The evolution of communication
Communication was been and will always be the central core of our society. From everyday phone calls with your friends through to meetings at work communication between people is what drives this country. However the way we communicate has been evolving at a startling pace. A person living one hundred years ago would scarcely recognize the communication tools that we take for granted today. So how has communication evolved?
Talking
From when we utter our first word as a baby to our last word on our deathbed, talking is the primary means of communication. This is normally done in person with one very good reason. It is not just the words and inflection a person uses but their body language which gives a face to face conversation a whole new dimension.
The advent of the telephone (and later the cellphone) has greatly increased our ability to keep in contact at a moments notice with anyone on the planet. It has broadened our view of the world while allowing us control over when we need to talk. No longer do we need to feel guilty about our poor time management skills when a quick phone call will let someone know we will be arriving late. We feel safe when we talk on the phone as it offers both a physical and emotional separation from the other person. This is one of the reasons why the video phone has not been successful.
The written word
Letter writing is fast becoming a lost art. The carefully penned letter is now being replaced by e-mail and SMS messaging. Why bother writing a letter when is it far easier to quickly type up an e-mail while still retaining a professional look. With the introduction of SMS messaging even the English language is becoming shortened and truncated so we can get the most out of modern technology.
News
The news has traditionally been circulated via newspaper. Convenient and cheap to produce this was the ideal format for current events. Even today newspapers are still popular despite the introduction of new technology. The one weakness of the newspaper is that it is only a snapshot of current events. There is simply no way to update it.
Radio and television gave the public new ways to experience the news. However although it added a new dimension the newspaper still reined supreme. A newspaper could be read anywhere, at anytime, passed around to others and then thrown out when finished. The ability to pick and choose what articles to read only added to the newspapers versatility.
The availability of computers and the evolution of the internet resulted in the emergence of news web sites. The constantly evolving stories could be easily updated and there was a very real fear in the 1990's that the internet could spell the end for the humble newspaper. Those fears however proved to be unfounded. Even when we can get the news on our humble cellphone the newspaper industry is still going strong. It is still the most convenient and cheap mass produced system which has an easy integration into areas such as bars and cafe's and workplaces.
The future
So where will the future of communications take us? What we have seen is an increase in the quantity of communication but a decrease in the quality. In our modern hectic lives communication has been boiled down to its simplest form; short, sharp and to the point. We have seen the most banal things reported via Twitter and Facebook, our innermost desires and thoughts let loose on the world for all to see. Perhaps there will come a time in the not so distant future when our children will seem amused at the way we used to so freely gave out inane information. Perhaps one day we will realize that quality is more important than quantity.
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