Describe how communication has changed in the last twenty years.
Who could have predicted twenty years ago that communication would change as radically as it has?
Today, communication is instantaneous. No longer do we have to use a pen, pencil, or typewriter to write
a letter. No longer do we have to use a postal service to mail it. No longer do we have to wait for a
response that takes several days. Nor do we have to stay near a telephone or search for a public phone
while traveling. Things have speeded up exponentially.
In the last twenty years we have benefited from tremendous changes in telecommunication. The relatively
simple change to portable phones enabled us to roam around the house while chatting, not limited by the
length of the cord that attaches the receiver to the base of the telephone. Then came the beeper, allowing
us to get a message when away from a telephone. Now, of course, there is the ubiquitous cell phone.
Watch the crowds walking along a sidewalk, and you can't help noticing people purposefully striding along
while talking on their cell phones.
What if we must write a message? We now have e-mail. We send these messages immediately after
typing them on the computer keyboard and never have to go to the Post Office. No more ،°snail mail.،±
Perhaps we have a written copy that must be sent but cannot be conveniently sent via the computer.
Simply dial a phone number, push a few buttons, send a FAX. The copy is transmitted to the receiver at
once. The ability to telecommute is almost like handing the copy to the recipient. What a difference twenty
years has made. Just as most of us could not imagine the speed and ease of communication in the
twenty-first century, we probably cannot anticipate the changes that will occur in the next twenty years.
Perhaps we will be able to send instant messages simply by thinking about them, from one brain to the
brain of the intended recipient