The Role Of Electronic Communication Today

Introduction

Communication plays a very important role in our daily lives. When we interact with others we use different means of interaction. Communication has advanced from simple speech and cave paintings to the World Wide Web and many types of touch screen technology. With the recent creation of electronic communication, we finally could talk to each other at any place around the world in real time instantaneously. Another wonderful advantage it gives to us is the ability to use our time more to efficiently. However, electronic communication has drawbacks as well. For example makes it easier for bad people to make their deed more organized and efficient.

History of Communication

We have advanced significantly in our ability to communication. The first forms of communication our ancestors had were cave painting and face to face meeting. “A form of writing was invented in 3500 B.C., which helped keep track of information, historical events, and tell about the city’s laws. Our alphabetical letters (a, b, c, ect.) were invented in Ancient Egypt around 2000 B.C.” The main problem for our ancestors was long distance communication.

Mail. Our ancestors used a mail system for a long time, a system we still use today. They used it so they didn’t have to travel every time which is very costly, immensely time consuming, and dangerous. Mail is pretty simple: you just write a letter, and give it to a post office closest to you to send. The post office used horses and ships to deliver the mail to the destination. Ships were the fastest types of delivery, but they used horses for areas without sea. A good example of a local mail system is the Pony Express that was used by the 13 colonies to deliver mail and news in the mid 1700’s. The Pony Express was a delivery service of mailmen that travel by horse. The world also used ships to send information faster than by land, however it took take months to get to their destination.

Telegraph. The telegraph was the first device that let us use electronic communication. “Samuel Morse invented the telegraph in 1837, but the first commercial telegraph was invented in 1844 in the U.S.A.” It was like a fax machine except there was no keyboard, it sent dotted messages, and it was wired. However, it was the first to have immediate replies. Soon businesses realized that the telegraph could really improve their business, but it was really expensive for two reasons. The first reason was that it was big and new, the second reason was that it needed a lot of wiring across the country that costs a fortune. What really helped the spread and popularity of the telegraph was the American Civil War. Since the North needed better advantages over the South, they needed the telegraph to send fast orders to the troops fighting in the west, on the border, or in the North. After the war more people got familiar with the telegraph and the wiring in the North was already there. “In 1866, they even successfully made a cable from the U.S. to Europe that made fast electronic communication from North America to Europe possible. “

iPhone. Now, about 150 years later, we have excellent ways to communicate like the telephone, cell phone and the Internet with a laptop. Technology is continuously advancing. A recent advancement in electronic communication is the iPhone. The iPhone is a smart phone that is a touch screen and has the ability to access information on the Internet. Thanks to this phone we can save time and energy. The iPhone has a lot of awesome new features like the thousands or even tens of thousands of wonderful apps that are either free or cost $10 or less. It also has an excellent GPS system that even tells how much traffic each road has. The iPhone is a technological breakthrough. I once had an iPhone for one month, and out of all the cell phones I had, the iPhone was by far my favorite.

Positive Effects and Aspects

We’ll start with the positive aspects and effects. Now we use electronic communication for reasons including:

Communication

Saves time and energy

A reminder

Gaming

Communication. First, it really improves are means of communicating to each other. First, communication gives us the ability to stay in touch anywhere at anytime. Also, it is more reliable and faster to transport important documents or news by mail or memory stick. Last, you could have immediate replies no matter where you are.

Saves Time and Energy. First, the iPhone could give us direction in an unfamiliar area. Second it is easier to find and correct mistakes messages thanks to computers’ spell checks. It also increases the process of learning. A great example is how you taught me how to type correctly and faster when we are in two different states. They even have a really helpful touch screen computer ordering system, however it is in a couple restaurants. I went to one of these restaurants it was very good. You have the possibility to look at all the option on the menu, put topping, and order it anytime you wanted. It even has games on it you can play while you wait. The iPhone even makes the police’s job easier. In the news, I heard this crazy report that someone’s iPhone was stolen and with a portable tracking system, the police found the thieves. That’s not the only case, there is another case when some thieves were stealing from a car, and the phone in his pocket accidentally calls 911, and thanks to that the police caught them.

Good Reminder. Phone, email, and other types of electronic communication have special calendars and/or alarms that could remind you about:

Appointments

Meeting

Family matters

Special occasion

Gaming. Games have always have been fun. Over the years gaming has advanced to a whole new level. In the 1990’s they have made gaming systems that you can play storyline against computer. Now in the 21st century, you can play games against and talk to people around the world. For example, I have met a nice Canadian that lives in the second largest French-speaking town in the world, Montréal. I have never met him face to face, but I have known him for well over a year and a half.

Negative Aspects or Effects

Of course if there are positive effects, there are negative effects from this technologic advancement:

Your reputation is more vulnerable

Over reliance

Helps criminals also

Problems with touch screens

It increases the efficiency to Ruin any Reputation. Since the Internet is so vast, it is harder to keep information secret. A great example is how a teacher got fired for posting to her friends on Facebook that she hated her job and that her students’ parents were spoiled. If you make a mistake and send it, there are no ways you can stop it and it is easier for people to find your mistakes. A common example is a vending email, and you or someone else accidentally press send, and it’s immediately in the person’s computer, since emails have search commands, so they could find that email a lot faster.

You May Become Reliant on Technology. Reliance is not that big of a deal, but it could cause long-term problems. For example, a friend of mine has a portable GPS system and he uses it when he drives. A consequence of that is he doesn’t even remember his friends’ addresses because he keeps using the GPS. I’m a good example as well. When I was a little kid, I used to need to remember numbers, but with the addition of phone contacts in cell phones, I don’t need to remember a single number. Now I don’t know any of my friend’s numbers, only the numbers I remember are the ones I remembered when I was little kid:

My parents’ cell phone numbers

Our home number

My parents’ office number

911

My dad has the same reliance as me, for most of his life, he remembered every number of his family and friends, but now all he remembers is their names in his contact list.

It Could Help the Criminals as Well. The Internet is so helpful that it is even makes it easier for people to commit crimes. A great example is how terrorist use the Internet to find people to join their “cause” and it is a lot easier to send their messages without getting caught. It is also a lot easier to steal someone’s ideas and/report you just need to do three things:

Search

Copy

Paste

The Internet also made it possible for hackers to exist. Hackers go into any account steal the money, identity information, ect, and use it to profit themselves or frame others they don’t like. It even helps people publish top-secret files. A great example is how Wiki Leaks published thousands of top-secret files about Afghanistan for the whole world to see, including terrorists.

Touch screen problems. A touch screen is usually helpful, but there are problems with it. First, you need to clean the screen pretty often because when you touch it, it leaves fingerprints, which could block your sight or make it harder for the touch commands to work. Second, it is a lot more fragile, because glass is weaker than metal. Last if you scratch it, you need to either change the screen or just always look at the scratch.

Conclusion

All in all electronic communication is a great human achievement. We have gone a great way in our new breakthrough the iPhone. Although the advancement electronics has many drawbacks, it benefits have really helped our ancestors and us get to a new, better age. Now there are many types of advanced electronic communication that we’d of never expected.