Major Technological Revolutions: Impact on Society
The First Major Technological Revolution
The first major technological revolution was led by the printing press a few centuries ago. The press changed all the messages circulating in society: news, educational, scientific, entertainment, government measures, and religious and political laws. But what all text proposed was a change in thinking: reading in isolation, direct contact with the message, narration, and distance to the facts. Reflection and all the information, its dissemination from one place to another, was still limited by the low rate at which humans could move, carrying papers and books. In the early nineteenth century, top speed was nearly 60 km/hour for those who could ride the train.
The Second Great Revolution: The Telegraph
The second great revolution was caused by the telegraph. For the first time, information could shed the human arms that moved it and could exceed that speed. With the electric telegraph, information could be received kilometers away in just seconds. Telegraphy decontextualizes information. It did not matter where the news happened; it could be issued and received anywhere. This confirms the idea of information as a commodity. The telegraph would later be perfected by the telephone.
The Third Technological Revolution: Photography
The third technological revolution is the reproduction of images and photography. Until then, all the codes used to “reflect” reality required a “translation”: words, symbols, and Morse code. Drawings and paintings were the clear stamp of humans who told of how things were. The photograph, and then mobile cameras, allowed for the disguise of media coverage. The cameras mimic human eye perception. We believe that the image “is equal” to reality as we would see it ourselves.
It is said to reflect. This term hides the media coverage of people who handled the camera. That is, the message of the images does not reflect reality, but represents it. From the pictures, it becomes easier to hide the differences between reality and the message presented.
Informatics
The machine to print was only popularized in the late nineteenth century, when typewriters were improved (in their technique). The development of computer technology would revolutionize the entire system of information management completely (networks, the possibilities for storing data, information search, etc.).
Computer science has become a tool for condensing all other technologies. It has a permeability such that it has adapted to the requirements of many social areas. The “systems” change the way we relate to the world.
The Technological Revolution
Throughout the history of mankind, there have been changes that deeply disrupt the production process, allowing the modification of social patterns. Historians highlight three revolutions:
- The first is the revolution that developed in England in the 18th century. From the introduction of the steam engine, many products were developed, and communications were also developed with the steam railway.
- The second revolution (20th century) is characterized by the organization of industry from the assembly line for mass production.
- The third is the technological revolution of information and communication that is taking place today. It is characterized by the development of technologies that enable the processing, storage, and transmission of information over short periods.