New Media in the Twentieth Century
In the 20th Century, Technology began to change very rapidly. Scientists and engineers began to develop ways to create networks after the first supercomputers were created in 1940. This would later lead to the birth of the Internet.
CompuServe, the earliest forms of the Internet, was developed in the 1960s. Primitive forms of the email were also developed during this time. By the 70s, networking technology had improved, and 1979’s Usenet allowed users to communicate through a virtual newsletter.
In 1980, home computers were becoming more common and social media was becoming more sophisticated. Internet relay chats were first used in 1988 and continued to be popular well into the 1990s.
The first recognizable social media site, Six Degrees, was created in 1997. It enabled users to upload a profile and make friends with other users. In 1999, the first blogging sites became popular, creating a social media sensation that’s still popular today.
The evolution of media, from old to new, has transformed the way we understand the world around us. New media is interactive and is user-generated while old media is a more traditional way of communicating through television, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, etc. It gives us a new perspective by allowing us to interact with one another through the Internet. Media has become much more personal and diverse as user-generated content becomes more prominent in our lives.
