How Far Communication Technology Has Come

As a young adult, I would roll my eyes at my parent’s stories of how primitive things were when they were children and how thankful I should be that the world was so much farther advanced than when they were young. I promised myself I would never make my children suffer through these drawn out stories. Now fast forward to 2010. My children have no idea how far technology has come in the last twenty years. I can appreciate these luxuries so much more; having grown up with no world wide web, no cell phones, and no text messaging. I am going to look at just a few of the many differences in communication from my childhood until today.

The first and biggest technology luxury children have today is the Internet. It has become a simple matter of typing a topic into a search engine and within a nanosecond; voila! All the information one could ever need is right at their fingertips, whether the topic is the gestation period of a toad or lyrics to the latest Lady Gaga song. Someone growing up in the 80’s would remember turning to the World Book Encyclopedia for information. The books were heavy and musty smelling. If students were not fortunate enough to have a set at home, they would have the chore of going to the library, looking through the card file, finally finding the book with the information needed. The same is true with various other methods of finding information, maps and globes when you wanted to see exactly where Madagascar was. Dictionaries and Thesauruses were the method of choice when looking for the spelling or meaning of a word and how to use it. The methods of finding information have undeniably improved in the last twenty years and continue to advance.

The next big advancement in communication technology is th...

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...ial time saver, like anything else, common sense should be used when using this feature, just like when writing notes.

These are only a few of today's modern marvels. I have not even mentioned high-definition television, Wii video games, or satellite radio. These are just three that affect everyday communication. All can be huge time savers, and when used properly and not abused, powerful tools to access knowledge. They do come at a price, access to these tools and features is not cheap, monthly service charges for high-speed Internet and cell phones with text messaging can be quite pricey, this should be taken into account when using. Like anything else, when used wisely and in moderation, these are great luxuries to have to make everyday life easier. Children and adults alike should appreciate how far technology has come and use it to its greatest advantage.