Communication: Hey! What's Doing? (1)

Everywhere you look, you will find people talking into a mobile device (aka cell phone ). Even in places where they are not allowed, the individual will always manage to find a way to use it.Cell phones have become an essential communications tool. It is utilized by all age ranges, ethnic backgrounds, genders , as well as intellectual and financial levels. For someone who is being abused and stalked, where in a moment of danger they may not be able to find a pay phone, the cell phone can save his or her life. There are new challenges as well as problems that are associated with this creative mobile device. The cell phone has a multi-purpose use. Not only has it become so important to our communication needs through speaking, text messaging, but it can also capture a picture of the moment , as well as games can be played on it.

There are times when it becomes so irritating and embarrassing to hear cell users conducting their loud, laughing and annoying conversations in public places. Who cares what they are having for dinner, what outfit they are going to wear, whether their boss is a pain in the b___or not, if they are having a bad hair day, or whether Sue is unfaithful to Joe, and is pregnant. It places those within listening reach in an awkward position. Cell phones are very distracting, especially when driving. It is the primary cause of accidents. I just can't imagine how people are able to type text messages while driving. Statistics say its like having a few drinks before getting behind the wheel. People rely so much on their cell phones that they forget all about the minutes and expenses that are associated with its use. Yikes! They hit the roof when they see how much they have to pay on their monthly bill. Oh well, the joy of small sacrifices. There are many that are completely addicted to cell phone use, even for 30 minutes of having to shut it off, is sheer torture, inducing enormous stress and anxiety. These individuals are constantly checking their phones for voice mails and text messages and are devastated if there aren't any.

So how did man communicate his thoughts with others during the earlier days? The cave dwellers would shout their warnings to all the tribe within earshot. Others would use either hand signs or devices such as a horn, bells, a signal fire, flag of cloth or a hollow tree drum. Evidence of communication would be seen through paintings of animals and animal hunts found on cave walls possibly serving as a hunting lesson for the younger members of the tribe . Symbols representing pictures of people, places, animals and things were also part of this history of human evidence. The oral tradition of storytelling was the most positive form of communication to be passed from one generation to the other. Naturally distortions and embellishments would be added along the way. Human carriers either by foot or by horse were used to convey long and complicated messages . Cultures of the past were preserved by scholars painsstakingly reproducing information by hand. Then came the introduction of the relatively slow speed hand-operated printing press, followed by the motor-driven presses which were more practical and common. As a result books, literature and newspapers became available to many more people, stimulating literacy. As a result of the international commerce and domestic industrial and agricultural expansion, the need for improvement in mass communications for news and entertainment was in great demand. In the nineteenth century, the" first electrical communication devices (the telegraph and then the telephone) made great strides in technology with regard to communications covering distance and speed. In the United States, the first practical telegraph was invented by Samuel Finley Breese Morse. This form of communication was so efficient and successful that there was no longer a need for the pony express. The economic development of the United States benefited from the intertwining of the telegraph and the railroads.

On February 14, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell, a successful teacher of the deaf, filed for a patent for the telephone. This invention was demonstrated at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876, attracting considerable attention.

To be continued: Communication: Hey! What's Doing? (2)

Miriam Medina (author of this article) miriam@thehistorybox.com