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R.J. Branston
Dr. Angelo Costanzo
English 101(12) – Foundations of College Writing
March 10, 2013
Language, Communication, and Technology
Technology has drastically improved the lifestyles of many. It has had a solid impact on
nearly every part of daily life, including communication. Communication has made a great deal
of progression recently, and promises to continue doing so for the foreseeable future. The
Internet, cell phones, tablets, web cams, and more technological devices continue to change the
landscape of human interaction. Technological developments have given humans permission to
evolve from direct communication to an advanced style of connection. During the past
generations, communication was centralized by mailing letters, face-to-face interactions, and the
Bell Telephone. These technological advancements are guiding us into the right direction
because with new technology come faster and easier ways to communicate, it’s more efficient,
and it’s accessible.
From the 1930’s to modern day society, technology has had a sovereign manifestation on
new ways of communicating, in which altered the old styles into a more faster and easier method
then it was before. The forms of communication in the 1930’s were verbal, written and electromechanical. The changes that have occurred in the past years are the result of the technological
advances that began with the invention of New York Telephone in the 1930’s. I interviewed my
grandma who was born in upstate New York, in a small city called Utica. She stated that in the
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1930’s, telephones were in some homes, but some would not be connected with other phones
throughout the state. Large numbers of businesses, agencies and institutions were using
telephones for increasingly convenient and inexpensive communications. Fortunately for my
grandma, she lived by a hospital, so she was linked with the hospital’s phone line, in which
enabled her phone line to reach a longer distance to communicate. Cell phones were also
exposing a new efficient method on communicating while on the move. In the 1970’s, the cell
phone era sprouted, and the invention of a portable phone arose. From the 1970’s until present
day, cell phone holders have increased dramatically throughout the United States, and now
almost everyone has a cell phone. Landlines are slowly becoming obsolete as everyone, from
senior citizens to elementary school students, acquires their own cell phones. The convenience of
having a phone at the ready is a concept that is extremely efficient. The original rotary style
phones to the modern cordless and wireless type phones, we are now connecting to people who
have this technology available to them across every social boundary, both individually and in
communities. Communicating is only a few clicks away, whether it’s on a mobile phone texting
while on the move, online networking with people around the world, or even commenting on
blog posts and contributing comments such as Twitter and Facebook. Communication, in my
opinion, has had a rein of success in the speed of communication and availability of these
technological devices. The difference in how quickly they operate and how extensively they
operate is vast. Throughout the years, people in both eras are glorifying the new developments
that have been uplifting over the years. With faster ways of communicating and new growths of
technology that permits us to do more things in less time, is the beginning of a new efficient
society.
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Throughout history, developments in technology and communication have gone hand-inhand; the latest technological developments have resulted in the advancement of the science of
communication to a new level of efficiency. The process of human communication has evolved
over the years, with many path-breaking inventions and discoveries heralding revolutions or a lift
from one level to another. The most significant impact of technology on communication is the
spread of the internet and the option of sending emails and chatting. In the pre-information
technology days, a document often required re-typing on the typewriter before the final version.
My grandma emphasized that the original Internet was invented in 1960’s for military purposes.
The Internet, in its most basic form, is a set of computers able to connect to each other and share
information. This included electronic mail and the use of sites containing vital information. Once
the Internet started to catch on, it was used primarily by corporations for collaboration purposes.
In society today, the Internet is available everywhere and to everyone. It is used for a variety of
reasons including socializing, conducting research, and advertising. It has even surpassed the
television as a source of communication because you can receive any information you want
instantaneously. One click of a button and a website will load with whatever information you
have requested. In an essence, a development from fifty years ago until now has shaped our
society into a more productive, and successful society. The era of developments with having
faster and efficient styles of communicating is beneficial, but having all these perks everywhere
you go all in one device, such as an iPhone, is a whole new notion.
The concept of having a phone in your household during the 1930’s was miraculous,
having a phone in your pocket that has access to the Internet, emails, social networks, and can
call anyone throughout the whole world, is stunning. Over the past century, our society has
developed the unthinkable when it comes to technology, they created the iPhone. Martin Mata,
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an article writer for Examiner.com stated that “The iPhone itself has single handedly changed the
perception and capabilities of cellular phones and is The Best Invention of Our Time.” We live
in a world where your iPhone is your source for everything you need, want, or
do. My grandma remarked that every electronic device is different and every six
months, a new model comes out that requires another learning curve. My
(iPhone)
grandma loves the fact that everything is so easy to use and it’s all accessible on
her iPhone. An iPhone, in my opinion, is the biggest advancement from the fact that it can do
everything. An iPhone is comparable to having a radio, T.V., mp3 player, social networks, email,
and much more, in a single phone; which has the most efficient style of texting. All tasks that
were hard to coordinate before the advent of electronic communications now become easier to do
from the more efficient and more productive devices, such as the iPhone. Today we are
connected with every other human being on the planet in a way people never have been before.
This has profound implications for friends, family, employers and civil authorities.
In earlier times, people used to have single products that have a single usage; now, you
can do multiple things on one device. Thanks to modern technology, technological advancements
allow us to accomplish tasks with ease. Technology allows us to communicate from across the
world, share information, and is used for entertainment from a few clicks away. Technological
advancement has also revolutionized different modes of communication. After the infamous
World War, mass media and telecommunication has seen positive improvement in the past few
years. Cellular technology, radio, wireless internet and radio facilitate better communication in a
more efficient and easier way. As the world continues to move, so does the advancement of
technology. Every year sheds light on improvements to yesterday's devices and new inventions
appearing on the horizon. At the center of it all is a desire to speed up communication across the
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globe, with the intention of making inconveniences a thing of the past. Advances in technology
have significantly impacted the way we communicate in both our personal and professional lives.