The Role Of Technology In The Evolution Of Communication

Sol Rogers
Former Contributor
Oct 15, 2019,08:57am EDT
Updated Dec 10, 2021, 09:42am EST
This article is more than 5 years old.
•

For as long as humans have been on this planet, we’ve invented forms of
communication—from smoke signals and messenger pigeons to the telephone and
email—that have constantly evolved how we interact with each other.

One of the biggest developments in communication came in 1831 when the electric
telegraph was invented. While post existed as a form of communication before this
date, it was electrical engineering in the 19th century which had a revolutionary
impact.

Now, digital methods have superseded almost all other forms of communication,
especially in business. I can’t remember the last time I hand wrote a letter, rather
than an email at work, even my signature is digital these days. Picking up the phone
is a rare occurrence too—instead, I FaceTime, Zoom, or join a Google Hangout.

When I look back at how communication has advanced over the years, it really is
quite incredible…

The Telephone

In 1849, the telephone was invented and within 50 years it was an essential item for
homes and offices, but tethering impacted the flexibility and privacy of the device.
Then, came the mobile phone. In 1973, Motorola created a mobile phone which kick-
started a chain of developments that transformed communication forever.
Early smartphones were primarily aimed towards the enterprise market, bridging the
gap between telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), but they were bulky
and had short battery lives. By 1996, Nokia was releasing phones with QWERTY
keyboards and by 2010, the majority of Android phones were touchscreen-only.

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

In 2007, Steve Jobs revealed the first iPhone to the world and Apple paved the
way for the aesthetics of modern smartphones. Before the iPhone, “flip phones”, and
phones with a split keyboard and screen were the norm. A year later, a central
application store with an initial 500 downloadable ‘apps’ was launched. Currently,
there are over two million apps available in the Apple App Store.
The Internet

Since the mid-1990s, the Internet has had a revolutionary impact on communication,
including the rise of near-instant communication by electronic mail, instant
messaging, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone calls, two-way interactive
video calls, discussion forums, blogs, and social networking.

The internet has made communication easier and faster, it’s allowed us to stay in
contact with people regardless of time and location. It’s accelerated the pace of
business and widened the possibilities within the enterprise space. It’s allowed
people to find their voice and express themselves through social media, YouTube and
memes. The internet has connected and divided us like nothing before.

Email

As a byproduct of the World Wide Web, email was introduced to the world in 1991
(although it had been operating years before) and it has vastly changed our lives—
whether for better or worse depends on your viewpoint. The first users of the
messaging platform were educational systems and the military who used email to
exchange information. In 2018, there were more than 3.8 billion email users—that’s
more than half the planet. By 2022, it’s expected that we will be sending 333 billion
personal and business emails each day.
While email is invaluable and we can’t imagine a world without it, there are tools that
are springing up that are giving email a run for its money. Take Slack (an acronym
for “Searchable Log of All Communication and Knowledge”) for example, the
company which launched in 2014 has often been described as an email killer.
However, while Slack has become the most popular chat and productivity tool in the
world used by 10 million people every day, email is still going strong. In recognition
of this, Slack’s upgrades have ensured that people who still rely heavily on email are
not excluded from collaboratory work.

Wearable Technology

The first instance of wearable technology was a handsfree mobile headset launched
in 1999, which became a piece of tech synonymous with city workers. It gave
businesspeople the ability to answer calls on the go, most importantly, while driving.

Ten years ago, the idea that you could make a video call from an item other than a
phone would have been a sci-fi dream. Now, with smartwatches, audio sunglasses,
and other emerging wearable technology, these capabilities are a part of our daily
lives.

Virtual Reality (VR)

The next generation of VR has only been around since 2016, but it’s already shaking
up communications. The beauty of VR—presence—means you can connect to
someone in the same space at the same time, without the time sink and cost of travel,
even if participants are on different continents.

VR also helps to facilitate better communication. In a typical discussion, a lot of

information is non-verbal communication which can be transcribed in VR. Voice
tone, hesitations, head and hand movements greatly improve the understanding of
the participants' emotions and intents. Plus in VR, all distractions are removed and
people can be fully focused on what is happening around them. In
fact, MeetinVR claims that there is a 25% increase in attention span when meeting in
virtual reality compared to video conferencing.

In addition, research suggests we retain more information and can better apply what
we have learned after participating in virtual reality. 3D is a natural communication
language overcoming linguistic barriers as well as technical jargon.

5G

5G, the 5th generation of mobile network, promises much faster data download and
upload speeds, wider coverage, and more stable connections. These benefits will
bring about significant improvements in communication. Instantaneous
communication will be possible and those patchy frustrating video calls will be a
thing of the past.

The average 4G transmission speed currently available for our smartphones is

around the 21 Mbps mark. 5G will be 100 to 1000 times faster. The Consumer
Technology Association notes that at this speed, you could download a two-hour
movie in just 3.6 seconds, versus 6 minutes on 4G or 26 hours on 3G. The impact of
5G will go far beyond our smartphones as it will allow millions of devices to be
connected simultaneously.

Looking ahead, there is already buzz about 6G. Although it’s still in basic research
and around 15-20 years away, it’s interesting from an innovation point of view. 6G
will form the framework of the connected utopia we aspire towards, and with it will
come untold improvements in the speed and consistency of our communication.