Electronic Media the Technological Progress

Electronic Media

The technological progress that took place over the last decades has been dazzling, overcoming even the boldest predictions. Analysts today come shy when they're asked to predict the future development in this field. Things that weren't even conceivable fifty years ago are now possible and in reach. The traditional American dream of "a TV in every home" has turned into "a computer for every person." And it doesn't stop here.

Technology has shaped even the psychological and sociological development of people in some parts of the world. Along with Gutenberg and the invention of print materials, the world has become faster and more individualistic. The previous oral traditions kept the amount of knowledge at a constant level, whereas typography has opened a new era, in which opportunities appear to be endless. History has taught us that new media are invested with a lot of trust at first. Newspapers were authorities in terms truth: if something was in the paper that it mean it had to be true. Furthermore, the papers gave people a pretext for discussion, creating social habits and encouraging social patterns.

The impact of Gutenberg's discovery was profound in all aspects of society. Years later a similar boom was prefigured by another discovery - the Internet: worldwide connectivity in real-time. And the world faces new pressures for adaptation. The habit of quietly reading the paper tends to become obsolete, being replaced by numerous gadgets that can bring news faster to the eyes and ears of the spectators.

I believe that computers and online papers will eventually completely replace newsprint due to the advantages that they bring in term of speed and access. But it will take another sociological cycle, the passing of another few generations. The young people who now grow with the Internet will find it easier to search information electronically, because it corresponds to the psychological profile shaped throughout their childhood. They are tuned into the same fast rhythm.