Engaging Communication Technologies - Assignment Example

of Lecturer] Journalism, Mass Media and Communication Engaging Communication Technologies of the 1950s IntroductionRecent times have experienced the emergence of a branch of study referred to as Mediology. This area of study has been expanded by the role played by media technology discoveries and advancement in defining and marking important shifts in the manner human beings communicate and entertain themselves. In fact, the media and its effects have existed alongside man since time immemorial, albeit in different forms as people conglomerate to form groups/tribes and nations. The 19th and the 20th Centuries particularly played an instrumental role in enabling the ideological and technological changes that set the stage for the media technology used in the modern world. Moreover, the advent of digital media has brought the conditions of the old technologies into relief, making the world more conscious of the media environment (Winston, P. 12). This paper explores the technological advances in the media industry across the world in the 1950s. In particular, the paper discusses how technological changes affected the lives and perceptions of people in different regions of the world, comparing how technology was used then and its modern use. Media Technology Advances in the 1950s Among the decades of the second half of the 20th Century, perhaps the 1950s was regarded as the most conservative. Nevertheless, it is during the same period that different regions of the world experienced many advances and changes in technologies and their uses. In this regard, a lot changed in the way people carried out their routine activities as work became easier to do. Given that World War II had just ended less than a decade ago and the world had come to appreciate the use of machinery and technology during the war, different governments and individual scientists embarked on developing new technologies in addition to improving on the existing ones (Winston, P. 31). The technologies that people merely anticipated during and before World War II began to become a reality for many of the people, more so in the Western World and some regions of Asia. Among the sectors that benefitted most from the technological developments of the 1950s was the communication and transport sector, particularly the media industry. It is therefore not be realistic and proper to label the 1950s a sleepy or a conservative decade. As far as media technology is concerned, the 1950s was one of the most productive and revolutionary decades. For example, a rapid change was recorded in both television and radio technology and content. In addition, there were developments in the technologies related to newspaper printing, movies production and screening, and magazines among other media tools. It is in the 1950s that the television supplemented the radio as a center for entertainment and information for the whole world. In fact, by the end of the 1950s, the radio had been reserved for music entertainments while the television offered entertainment, dramatic, comedic, and variety programs. Besides, the demand for goods and services soon after the Great Depression and World War II, coupled with unexploited technological supplies drove the changes experienced in world technologies in the 1950s (Winston, P. 107). Although technological growth occurred all over the world, their effects on people’s lives varied form one region to another, depending on the speed of development. For instance, the United States and other European nations had more advanced technologies, followed by Asia while Africa and other third world countries followed. Media Technology in the 1950s Asia is one o f the regions that have experienced a lot of technological development in its media industry since the 1950s. These developments have enabled easier communication between Asia and other regions of the world such as United States. Media industry workers such as news reporters are some of the groups that have benefitted from the growth observed in the Asian media technology. Being a force to reckon with in matters of technology, Asia enjoys a dominant presence in the world of media technology, thanks to its innovativeness, quality, and consistency in the value of its technological strategies (Winston, P. 227). Because of the inspired technological needs of its people, Asia has managed to defy the conventional past and changed its peoples’ lives through innovative information technologies, bridging the gap between the makers of information technology and its consumers. Dissemination and sharing of information between Asia and other regions such as the Americas has since become easier through the internet and other digital forms of communication. As stated earlier, the television is one of the most outstanding and life-changing technological innovations of the 1950s. The other technological creations of the 1950s, although non-media, that make it among the innovative decades of the last century were the first leak-free ball point pen, made by Paper Mate, the innovation of the copy machine, and the building of the first fiberglass Chevrolet in 1953.In 1954, the first solar battery was developed by the Bell Telephone. Thus, it was not only in the media sector that the 1950s prospered as a decade of technological advances; polypropylene invention, polio vaccine invention (1955), and the launch of a Soviet satellite were the other types of technological achievements of the decade. Since the rapid technological growth began in the 1950s, a lot has changed regarding the manner in which people communicate in the world. There is however certain profound differences in the manner in which people have used the media technologies from one region to another. In the same breadth, different eras have been affected differently by these technological developments in the media sector. As the media inventions of the 1950s became more popular, particularly among the youth, people became obsessed with these technologies and the celebrities that featured on them daily. Of greatest influence in this regard was the television. It was not only the celebrities that people were obsessed with; the gadgets themselves were a source of admiration for most people, causing the obsession. The same trend exists in the modern society, only that the obsession is worse than in the 1950s. Today, people are completely consumed with cell phones, computers, laptops, favorite television programs, and celebrities. It is through the media that the contemporary society is taught its morals, whether subconsciously or in an observable manner. This is unlike 1950s during which these values and morals were handed down at family interactions. The family unit therefore declined as the technological advances of the 1950s and later years took the center stage of many peoples’ lives. Today, the time that should be spent with families is spent interacting with media technology such as cell phones and computers. The television, which has become more promiscuous and corrupt since its invention, has overtaken family members as the teacher of values and morals in the society today (Winston, P. 86). The main difference in the use of television today and in the 1950s is however not the amount of viewing, rather, it is the content of the programs aired on the screens today that have changed peoples’ morals and values. Besides morals and values, other types of changes have occurred in the media industry, more so on communication channels. For instance, the introduction of the telex and Teleprinter exchange in the 1950s enabled people to deliver typewritten messages on telegraph lines. Since then, businesses did not have to rely on the slow telegrams or letters to communicate urgent issues. The other sector of media that changed peoples’ lives during the 1950s was advertising. New avenues for advertising products and events emerged with the technological developments of the 1950s. These avenues included television, internet, mobile phones, and billboards among others. Half a century ago, the media technologies that emerged were used mainly as sources of dissemination news and information to the whole world. This was unlike in the modern society where media technology has been used not only to spread propaganda but also to shape the public’s perceptions and opinions on many important aspects of their lives (Winston, P. 56). Media stakeholders with vested interests have exploited peoples’ addiction to modern media technology to further their goals and ideologies. Consequently, the negative effects of media technology have increased many fold compared to a half a century ago. These advertising avenues created hitherto unseen increase in demands for material goods across the globe. For example, through media outlets such as magazines, radio, and television, American-inspired lifestyle spread to lands as far as Asia and Australia. American cars, home appliances, fashion, music, film, and food were adopted by other regions that had never been exposed to the American lifestyle (Winston, P. 126). These regions consequently adopted the American culture where purchasing and consumption of material goods indicated happiness and satisfaction. In fact, these consumerist trends still permeate many societies in the contemporary world. Regulation of Technology Many stakeholders of the media industry concur that legal issues that arose in the 1950s and later decades are recurring in the modern technological issues in the industry. There is thus need for the framing of a general theory of the laws and regulation of media technology. Importantly, earlier or prior laws on media technology have to be thoroughly studied and scrutinized. This theory would go a long way in helping the contemporary society understand and respond to issues arising in media technology and its use. It is believed that the examination of the historic responses to technological issues could be instrumental in how people respond to new legal issues relating to media technology. It is therefore apparent that the pre-existing legal options of dealing with technology may not be applicable in the new technologies. The decision-makers should therefore be awed by the latest technologies to an extent that it influences their judgment on legal disputes. Further, the disputes that may result from new technologies are quite unforeseeable, requiring new and conclusive rules and regulations. One type of technology regulation, the government control of technology has been particularly vital in preventing conflicts in the airwaves as radio, television, and mobile phone operators fight for viewers, listeners, and users for profitability. Governments have since established policies, laws, and regulatory authorities to regulate the media industry. Government regulation existed even during the early 1920s when giant broadcasters such as the BBC were established. Through a historical review, one realizes the indispensible role played by governments in regulating the development of the media industry by licensing policies and varied legislations. From the public’s perspective, the essential function of legislation and law in the industry should be to solve its problems, regulate its activities, and maximize public and personal interests, balancing the two at the same time. Conclusion The 1950s recorded a number of technological advances and discoveries in the media industry, starting with the invention of the television. The television and the other technological inventions of the 1950s not only changed lives during that period or for particular regions; the effects of these inventions reverberated all over the globe. In fact media technology has become a rather powerful force and influence on the lives of many people in the contemporary society, more so regarding peoples’ morals and values. These influences and the conflicts resulting from the scrambling for resources and space among the stakeholders in the media industry have prompted governments to establish laws, regulations, and policies to bring order in the sector. Work Cited Winston, B. Media Technology and Society: A History from the Telegraph to the Internet, Re-issue edition. Routledge, 1998. Read More