How Has Technology Helped Communication?

Printing press

Advances in technology, from the invention of writing by hand thousands of years ago to texting on a smart phone today, have helped facilitate communication in both cataclysmic and subtle ways. Particularly in the last hundred or so years, technological breakthroughs in how we communicate with each other and the world have been so profound that our modern world is unthinkable without them.

History

Television camera

According to Worldhistorysite.com, communication technology began thousands of years ago with writing by hand, first in pictures and then with alphabets. That was followed by the invention of paper and handwritten books in the first century and the printing press and newspapers in the 16th century. Typewriters followed, and finally the personal computer was invented in the 20th century. Similar technological innovations happened in photography, the telegraph, telephone, phonograph, film and video, radio and television, in calculators and computers--most significantly, in the last century. Every subsequent leap in technology helped communication by making it more common, cheaper and accessible to more people.

Interpersonal Communication

Smart phone

Technology has helped interpersonal communications in ways people could find unimaginable even today. Where once you had to be at home or in the office to receive a simple phone call, inventions starting with answering machines gave people a new freedom. According to BenefitOf.net, such "technological advancements have made the world a smaller place to live in." Today, with smart phones allowing you to email remotely as well as send text, instant messages, photographs and video, communication can be constant as well as instantaneous.

Business Communication

Communications dishes

In business, firms relied on typewriters and "snail mail" to conduct their commerce well into the 1980s. Beginning with the widespread use of fax machines and desktop computers, and continuing with Internet applications such as email, the speed with which business can be conducted is virtually non-stop. According to the article "Technology and Its Influence on Personal Communication," written by Wenbin Nah for Scienceray.com, "mobile technology has made it possible for people to check and send messages on the go, allowing us to be connected 24-7." Additionally, the Internet, instant messaging and teleconferencing enable virtual meetings from locations anywhere and also make work innovations, such as telecommuting, possible.

Mass Communication

Communications satellite

There was a time when a town's important announcements would be read aloud by a town crier or tacked up, handwritten, in the town square. Since the invention of film in the 19th century and radio, television and the Internet in the 20th century, the necessary communications people needed to make informed decisions about their lives have become routine and ubiquitous. According to BenefitOf.net, this advance in dissemination technique whether "spreading information, broadcasting news, or sharing knowledge, technology has made it faster, easier, and smarter."

Misconceptions

Not all the advances in technology that have helped communication are necessarily beneficial, according Nah. For instance, "television has become a convenient substitute for family time," he says, arguing that instead of us controlling TV, it controls us, and the time that parents and children would have spent interacting with each other are now spent watching television. This reduces the quality time families have together, actually reducing communication rather than enhancing it. Nah cites as another example social websites, in which people can choose to give out only that personal information they deem appropriate, the end result being that people they meet online can easily form unrealistic perceptions of them.

References

• Worldhistorysite: Some Dates in the History of Cultural Technologies
• Scienceray: Technology and Its Influence on Interpersonal Communication
• BenefitOf: Benefits of Technology

Resources

• Federal Communications Commission: History of Communications