People and Technology - Session 3

Communication - From Smoke to Cell-Phones

Communication is the process of getting across a message from a sender to a receiver using a common medium. It has been a crucial part of our daily lives for centuries. Throughout history, the medium of communication developed greatly, from the most basic medium of symbols and cave paintings, to the introduction of languages becoming one of the most reliable forms of communication.

The Differences between modern day and ancient communication include the different processes that were required to deliver a message. Presently, information can be processed and delivered in a matter of seconds, whereas in the past, delivering it had to be planned in several stages to ensure it was received.

An example of this could be planning an event. At present, mobile phones, text messaging services and email services are a few examples of different means of communication that are used, and take seconds to deliver a message over a great distance. The same scenario, in the past, would have required a number of planned procedures. Initially, the public's attention would have to be sought. This could have been done by using smoke signals that were adopted and used both in the Americas and China. After this, the message itself had to be delivered to the intended party.

Another important difference identified was that modern technology, such as the mobile phone, allows us to send messages specific to one person. This was not the case in the past, where if a person-specific message had to delivered, it had to be via face-to-face communication.
The leadership method used in the past was more of an Autocratic leadership style. If a decision was made, no modification could be made for the convenience of the participants. Presently, a more Democratic style is adopted, where a tentative plan is proposed and this is followed by discussion to cope with the different schedules of the participants.

The main similarity between modern and ancient communication is the use of the Cultural-Historical Activity theory to best describe the delivery of an activity. The Cultural-Historical Activity theory clearly shows the different processes that are required for the development of a plan. The 'Subject' or idea is needed before any event or activity can be delivered. In this case, the event, is the idea. Usually, there is one initiator of this idea. The 'instruments' are the tools of communication that are used to convey the message. This theory describes both past and present methods used.

Another similarity includes the necessity for a preliminary meeting before the actual event is conducted. Both modern and ancient methods would have required such a system to ensure that the end-product achieved its goal.

Communication has influenced the way we live our lives, our families, communities and even the world economy. The need for faster and easier means of communication continues to drive the world even today. We wait with great anticipation to see if the cell-phones of today are the smoke signals of yesterday, tomorrow.