Telephone and Its Impact on Communication and Essay

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Telephone and its impact on Communication and Technology

The humanities generally encompass such subjects as languages, history, philosophy, religion, music and theater, literature, and law; but they also include what is referred to as the "social sciences," which include anthropology, cultural studies, as well as technology and communication. As part of the "social science" discipline, the telephone has had an enormous impact. Not only has the telephone allowed individuals to communicate over long distances, but by the ancillary technologies it has created (wireless communication, internet, etc.), the telephone has completely transformed society. The telephone has also created an entirely new field of study called "digital humanities," or the combination of computer technology and the humanities. ("Manifesto," 2009) This essay will discuss the impact of the telephone, and it's subsequent offspring technologies, and their impact on the discipline of communication and technology.

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell may have been credited with the invention of the telephone, but what he really did was to improve on a design for the telegraph, a technology that had been around for some time. (Bruce, 1973) Bell's patent was originally entitled "Improvement in Telegraphy," and sought to improve the technology of the telegraph to include sound transmission. (Coe, 1995) Telegraphs were a means of long distance communication in which messages were sent via a system of dots and dashes; the operated would then translate the message into language. Bell's improvement allowed for two or more separate transmissions to be sent over the same wire, but he also claimed the other uses this technology could be used for: mainly "the transmission of musical notes, differing in loudness as well as pitch, and the telegraphic transmission of noises or sounds of any kind." (Shulman, 2008) In effect, Bell's improvements allowed for direct individual to individual vocal communication over long distances.

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At the time of Bell's discovery the only long distance communication available was wither letter writing, which was time consuming and difficult in the best of time, and the telegraph. The telegraph was limited to where it's wires were placed, meaning only where the time and expense of building telegraph lines was spent was accessible by telegraph. Otherwise a person was limited to only letter writing. The telegraph was also relatively expensive and because of it's high price was not used as a means of mass communication. Telegrams were used for special occasions and important news, not for everyday communication.

For the next 100 years the telephone transformed American society. Telephones became a necessity in the home, like a kitchen or indoor plumbing. Communication between individuals, family members, businesses created an entirely new way of doing things. They made the exchange of information much easier and faster, increasing the speed by which people's lives were lived. News traveled faster, businesses could perform tasks more efficiently, but most of all it transformed American society from a group of individuals, separated not only by distance but by information, into a cohesive society with almost instant communication of news and ideas.

By the 1970's telephones were a part of American society and culture, but something new was about to transform the telephone and American society all over again. It was the computer, connected through the….....

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