may be weaker forms of communication, but they do coexist with social media. Gmail is still alive, while telephone companies are still making money. Technologies are able to coincide compared to scientific theories because there is no one “true” technology as there is only one true science to explain a phenomenon in nature. Technology is about increasing consumer satisfaction and making the lives of people more convenient and pleasant, and that is why Kuhn’s model struggles to find ground in explaining paradigm shifts or modern technology.

Although Kuhn’s model has its deficiencies in explaining modern technologies such as Social Media, social media is undeniably still a paradigm shift and parts of Kuhn’s model can still be applied. Social media has changed the 21st century and the millennial generation. Social media is an insurgent that dethroned the once high hailing telephone King and Email Queen from their ascendancy, and ushered in a new era of communication in the modern world. The revolution it has begun is currently unstoppable, but it may one day face a new challenger, a new paradigm once again.