The Evolution of Social Media In America

Try to imagine a world without the luxuries that we have today. Without television, the internet, smartphones, and Facebook. It’s quite difficult, right? Our ancestors couldn’t even begin to understand the amount of knowledge that we have at our fingertips. The whole world is connected, and our presence has been intertwined with social media. We are able to instantly connect to another person, through many different mediums. While we enjoy these luxuries today, it’s important to remember that it hasn’t always been so easy. In fact, our ancestors communicated through different media — like the kind you’re reading right now. Black lines, scribbled on white paper. They would eventually invent better ways of communicating, such as television and radio, but we’ll return to that idea later. How did our ancestors communicate and gossip in the past?

The American revolution began in 1775, giving our ancestors quite a bit to gossip about (American Battlefield Trust, 2018). After the war against the British was won, our forefathers wrote the constitution and bill of rights, giving American citizens the first amendment right to free speech and freedom of the press (National Constitution Center). The creation of the first amendment sparked an increase in literacy that fundamentally changed the way that information was communicated. Post-revolutionary newspapers discussed business and non-partisan politics — and the first modern newspaper was born — the New York Herald (Britannica, 1998). War never fails to interest the American people, and throughout the Civil War a trend of increased literacy followed closely behind (NAAL, p.3). More people were connected through words than ever before, and the Civil War brought much discussion to the homes of American citizens. Newspapers began to discuss the war in great detail, and more people were reading unique perspectives — such as the black and abolitionist papers of Fredrick Douglass (PBS). Everyone had an opinion on current events, and an abundance of perspectives gave way to the creation of many different newspaper organizations following the Civil War. After the Civil War, newspapers began discussing current events in greater detail, including editorials — the personal opinions of the newspaper editors, and the earliest form of social media writing (Farhi, 2012). Mass distribution of newspapers and editorials were critical in the evolution of social media, as they began discussion on a massive scale, rather than within small circles. The power of mere words on paper led to a snowball effect of social media evolution, that along with technology advancement paved the way to the world as it stands today. Just 30 years after the Civil War came to an end, Guglielmo Marconi invented the wireless telegraph and “sent and received the first radio signal” — thus throwing the world into a new era of social media, one with no written words (Bellis, 2019).

In 1901, Marconi sent an overseas radio signal from Canada to England using Morse code — this technology would later become the traditional radio we know today (Bellis, 2019). America saw this new technology as an opportunity for a fresh start, jumping at the idea of sending information through invisible radio waves — and the American people enjoyed listening. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s fireside chats were sent through the radio, along with politics and news, giving America more to talk about (Biser, 2016). World War I and II both overlapped with the creation of the radio, and local and national radio stations began discussion of the war (DPLA). Today, we can turn a dial and listen to the radio anytime — and radio technology hasn’t changed. It’s as easy as turning a dial to get information on both local and national scales. Advancements in radio technology were critical in establishing social media due to the ease of mass communication in comparison to the past. At this point, America was quickly becoming a social country — and information is critical in the context of social communication. People were discussing in real-time what was heard on the radio, rather than playing a game of ‘telephone’ and gaining knowledge through word-of-mouth. Soon, the obvious question was asked; how can we make radio better? 

As the saying goes, “video killed the radio star” (Buggles, 1979). By 1952, twenty million television sets were in living rooms across the country, and radio broadcasts began converting to television shows (Clifton, 2011). At this time, America was seeing a huge cultural shift in terms of social media. People were able to gather and watch television together, further placing the television as a critical advancement in the development of social media. Television became the new medium for gaining information, and shows became a point of discussion in many social conversations. News organizations were able to discuss current events as they happened, in a real-time manner — similar to radio yet much faster; another critical step in the advancement of social media. Legacy media — newspaper and radio — is quickly becoming obsolete, and people are craving a new way to connect to each other.

The modern internet was created in 1991, forever changing the landscape of social media (Couldry, 2013, p.2). In 2019, we are attached to our smartphones and the web connects the entire world together in real-time. The introduction of the modern internet is the single most critical step in the advancement of social media. Before the internet, we had to buy newspapers, and sit next to the radio or television at home. An increase in internet usage has brought a decrease in legacy media use, due to unnecessary redundancy (Desjardins, 2016). With the launch of the internet, we have television, radio, and newspaper culminated in one place — and we are able to access it anywhere in the world, at any time. Internet websites are abundant, and social media websites similar to Facebook are social media hubs that allow us to discuss and review our favorite television shows, movies, podcasts, and discuss the news in real-time across the globe.

It’s hard to believe that there was a time when you had to wait for the newspaper or wait for the daily news segment to get information. Throughout history, the advancement of technology has created newspapers, radio, television, and the internet for social media use. These different forms of media have each been critical in the evolution of social media. Mass distribution of information that is available at our fingertips is a luxury that we thoroughly enjoy today, and we must not forget that we have such immense availability of social media compared to our ancestors.