The four stages of communication for dummies
Do you know how to make jam from scratch? Oh, you don’t? Well honestly I don’t know either. If I wanted to know I would only have to type in the internet, “How to make Jam from scratch,” and millions of video tutorials, essays, and blogs all around the world would show up. I would obtain knowledge on how to do it, and with enough practice, I could be an expert. Maybe, if I’m passionate enough about my jam, I could create a blog and teach others how to make jam from scratch. It is not only jam, but I can literally learn how to do anything, anywhere whenever I want with the internet. This is the world we live in and people don’t even notice, we have so much information around us and we have the opportunity to create and share our own information to others.

Books and written knowledge have been around us for a long time. However after reading Media, Evolution, and Cultural Change by Joshua Meyrowitz, and watching the film Matter of Fact: Printing Transforms Knowledge, I came to a realization. I realized that how we learn and act in a day is heavily linked with how media is produced and shared with society.
In Media Evolution and Cultural Change by Joshua Meyrowitz, Meyrowitz explains the “Four Eras” of society, he goes in depth about this societies way of living using medium theory. The medium theory states that the way a message is delivered has more impact than that message. In his text you can see how much each era changes drastically because of their medium use. The first era is the “Traditional Oral Cultures,” as the name suggests, this is the era of oral societies. Things were taught orally with songs, rhymes, stories, and so much more. He then transitioned to a “Scribal Phase,” this stage is defined because it was the beginning of the written era. Although the oral way of communications was still the most popular way to educate, books and a written system changed the way people interacted with one another. It also encouraged groups of people that would be able to understand complex information, “it would segregate those who can read and write from those who cannot.” (Meyrowitz, Joshua (2008). Chapter 5 pg57)

Next, “Modern Print Culture,” which is the era that is shaped by the invention of printing. Thanks to printing, societies had the opportunity to be more involved in the decision making of their land. Even those who couldn’t read, could view images that represented an important event, people could share their views and reshape the pattern of their society. Mass media and propaganda were created in this era, thanks to the printing mechanism it was easier to express your thoughts against authority. Propaganda against a country or figures of power were now possible, printing encouraged rebellion since you could have the freedom to speak against the state. In the movie “Matter of Fact, Printing Transforms Knowledge,” we learn that this era changed the way societies communicate with one another. Thanks to the invention of printing our access to information grew bigger, and this shaped western civilization in a major way. More and more books containing information on different topics like modern science, botanics, linguistics, and math were written. With these, more people had the opportunity to learn from all aspects of science, and even those who couldn’t read were able to see pictures that told a story.
Lastly, “Postmodern era.” In this era we see the introduction of new ways of communication such as television, radio, computers, and videos. Because of these new mediums, the way people now react to news is completely different than before, now societies are able to experience these events. This era has some of the key aspects of oral societies as well because you can feel, talk, and see events rather than just reading about them. Information is shared faster than ever and now it is easier for the everyday person to share their point of view with the rest of the world.

It all started with the transition of oral societies to the scribal phase. In the movie “Matter of Fact Printing Transforms Knowledge,” we see the massive difference that the print created in societies. Education and information mostly changed orally due to trouble recalling information. Stories were told and worked as the living records of information, they would be a living encyclopedia, a walking “google”. Even though the elderly had a lot of knowledge, there wasn’t a hierarchy since everyone in the tribe had the opportunity to listen and talk. Everyone had an opinion and the capacity to learn. Everything was remembered by rhymes and songs, people lived in a “ poetic” way in order to learn this information rather than enjoy the rhymes and songs. Since each tribe had their own way of oral communication, tribes would see other tribes and locations as something completely strange to them and relationships were not made with other tribes. Writing was a game changer that would shape the structure of this oral communities into a scribal phase. Even though the writing was introduced not everyone was privileged enough to learn how to read and write, people would still live a “poetic” lifestyle. Even if you knew how to write or read, your letters would be read out loud because listening was something that everyone was able to do.
Church worked as schools, teaching religion with paintings to those who were unable to read. Art was not just art, but rather a way to share information to those who unable read. Is important to notice that before the printing, writing was extensive and hard work. Not everyone would do it, but those who would would do it to share important information; there was no such thing as to write for pleasure. In this period we also see tribes expanding and moving to different areas. Thanks to writing people could read the same information and feel connected to another tribe. Segregation of those who can and cannot read happened in this era, the written information was controlled since not everyone could do it. Authorities, like the church or royal families controlled what was written and what was not.

We can see that all of these periods of communication have something in common, the medium is more important than the media. The way we experience this information changes societies, actions, and thoughts. When information stopped being controlled, the population started thinking for themselves and had a sense of individuality. More and more information was shared and learned to help to the intellectual growth of society. This is vital for our survival, we need to keep learning and keep creating. This is the only way that our society evolves; with new ways of communication.