History of Communication- Explained
Communication is essentially an exchange of information between individuals through a common system. In the 21 years of my existence, I have seen this common system develop from inland letters to landline phones to emails and now DMs on social media. With the invention of better mechanisms, the time taken for ideas to reach people decreased to the point that it takes me less than a second to reach a friend continent away from me.
How was this change made possible?
Humans developed technologies to advance communication to the stage where it is now. Technology has redefined communication and with the advent of the internet it has led to the creation of uncountable means of communication.
The journey of communication between humans
Start of this journey can be marked from the cave paintings of France in 30,000 BC, these paintings transformed into petroglyphs or rock paintings towards 10,000BC.
It was after this period that different cultures developed their own symbols. Egyptians had their hieroglyphs while the Chinese created characters.
2000 BC marked a significant shift in the way we communicate. Overtime, carrier pigeons, smoke signals etc. were also highly used forms of communication. Most importantly, the invention of the alphabets brought forth with itself new forms of innovation.
Modern Forms of Communication
These modes of communication were more advanced, faster, and could deliver the message to the receiver better. The modern postal system was developed in Paris in the year 1653.
Another milestone in the journey of communication innovation was the printing press. It was now faster, easier, and cheaper to make copies and communicate ideas consistently to a larger audience. But it was only by 1620 that the first English newspaper was published.
Revolution in long-distance communication was brought in the form of telegraph communication in 1844. Transmitted as a series of clicks, tones, and lights popularly called Morse code, it didn’t take time for it to be replaced by telephones after its invention in 1876. It was developed further to cater to both local and long-distance calls. Landline services began in the 1990s and have been considered the most reliable communication platform till date.
Innovation didn’t stop there, after multiple studies and researches on wireless telegraphy and electromagnetism, 20th century saw the advent of radio broadcasting.
As it is rightly said, necessity is the mother of invention, the necessity of providing entertainment to the men who recently returned from World War II projected itself into the discovery of Television and its eventual promotion to one of the biggest sources of informal communication. From the first TV sets having a black and white display to now TVs coming in plasma HD and 4k coloured screens, this platform has come a long way.
Overtime, the efficiency of delivery systems increased and the technological advancement of the 90s gave birth to a fair share of developments in the communication industry. Starting 1991, Tim Berners-Lee, a scientist at CERN, introduced the World Wide Web to the entire world, moving to 1992 when the first SMS was sent in 1992 and eventually the first email in 1994.
The latest modes of communication are ever so evolving that it’s hard to keep track. Vines came and went, Musically became TikTok, which got displaced by Reels. Social media in the digital era has become the latest mode of communication. From Facebook to YouTube to Instagram and even WhatsApp, these platforms have become some of the most widely used platforms.
Following suit, brands have tried to monetize on this shift by innovating their communications and online presence accordingly.
Communication has seen its evolution through time. Mediums have become faster, accessible, and affordable all through the power of human innovation. In the future, this tendency to innovate will come in handy to chart out what shapes communication in the future.
