BBC Four is giving viewers a unique insight into how developments in technology have shaped our lives over the past forty years in Electric Dreams, a new three-part series charting the rise of today’s globally-linked, instantly-gratified digital culture.

The series will see the world of one ordinary British family turned upside-down as their home is “renovated” to the standard of a typical house in 1970 – the dawn of the digital age – and then fast-forwarded at the rate of a day per year through the technological revolution of the 70s, 80s and 90s. The programmes will reveal the huge transformation that technological change has wrought on British family life over the past 40 years. It remains to be seen how the children will cope when they swap Facebook and Wii for black and white television and vinyl records.

Independent production company Wall to Wall has been commissioned jointly by The Open University and the BBC to make the series.

Dr Ian Johnston, the Open University academic advisor to the series, said: “We are all aware of how technologically based and dependent life is today, but perhaps we have become too accustomed to the pace of change. This project provides a fascinating opportunity to rewind the clock, look at the past forty years again and take stock of where we are and how we got here – and whether all the advances have been beneficial.”

Electric Dreams will form part of the season IT And Us, to be aired later this year on BBC FOUR.

Date : 30-06-2009