HISTORY97 - Human Communication

As has happened a lot recently, the idea for doing a blog on the history of human communication emerged from Pat and I discussing potential subjects.  We were intrigued about how much communication had changed from prehistoric times to today.

First, let me define terms:  Human communication is a fundamental process that facilitates the exchange of information, expression of thoughts and emotions, building relationships, problem-solving, influencing others, cultural integration, learning, entertainment, and social change.  It is a cornerstone of human interaction and essential for personal, social, and professional development.

 

I will start with a discussion of prehistoric communication, including oral and visual; and then talk about the history of written communication; followed by printed communication; postal systems; photography; telecommunications, including the telegraph, the landline telephone, phonograph, radio and television, the fax machine, photocopier, and cell phones; and digital communication, with computers, the internet, and smart phones - including email, video conferencing, texting, and social media.  I will close with a few reflections on what I learned.

I will list my sources at the end.

Prehistoric Communication

Communication traces its roots back to our earliest human ancestors.  While our distant predecessors lacked language as we know it, they communicated through early forms of nonverbal expression.  Gestures, facial expressions, and body language served as the foundation for conveying emotions, intentions, and basic information.

Oral.  The development of spoken language marked a pivotal moment in the evolution of communication.  Around 100,000 years ago, Homo sapiens began to employ vocalizations and simple sounds to convey specific meanings.  These early verbal expressions laid the groundwork for the complex language systems we use today.  It is widely accepted that early humans relied on oral communication to convey information, express emotions, coordinate activities, and engage in social interactions. 

Visual.  The next step in the development of communication was non-verbal, or visual communication.

Cave Paintings.  Cave paintings were the first form of visual communication.  They originated around 40,000 to 60,000 years ago, mainly in Asia and Europe.  Researchers have not been able to determine the exact purpose of the cave paintings; however, they were probably not simply decorations of living areas since the caves do not have signs of continuing human stay, and were not easily accessible.  Theories suggest that cave paintings may have been a way of expressing concepts of daily life, or for a religious or ceremonial purpose.  It is widely believed that the paintings are the work of respected elders or shamans.  The most common themes in cave paintings are large wild animals, tracings of human hands, and abstract patterns.

Example of prehistoric cave painting.

Petroglyphs.  The next advancement in the history of communications came with petroglyphs, carvings into a rock surface.  The first petroglyphs, date to approximately 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, and have been found in all parts of the globe except Antarctica, with the highest concentrations in parts of Africa, Scandinavia, and Siberia.

Some petroglyph images most likely held a deep cultural and religious significance for the societies that created them.  Other petroglyphs clearly depict or represent a landform or the surrounding terrain, such as rivers and other geographic features.  Some petroglyphs represent maps, depicting trails, as well as containing symbols communicating the time and distances traveled along those trails; other petroglyph maps act as astronomical markers.  Petroglyphs may also have been a by-product of various rituals: sites in India, for example, have seen some petroglyphs identified as musical instruments.

Example of petroglyphs carved in rock.

Precursor to Writing.   The next step in the evolution of communication occurred about 9000 BC with the first use of graphical symbols that conveyed meaning, for example representing an object, concept, activity, place, or event - and a few years later, ideas.   One of the first applications of this precursor to writing was marking tokens, or carving symbols on clay tablets, with simple pictures to label basic farm produce.  These symbols helped local leaders organize, manage, and archive information.  From bureaucratic accounting, similar lists evolved in the following centuries for individuals to keep track of personal property and business agreements.

Written Communication

The advent of writing revolutionized human communication, providing a means to record and preserve information over long periods.  Written communication allowed for the exchange of knowledge, the dissemination of ideas, and the growth of societies.

Early Scripts.  Writing developed independently in Sumer, the world’s earliest known civilization in southern Mesopotamia, and Egypt.  Sumerian cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphs are generally considered to be the earliest examples of true writing systems.  Both gradually evolved from simple symbology to more sophisticated groups of symbols between 3400 and 3100 BC.

Example of Sumerian cuneiform tablet.

 

Example of Egyptian hieroglyphs.

The Sumerians used Cuneiform writing to record a variety of information such as temple activities, business, and trade.  Cuneiform was also used to write stories, myths, and personal letters.

Egyptians used hieroglyphs for inscriptions, mostly on walls of temples and tombs, as well as statues, and coffins.  These were created for eternity, either for the gods or for the afterlife.  Some examples are craftily carved and look more like art than writing, and they were. 

Elsewhere, written language appears to have come about around 1200 BC in China and around 600 BC in the Americas. 

Libraries have existed for almost as long as records have been kept, and have remained an important aspect of communication, providing a repository for documents for future use.  For more information on the history of libraries, see my blog at https://bobringreflections.blogspot.com/2021/09/history45-libraries.html.

Alphabet. The first evidence of an alphabet like the one we know today was the Phoenician alphabet in about 1700 BC.  The system used 22 symbols, taken and adapted from hieroglyphics, to represent consonants, and was spread across the Mediterranean by the traveling merchants who used it to keep records.  From this alphabet came Aramaic script and the Greek alphabet.  In 750 BC, the Greeks added vowels to the Phoenician alphabet, and the combination was regarded as the initial true alphabet.  The Greek alphabet led to the Latin one we use today that features symbols for both consonants and vowels.  It wasn’t until the 16^th century AD that the modern English alphabet, with 26 letters, was adopted.

Long-distance Communication.  The introduction of the alphabet meant that people were able to write down their messages on papyrus or parchment, and send these to one another - thus inventing the letter.  Systems of long-distance written communication started to become more commonplace.  Human messengers on foot or horseback were common in Egypt and China with messenger relay stations built. 

Writing Tools.  Technology helped improve written communication; people could move away from imprinting text in clay tablets, carving it in stone, or using fragile papyrus and parchment - making writing far more efficient.  The Chinese invented paper and papermaking in AD 105.  Initially, reeds were dipped in ink to write.  The quill was first used for writing in 1250.  The pencil was invented in 1795.  The ballpoint pen was invented in 1888.

European Manuscripts.  Medieval Europe brought the introduction of illustrated manuscripts or books.  Most medieval manuscripts were written on parchment or vellum.  From the late Middle Ages, manuscripts began to be produced on paper.

Most of these manuscripts were of a religious nature.  However, especially from 13^th century onward, an increasing number of secular texts were produced.  Most manuscripts were created as codices, bound stacks of pages, although many were rolls (scrolls) or single sheets.

 

Printed Communication

For the most part, human communication before the 15^th century included verbal communication and limited written communication.  People spoke to each other and (a few) wrote handwritten notes for an individual or a group. 

Note:  Most people in the 15^th century were illiterate and couldn’t read or write.  For these people, and the public at large, an additional source of communication, continuing today, was art, including painting, statuary, and music (e.g. ballads) - providing another way of portraying feelings, ideas, and arguments to an audience besides words.

This all changed after the printing press was invented.

Printing Press.  In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg, a German goldsmith, invented the first practical printing press that revolutionized the world of visual communication by giving humans the ability to reproduce text and graphics much faster and easier - instead of having to painstaking copy manuscripts and drawings by hand.

Gutenberg’s printing press introduced several key innovations from earlier printing methods, for example oil-based ink, mechanical movable metal type, and adjustable molds.  Altogether, this allowed for a practical system for printing books in a way that was efficient and economical.

The Gutenberg printing press revolutionized communication.

Books.  The invention of the printing press facilitated the mass production and wide distribution of books and other materials - enabling the spread of knowledge on an unprecedented scale, and supporting the flow of information among people - the true purpose of communication: sending and receiving messages.  The content of books expanded from religious matters to include philosophy, mathematics, science, and entertaining literature. 

Newspapers.  One of the early applications of the printing press was newspapers, first printed on a weekly basis in Germany.  Around 1605, German publisher Johann Carolus printed and distributed the world’s first printed newspaper.  Cities all over the world began publishing newspapers with local and international news to keep people informed.  Newspapers quickly became the primary source of information.

Long-Lasting Benefits.  Printed communication also revolutionized society by standardizing language, increasing literacy, spreading ideas, and greatly contributing to the education of the populace.

 

Postal Systems

The first documented use of an organized courier service for the dissemination of written documents is in Egypt, where Pharaohs first used couriers to send out decrees throughout the land as early as 2400 BC. Since then, virtually every succeeding civilization used similar systems, including relay stations, for reliable speedy (relative) communication.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, with the development of international trade, the content of courier communication expanded to include business correspondence.  Postal systems that developed during the later Middle Ages also conveyed letters between private persons.  Initially, such letters were relatively few.  The number of literate people having interests that ranged beyond their own neighborhoods was small.

In the late 15^th century, however, the trend toward improved postal services was reinforced by Gutenberg’s printing press and the expansion of literacy and education.  The growth of demand made letter carrying a profitable business, leading to a transition from private to national postal systems. 

The basis of a real public service was not created in Europe until 1627, when fees and timetables were fixed and post offices were established in the larger cities. 

The pace of postal progress in Europe during the later 18^th century was accelerated by remarkable economic growth and a consequent demand for better mail services to the growing commercial and manufacturing centers. The most striking improvements came as the result of an extensive program of road building, paving the way for the era of the stagecoach.  In the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, improvements were made in the speed and regularity of (mostly national) postal service and in providing internal delivery services for most of the larger cities. 

In the United States, postal services expanded at a remarkable rate. The United States Postal Service (USPS) was established in 1775.    Routes were established to boost efficiency, and post offices were created to keep drop-off and pick up locations consistent.  In 1789, only 75 post offices existed, but 40 years later there were more than 8,000.

As of 2021, the USPS operated 31,330 post offices in the U.S., and delivered 128.8 billion pieces of mail annually to 163 million delivery points.

 

Horse-drawn mail delivery wagon, U.S., circa 1919.

 

Photography

Photography has become a major tool in communication as it allows us to visually capture and share moments from our lives in an accessible way.  Capturing an image gives us a way to document an event or sentiment, and share it with others, creating a tangible memento that brings us closer together.

One of the most important aspects of photography is that it allows us to tell a story quickly and easily.  Through the power of images, we can share our experiences and thoughts with others, providing them with a glimpse into how we view the world around us.

French inventor Joseph Nicephore Niepce captured the world's first photographic image in 1822.  The early process he pioneered, called heliography, used a combination of various substances and their reactions to sunlight to copy the image from an engraving.

This photograph by Frenchman Louis Daguerre in 1838, was the earliest photograph to include people.

 

Other notable later contributions to the advancement of photography include a technique for producing color photographs called the three-color method, initially put forth by Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell in 1855 and the Kodak roll film camera, invented by American George Eastman in 1888.

Since then, there have been amazing developments in photography and cameras, including movies and digital photography.   In our image-driven culture, photography and imaging now are used as instant communicative tools rather than just for memory preservation, art, or commercial advertisements.

 

Telecommunications

The word telecommunication comes from the Greek prefix tele-, which means "distant," combined with the Latin word communicare, which means "to share."  In modern terms, telecommunication is the transmission of signals over a distance for communication.

Telecommunication began thousands of years ago with the use of smoke signals and drums in Africa, America, and parts of Asia.  In AD 26-37, Roman Emperor Tiberius ruled the Roman Empire from the island of Capri by signaling messages with metal mirrors to reflect the Sun.  In 1520, ships on Ferdinand Magellan's round-the-world voyage signaled to each other by firing cannon and raising flags.  In the 1790s, the first fixed semaphore telegraphs (network of separated towers with movable arms to send messages) emerged in Europe. 

It was not until the 1830s that electrical telecommunication systems started to appear.  In rapid order, new technology led to the development of the telegraph, landline telephone, phonograph, radio and television, the fax machine, photocopier, and cell phones.

Telegraph.  The first of these electric communication inventions was the electric telegraph in 1831 by American Joseph Henry.  This allowed messages to be sent and received over wires, over long distances.  The messages were in the form of discrete electrical signals transmitted in variable length bursts (i.e., “dots” and “dashes”).

In 1836, fellow American Samuel Morse improved the telegraph and developed the “Morse Code” to translate the dots and dashes into messages.  Messages had to be sent one at a time.  Morse built the first long-distance telegraph line in 1843.  It contributed to the productivity of distributing news and communicating internally for businesses.

The telegraph was a highly successful communication system for over 30 years, before Alexander Graham Bell introduced the telephone.

Landline Telephone.  The popularity of the electric telegraph was still at its peak when Alexander Graham Bell, trying to improve the telegraph, invented the telephone in 1876.  The telephone allowed two people to talk to each other over wires, over long distances, with devices that converted sound to electrical signals and back to sound again.  Also, more than one conversation could be conducted over the wire at the same time.

Alexander Graham Bell demonstrating the telephone in 1887.

 

Over the years, technology improvements enabled telephone networks and exchanges, payphones, long distance calling, party lines, dial telephones, touchtone telephones, cordless telephones, and more.

By 1900 there were nearly 600,000 phones in Bell’s telephone system, and this number rose to 2.2 million phones by 1905.   In 2022, there were over 884 million landline telephone subscriptions worldwide.

Phonograph.  A phonograph is a device for reproducing sounds by means of the vibration of a stylus, or needle, following a groove on a rotating disc.  A phonograph disc, or record, stores a replica of sound waves (recording) as a series of undulations in a curving groove inscribed on its rotating surface by the stylus.  When the record is played back, another stylus responds to the undulations, and its motions are then reconverted into sound.

Manufacture of disc records began in the late 19^th century.  Price and ease of use and storage made the disc record dominant by the 1910s. The standard format of disc records became known to later generations as "78s" after their playback speed in revolutions per minute.  In the late 1940s new formats pressed in vinyl, the 45-rpm single and 33-rpm long playing "LP", were introduced, gradually overtaking the formerly standard 78s over the next decade.  The late 1950s saw the introduction of stereophonic sound on commercial discs.

Phonograph uses include playing music, educational courses, entertainment programs, advertising, writing letters without a stenographer, teaching elocution, family reminiscences, and phonographic books for blind people.

The disc phonograph record was the dominant commercial audio distribution format throughout most of the 20^th century. In the 1960s, the use of 8-track cartridges and cassette tapes were introduced as alternatives.  By 1987, phonograph use had declined sharply due to the popularity of cassettes and the rise of the compact disc.

Radio and Television.  Radio and television became a great source of information in the early 1900s.  Not only did they provide musical entertainment, but they also delivered news, sports, and weather information to the public, and presented entertainment programs.  Radio and TV also provided a platform for advertising and commercials.

Italian Guglielmo Marconi built the first successful wireless telegraphy system based on radio transmissions in 1894.  Its application was demonstrated in marine and military communications.  Radio broadcasts were made through the air as radio waves from a transmitter to an antenna, and then to a receiving device.  Marconi was later awarded a patent for the invention of radio by the U.S. Patent Office. 

Radio broadcasting began commercially in the U.S. in 1920 by Pittsburg radio station KDKA, broadcasting the results of the presidential election.  

In 1927, American inventor Philo Taylor Farnsworth invented the first fully functional and complete all-electronic television system.  The standard TV set originally turned a video signal into beams of tiny particles called electrons.  It shot these beams at the back of the screen through a picture tube.  The beams “painted” the pixels on the screen in a series of rows to form the picture. 

Television broadcasting began commercially in the 1930s.  As black-and-white TVs became more common in American households, the finishing touches on color TV were refined in the late 1940s.  “Meet the Press” debuted and eventually became TV’s longest-running show.

RCA sold the first mass-produced electronic television sets in 1946-1947.

 

By the 1950s, television had truly entered the mainstream, with more than half of all American homes owning TV sets by 1955.  As the number of consumers expanded, new stations were created and more programs broadcast, and by the end of that decade TV had replaced radio as the main source of home entertainment in the United States.  Improvements in TV continued rapidly, including cable television (1948), video tape (1956), remote control (1956), satellite TV (1962), video recording (1976), and high-definition TV (1981).

Fax Machine.  Fax (short for facsimile) is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device.  The original document is scanned with a fax machine, which processes the text or images as a single fixed graphic image, converting it into small bits, and then transmitting it through the telephone system in the form of audio-frequency tones.  The receiving fax machine interprets the tones and reconstructs the image, printing a paper copy.  

Fax machines provided people with the ability to copy documents in one location and print them out in another.  It allowed its users to send communications almost instantly, even if they were thousands of miles apart.  Fax machines became useful in the workplace for sending and receiving documents, transmitting confidential information, confirming transactions, sharing large files, communicating with clients, communicating with government agencies, and backing up files.

Surprisingly, the patent for the first ever version of the fax was issued in 1843 to Scottish inventor Alexander Bain, meaning it was invented before the telephone.  However, despite its creation in the 19^th century, the fax machine wasn’t commercially practical until 1926, and it wasn’t until almost 40 years later until the first modern fax machine was launched.

Photocopier.  The photocopier (also called copier or copy machine, and formerly Xerox machine, the generic trademark) is a machine that makes copies of documents and other visual images onto paper or plastic film quickly and cheaply.  Most modern photocopiers use a technology called xerography, a dry process that uses electrostatic charges on a light-sensitive photoreceptor to first attract and then transfer toner particles (a powder) onto paper in the form of an image. The toner is then fused onto the paper using heat, pressure, or a combination of both.

In 1938, American inventor Chester Carson invented the first photocopier suitable for office use.  Significant sales began 1959, and today photocopying is widely used in business, education, and government. 

During the 1980s, a convergence began in some high-end machines towards what came to be called a multi-function printer: a device that combined the roles of a photocopier, a fax machine, a scanner, and a computer network-connected printer. Low-end machines that can copy and print in color have increasingly dominated the home-office market as their prices fell steadily during the 1990s.  High-end color photocopiers capable of heavy-duty handling cycles and large-format printing remain a costly option, found primarily in print and design shops.

Cell Phones.  In 1947, in an internal memo for AT&T’s Bell Laboratories, Douglas Ring (my uncle), outlined the cell telephone concept.  Unfortunately, the technology to accomplish this revolution didn’t yet exist. Effective implementation of the cell phone did not come until the 1970s, after Richard Frenkiel and Joel Engel of Bell Labs applied improved computers and electronics to make it work. 

It took another decade for cell phones to reach the public, mostly because cell towers and other infrastructure had to be put in place.  The first commercially available handheld cellular phone was the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, which hit the market in 1983; the device was 10 inches tall, not including its three-inch flexible whip antenna, and weighed two pounds.  It was priced at $3,995 (over $12,500 in today’s dollars) and offered a half-hour of talk per battery charge, which took roughly 10 hours.  This cell phone offered an LED display for dialing or recall of one of 30 phone numbers.  A series of the DynaTAC phones were manufactured by Motorola from 1983 to 1994, and were affectionally known as “bricks.”

The first cell phone available to the public was the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, manufactured from 1983-1994.  It was 10 inches tall and weighed two pounds.

 

Because of the high cost for purchase and use, early cell phones were primarily used in the sales and business world, but not often for personal use.  Subsequent models were smaller and more mobile. They had longer battery lives and more talk time, making them more popular.  Early cell phones were just for talking.  Gradually, features like voicemail were added, but the main purpose was talk. 

But advancements in the cell phone industry were just the beginning.  Cellular communication continued to surprise the world, thanks to two things: the computer and the Internet (see below).

 

Digital Communication

The digital revolution began in the mid-20^th century with the development of computers and the internet, and continued with the worldwide web and smartphones.  In just a few decades, digital communication became the primary way people communicate with one another.   Information can now flow from one person to another in a couple of seconds. Rapid sharing of information enables people to know in real-time issues happening all over the world.

Computers.  The electronic, general-purpose digital computer was invented in the mid-1900s, and was originally slow, inefficient, and costly, requiring a room full of equipment to operate - for government or industrial customers only.  By the 1970s, technology improvements enabled home desktop personal computers that were much more efficient, faster, and less expensive.  Succeeding improvements included the mouse, graphical user interface, appropriate software, and startling advances in laptop and hand-held device capability. 

The mass-adoption of home computers is a technological advancement comparable to the invention of the printing press, leading to a new age for mass communication.  The incremented power of these smaller computers led to linking multiple computers, and establishing networks, which eventually led to the birth and rapid evolution of the Internet. 

Internet and Worldwide Web.  The Internet is a networking infrastructure of computers that evolved over time, starting in the United States in the 1950s, along with the development of computers.  The first workable prototype of the Internet came in the late 1960s.  By the 1970s, the basic rules (protocols) that define Internet operations were developed, which enabled computers to communicate with each other.  Researchers began to assemble the “network of networks” that became the modern Internet.

Note:  In a step along the way, in 1981, BITNET, a cooperative U.S. university computer network was founded.  As a librarian, Pat used this network to “communicate” with other libraries across the country.

In 1989, the World Wide Web was created that allowed information to be located and accessed over the Internet.  Today, documents and media can be accessed by web browsers like Google Chrome and Apple Safari. 

The first web browser was available to the public in 1993.  By the year 2000, 300 million people around the world were online.  By 2022, five billion people worldwide were online!

Internet communications have brought convenience and opened a lot of opportunities in recent years.  People can now work remotely with these tools.  It has made long-distance communication a lot easier and enabled families and businesses to stay in touch.  In 2024, 66.2% of the world population use internet communication.  This number shows how it has become a necessity and that we can no longer live in this world without it.

The figure below shows the timeline of Internet and World Wide Web development.

 

Development timeline of the Internet and World Wide Web.

Smartphones.  Cell phones evolved into “smartphones,” combining a computer with a speaker, a microphone, a keypad, a display screen, a battery, a transmitter, and an antenna.  IBM produced and sold the first smartphones in 1994.  Early cell phones also contained a calendar, address book, world clock, calculator, note pad, email, send and receive fax, and games.

But it was Apple that started the smartphone revolution in 2007 with the release of the first iPhone.  The device included a touchscreen, camera, full internet access capabilities (a first) and a wide LCD screen designed for video.  It was sleek, lightweight, and available in 4GB ($499) and 8GB ($599) models.

The early 2000s saw the development of cellular systems characterized by high-speed internet access.  For the first time, streaming of radio and television to handsets became possible.  Rapidly expanding applications software, better screen resolution, and constantly improved interface made cell phones easier to navigate, and more fun to use.  Add to that an expanding capacity that can hold as much memory as a computer would just a few years ago, and continuing speed improvements.  The purpose of the cell phone has shifted from a verbal communication tool to a multimedia tool, often adopting the name “mobile device” rather than being called a phone at all.

And along with smartphones came a multi-billion-dollar industry: applications, commonly called apps.  The “app” market has transformed the phone into a virtual toolbox with a solution for almost every need.  There are plenty of apps that directly contribute to communicating information:  News outlets, social media websites, and search engines have all provided users with apps, allowing for mobile-friendly mass and personal communication.

It’s not just the technology of the cell phone that has changed over time, the physical design has also gone through a rollercoaster of changes.  Like computers, the cell phone has become dramatically smaller as customers demanded smaller, sleeker cell phones.  Today, cell phones fit in the palm of your hand, weigh only a few ounces, and do everything but slice bread. 

Today’s Apple iphone-15-pro smartphone exhibits multiple functions and apps.

 

Digital Communication Tools.  Today, we have several online communication tools to enjoy, including email, video conferencing, texting, and a variety of social media platforms.

Email. In 1965, online written communication expanded into email, completely changing communication.  To make it even more enticing for users, these systems soon adapted the means to share entire files or photographs.  The combination of a personal computer and the Internet made written communication fast, easy, and convenient.  An estimated 347.3 billion emails are sent each day around the globe.

Video Conferencing.  In 1968, video conferencing was first introduced and packaged as a commercial solution at the World’s Fair in New York.  This was a huge development for people and businesses who frequently communicate from long distances.  In the 1990s, major advancements in information processing technology, the internet, and video compression enabled more possibilities for video collaboration via a desktop computer. Video conferencing with smartphones became popular in 2010 with the release of the iPhone 4 and the FaceTime app. 

The COVID-19 lockdown forced a large percentage of Americans to work from home, and for their kids to attend school online.  This led to a boom across the board for all video products, as many schools and businesses purchased video conferencing tools to keep people connected from home.

Video conferencing provides a communication advantage compared to nonvisual communication.  Participants can see gestures, facial expressions, etc., that add important context and meaning to discussions.

Today’s popular video conferencing platforms include Zoom, GoToMeeting, and Microsoft Teams.  In the United States, an estimated 11 million video conferences are held every day

Texting.  Text Messaging, or texting is the act of composing and sending short electronic messages, typically consisting of a limited number of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more cell phone users.  Texting uses the Short Messaging Service (SMS) developed in the United Kingdom in the late 1980s.  The first text message was sent on December 3, 1992, and an SMS commercial service was launched in the United Kingdom in 1995. 

Texting has grown beyond alphanumeric text to include multimedia messages which can contain digital images, videos, and sound content, as well as emoji (happy faces, sad faces, and other icons).  This makes texting a quick and easy way to communicate with friends, family, and colleagues, including in contexts where a call would be impolite or inappropriate (e.g., calling very late at night or when one knows the other person is busy with family or work activities).  Currently, 23 billion text messages are sent globally every day!

Social Media.  Another dominator of 21^st century communication tools is social media.  Social media websites are online communication and networking tools where people can connect and share ideas.  The different social media sites were released quickly, starting in the early 2000s.  These social media websites included tools for people to share personal content with either an individual or a group in a formal or informal way.  Today’s social media websites include LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Reddit, X (formerly called Twitter), WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.  In early 2024, there were 5.07 billion social media users around the world.  The average person spends 2 hours and 24 minutes per day on social media.

Note:  Recently, advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) have helped improve online communication, and are currently available as apps.  “Smart” AI-powered virtual assistants, like Siri and Google Assistant, and chatbots simulate conversations with humans and can be used to provide 24/7 customer service, offer personalized experiences, and provide multilingual support.  ChatGPT, the AI-infused chatbot, can answer questions, compose essays, write poetry, have philosophical conversations, do math, and even write computer code.  AR apps can overlay digital content onto real-world objects and environments, enhancing visual changes to a natural environment or adding new information to it.  

 

Reflections

Human communication has evolved in remarkable ways throughout human history, starting from nonverbal gestures to sophisticated language systems and modern digital tools.  As we continue to push the boundaries of technological innovation, the way we communicate will undoubtedly undergo further transformations.

Elapsed time between sending a message and receipt of the message is one of the fascinating metrics of human communication history to me.  Whatever the message was in cave paintings, it took centuries to deliver.  Early human-runner- or horse-delivered messages took (at least) hours or days.  Early written letters took days or weeks.  It took thousands of years to achieve instant long-distance messaging via the internet!  Obviously, throughout most of human history, people didn’t spend a large part of their day communicating. 

Editorial Comment:  And look at where we are today - with social media.  More than half the world’s population is spending a good part of their day “communicating” on social media, many addicted to sharing the most minute trivialities of their lives, often exaggerating (or making up) their accomplishments, in some cases distorting the truth by passing along unfounded rumors or baseless accusations about others, in a few cases bullying others - in general trying to inflate their own importance and increase the number of their “followers,” as they spend hours following their “friends” and celebrities.

Many people today are addicted to communicating on the internet - particularly on social media.

 

In the distant future, we may be able to communicate by sending our thoughts through a network directly into someone else's brain.  Scientists are working on creating brain-computer interfaces that allow people to transmit thoughts directly to a computer.  Perhaps 50 years from now we'll all use an electronic version of telepathy.

 

Understanding the origin and evolution of communication reminds us of the vital role it plays in our lives, connecting us across time, space, and cultures - and the countless possibilities it holds for fostering understanding, collaboration, and progress in an interconnected world.

 

Sources

My principal sources include:  “History of Communication,” en.wikipedia.org; “The Evolution of Human Communication,” studymasscom.com; “A Brief History on the Evolution of Communication,” cth.com; “A Brief History of Communication and Innovations that Changed the Game,” g2.com; “The Early History of Communication,” thoughtco.com; “The History of Visual Communication and Graphic Design in 10 Key Moments,” abacatania.it; “Digital Communication:  What It Is and Where It’s Headed,” airalo.com; plus numerous other online sources.