Technological Advances in the Last Century
Technological Advances in the Last Century
Nancy
September 30th, 2012
HUM/186
Mass Media Influences on America
In the last century, technology has changed mass media immensely. A hundred years ago, people would use the post office, a rare telephone or word of mouth to communicate across large distances. These were not the most efficient methods of communication. However since then we have developed ways of communicating in faster, more effective ways.
In the 1920s, radios started becoming more and more popular. Not only did they produce music for entertainment, they also produced news stories and many advertisements. In the late 1920s, the Great Depression started. It was due to the radio that many people likely heard the news and offers of employment with Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. As people were listening to the radio more often they also began to mistrust “big business”, because people started to feel exploited in all aspects of life by the large businesses. Since a lot of lower class people did not know how to read in those times, newspapers and written advertisements were not the most effective means of communication. This made the radio even more popular, because not only educated people, but also uneducated people could gain knowledge that was previously restricted to those who could read.
When the 1930s came around, radio was still just as popular as in the 1920’s, and they also used motion pictures for entertainment and advertising.
In the 1940’s the television began to make its appearance on the scene allowing the public to view daily fiction shows, as well as news broadcasts and advertisements. Families began moving from big cities to the suburbs, where being in close vicinity is no longer needed because of the television.
Defense technology and satellites began the beginning of the internet as a result of the Vietnam War in 1959.
During the 1960s, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) controlled radio and television
Nancy
September 30th, 2012
HUM/186
Mass Media Influences on America
In the last century, technology has changed mass media immensely. A hundred years ago, people would use the post office, a rare telephone or word of mouth to communicate across large distances. These were not the most efficient methods of communication. However since then we have developed ways of communicating in faster, more effective ways.
In the 1920s, radios started becoming more and more popular. Not only did they produce music for entertainment, they also produced news stories and many advertisements. In the late 1920s, the Great Depression started. It was due to the radio that many people likely heard the news and offers of employment with Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. As people were listening to the radio more often they also began to mistrust “big business”, because people started to feel exploited in all aspects of life by the large businesses. Since a lot of lower class people did not know how to read in those times, newspapers and written advertisements were not the most effective means of communication. This made the radio even more popular, because not only educated people, but also uneducated people could gain knowledge that was previously restricted to those who could read.
When the 1930s came around, radio was still just as popular as in the 1920’s, and they also used motion pictures for entertainment and advertising.
In the 1940’s the television began to make its appearance on the scene allowing the public to view daily fiction shows, as well as news broadcasts and advertisements. Families began moving from big cities to the suburbs, where being in close vicinity is no longer needed because of the television.
Defense technology and satellites began the beginning of the internet as a result of the Vietnam War in 1959.
During the 1960s, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) controlled radio and television
References: Adams, A., & McCrindle, R. (2008), p. 8 Pandora 's Box: Social and Professional Issues of the Information Age. West Sussex, England: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.