20 Communication Technologies of Generation X
Evan Hashley
Keywords
- Communication technology – to communicate with others in all settings, no matter the social class.
- Email – when it came out and became available to everyone, was one of the most common ways to communicate with someone as it was used as both a personal way to communicate as well as a communication tool in the business world.
- Cell phone – evolved into the smartphone that is currently being used by the generation today and is constantly being updated with new and different technology and features.
Learning Objectives
- Know the two important communication technologies invented in generation X.
- Know why these two technologies are important to society.
- Know how these two technologies have evolved into what they are today.
20.1 Introduction
Throughout the day, billions of people all around the world use various types of communication technology to communicate with others in all settings, no matter the social class. Communication technology has evolved drastically over time since the first pieces of it were created. There is always new technology coming out to try and better the way that we communicate with others. In generation X, there were two pieces of technology that revolutionized the way we communicate.
The first revolutionary piece of technology that came from generation X was Email. Email, when it came out and became available to everyone, was one of the most common ways to communicate with someone as it was used as both a personal way to communicate as well as a communication tool in the business world. Email is still prominently used today, as billions of emails are sent and received around the world every day.
The other revolutionary piece of technology that came from generation x was the cell phone. Everyone nowadays has a cell phone as it is almost required to have to accomplish daily tasks. When the cell phone first came out, it was a device that only the wealthy had as it had a hefty price tag (as it still does today). The original brick-looking cell phone evolved into the smartphone that is currently being used by the generation today and is constantly being updated with new and different technology and features.
“Classic Computer: MITS Altair 8800” by Mark Atwood is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
20.2 Email
Key Takeaway
Billions of emails are sent and received every day throughout the world. It is hard to imagine a world without email. However, email has only been around for about 50 years. In 1978 V. A. Shiva Ayyadurai, a 14-year-old working as a research scholar at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, invented email. Ayyadurai was challenged by the man who hired him, Dr. Leslie P. Michelson, to create an electronic version of the traditional interoffice mail system. Ayyadurai accepted the challenge and created the Email system that we still use today by using computer hardware, an operating system, terminals and keyboards, a network, a progr