Then and Now: Media in Society

The way in which we communicate today is far from the way it used to be centuries ago. From papyrus sheets, to lined paper, it seems as though communication efforts have advanced a great deal in attempts to have better ways of delivering information to other people. In any sense change is inevitable, and it is because of these past creations that extensions have been made that are still relevant today.

During ancient times, writing was only limited to governmental, religious and magical purposes only, which emphasized the value of writing and how important it was back then. According to Andrew Robinson author of, “The origins of writing”, writing was considered as, “the greatest invention in human history” (p.27). It was said that the Egyptian God Thoth was the creator of writing, and that in terms of its origins, had begun with accountancy. Other claims suggest that it was created accidentally, but whatever the case may be, writing has paved the way for countless other discoveries such as scripts, hieroglyphics, and tokens.

Today writing is still an important aspect in our lives, and is essential once you enter the real world. Nowadays, society admires those that have the ability to read and write, but look down on those who do not. In reference to the “Media in Ancient Empires” chapter, more schools were built as well as centers of learning to help students develop writing techniques, showing that it was just as important then as it is now. Writing began to spread rapidly during that time, so it made since for everyone to join the ban wagon and get equipped with writing.

This same idea can be compared to typing, once everyone has mastered writing, the next thing on the agenda is to teach you how to type. Of course reading and writing go hand in hand, but the fact remains that writing did have somewhat of an impact as to why we type today. Papyrus as I mentioned earlier became the precursor of paper. Because Papyrus was very thin, clay became the newest form to write on by using a brush. The problem with clay however, was the limited time it took to dry which meant that one had to write at a fast pace. Trials after trials, society eventually came to create what we now call paper, not too thin and not able to dry quickly and it is because of the impact of papyrus and clay that we had the ability to create such a supply.

Another idea worth mentioning was the emergence of tokens which was the first form of communication processing but was short-lived due to the difficulties it had in using them for permanent records. Thanks to the invention of tokens, we now today have created a new data processing and storing product: the jump drive, a memory storage device.
Instead of just governments, religious organizations and magicians using writing as a form of communication, today writing seems to be used by everyone and anyone. The importance of writing can also have negative effects, such as control and power. Author Harold Innis explained that, “the control of religion over writing and education entailed neglect of technological change and military strength”, (p. 20). During this time, religion wanted to control everything, and since they thought that being able to write gave you power they did just that.

In conclusion, I do believe that communications from the past have impacted the communications our society has today. If it wasn’t for the Papyrus, then we wouldn’t have what we call paper today, and we would still be writing on rocks and buildings, and that wouldn’t be professional now would it?