How do we distinguish between old and new communication technologies?
After initially reading this question I came to the conclusion that we distinguish this difference by its function, use and compatibility with the present day technology/society. For instance E-mail and IM’s, while a relatively older development are still used by the masses as an everyday communication device. While telegrams and telex (tele-printer) systems have been waned out of mainstream use due to faster and more efficient developments, therefore awarding them the title ‘old’ while E-mail still very much ‘new’. However after looking into it further ‘new’ communication technologies are in fact those that allow communication through digital means, by using electricity and telecommunications. While the ‘old’ communication technologies are those that are categorised as analogue (or manual). For example, handwritten letters or memorandums, hand gestures, even smoke or flag signals.
Under what circumstances will new communication technologies become old communication technologies?
When the need for the ‘new’ becomes obsolete due to the latest technological advancements and differing and constantly updated consumer wants and needs. As society changes, so must it’s technology therefore continuously turning new technology into old. It becomes old when society no longer has any use for it. For instance, the amount of hand written letters have slowly diminished over the years due to new communication technologies such as the telephone, or more recently E-mail, testing and the use of social networking sites.
Bibliography:
Johnson, D 2007, Comparison of Analogue and Digital Communication, viewed 5 August 2011, < http://cnx.org/content/m0074/latest/>.
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