Over the years, a variety of fundamental communicative innovations have been introduced that have affected the world we live in. These have altered the means we use to communicate and expanded its ease, reach and possibility. One of these innovations is the television, a technology that changed our lives and the way in which we receive information and spend our time. However, what was once a revolutionary technology is now being threatened by emergent-social-mobile communicative technologies which have revolutionized the way we share and receive information, but most importantly communicate, even further.
The first electronic television was invented in 1927 in San Francisco, USA (Stephens). However, it was not produced or released for commercial purchase until 1938 (Hur, 2017). Although its functions were limited at first with only black and white viewing and very few channels and choices, television’s capabilities quickly expanded to eventually become a home staple, if not a necessity. This burst occurred in the 1950s. Although only 9% of households had a television in 1950, by 1965, this number rose to 92.6% (“9.1 The Evolution of Television”, 2016). This rapid growth occurred for multiple reasons. After World War II, it became much cheaper and therefore more accessible to purchase a television. Television formats also began to evolve, moving on from using radio as a guide and starting to produce and bring in new content such as quality films and radio quiz-shows. The number, variety, and quality of channels offered also increased with the emergence of cable operators and colored TV; by 1962, there were nearly 800 operational cable systems (“9.1 The Evolution of Television”, 2016). As it evolved, watching the television became America’s favorite past time, whether that was to watch the news, sports or shows for entertainment, or just to spend quality time with family.
Not unlike Hauben’s view of the internet, television had “grown farther” and became more “accessible than” previous communicative technologies of the past (Hauben). It changed the way in which people communicated and received information, watched sports, followed political campaigns and learned about the world, making it a revolutionary technology at the time. But with the emergence of new technologies, there is doubt as to whether it remains as revolutionary today. Most argue that although TV is still relevant today, it is going to lose its relevance as time goes on. This is attributed to the rise of the internet and online streaming capabilities. Television watching has shifted from linear viewing to on-demand viewing in the last few years caused by the expansion of mobile-device capabilities, allowing consumers to stream shows whenever they please at the click of a button (Aggarwal, et al., 2016). Even though there has already been a steady decline in TV subscriptions over the years – with a total cable subscriber number decline of 3.4% in 2017 – incumbents have been able to remain relevant, for now, by developing these new offerings such as their own on-demand services and multiple device viewing (Morris, 2017). However, they are no longer creating novel features, and simply piggybacking from what online streaming services are offering, making the television less revolutionary today. Additionally, when evaluating the television as a communicative technology and source of information, the internet has taken its place as a quicker and easier way for people to obtain their news and communicate with one another. As Hauben put it, on the Net, information “can be stored, sorted, searched, replied to, and easily adapted to another format,” which cannot be done on television (Hauben).
The true revolutionary technologies of our time are the creation of the internet, personal computers, mobile phones and more as they have furthered the ease in which we receive information and communicate. Instead of going to the library to conduct research, or watching the news or TV programs for knowledge, we can go on our phones or the internet. Instead of having to call our friends on a landline or see them in person to share our thoughts or pictures with them, we can share and communicate with them on social media platforms. These platforms have permitted us to communicate in a way we have never been able to before.
Because of how distinctly each technology has affected our world, I believe the practice of identifying social movements or eras by their communicative tools to be valid as they are the ones being used to promote this social change. As Hauben described, the internet has allowed “the average person” to have a voice, not just a selected few, and has become “a way of organizing and questioning other people’s experience so as to have a better grip on a question or problem” (Hauben).
With that said, every day, with the furthering of technological capabilities, new devices are being invented which could themselves become revolutionary. Wearable networked devices are an example of this. Their popularity has increased over the years, specifically with wearable watches or wristbands used for fitness and lifestyle purposes. Although I believe they have made it easier to receive the information they provide, I do not believe devices like Apple Watches to be revolutionary as its capabilities are those of a phone, they are not novel in and of itself. However, I think that other wearable technologies such as VR devices are revolutionary in the sense that they allow us to believe we are in a different world and give us an incredibly vivid and interactive experience tool that has never been seen before. To me, a technology is revolutionary when it introduces a new concept or capability, just as the TV did in the 1950s, the Internet and Mobile Phones did in the 1990s and VR technologies are doing today.
With all these technologies being introduced to our world, the question becomes – are these positive or negative? I believe these advancements have been extremely positive as tools to widen the scope in which we can receive and share information. However, they have made us creatures of the internet arguably creating a completely separate world for us to live in, one that many people spend most of their time living in.
References
9.1 The Evolution of Television. (2016). In Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing.
Aggarwal, N., Arthofer, F., Lind, F., Rose, J., Rosenzweig, J., & Stephan, J. (2016, March 21).
The Digital Revolution Is Disrupting the TV Industry. Retrieved from https://www.bcg.com/en-us/publications/2016/media-entertainment-digital-revolution-disrupting-tv-industry.aspx
Anthony, A. (2013, September 07). A history of television, the technology that seduced the world – and me. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/sep/07/history-television-seduced-the-world
Hauben, M. (n.d.). What the Net Means to Me. Retrieved from http://www.ais.org/~hauben/Michael_Hauben/Collected_Works/Amateur_Computerist What_the_Net_Means_to_Me.txt
Hur, J. (2017, September 06). History of the Television. Retrieved from https://bebusinessed.com/history/history-of-the-television/
Morris, D. Z. (2018, April 29). Viewers Are Ditching Cable For Streaming Faster Than Anyone Expected. Retrieved from http://4fortune.com/2018/04/29/viewers-cable-streaming/
Stephens, M. (n.d.). History of Television. Retrieved from https://www.nyu.edu/classes/stephens/History of Television page.htm