Alphabet to Internet: Media in Our Lives

393 Pages·2014·5.72 MB·English

by  Irving Fang

Alphabet to Internet
What Greek philosopher thought writing would harm a student’s memory? Was the poet Byron’s
daughter the fi rst computer programmer? Who plays more video games, women over  or teen-
age boys?
In Alphabet to Internet: Media in Our Lives , Irving Fang looks at each medium of communica-
tion through the centuries, asking not only, “What happened?” but also, “How did society change
because of this new communication medium?” and “How are we diff erent as a result?”
Examining the impact of diff erent media upon a broad, historical scale—among them mass
printing, the telegraph, fi lm, the Internet, and advertising—A lphabet to Internet takes us from
the fi rst scratches of writing and the origins of mail to today’s video games, the widespread and
daily use of smartphones, and the impact of social media in political uprisings across the globe. A
timeline at the end of each chapter places events in perspective and allows students to pinpoint
key moments in media history.
Now in its third edition, Alphabet to Internet presents a lively, thoughtful, and accessible intro-
duction to media history.
Irving Fang has been a journalist, teacher, author, and publisher. His career has included the
Daily Times of Nigeria, Reuters, ABC News, and the University of Minnesota. He has served as a
visiting professor in Singapore and as a Fulbright professor in the Philippines. He wrote the fi rst
book about television news skills and possibly the fi rst doctoral dissertation ever printed by com-
puter. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Alphabet
to Internet
Media(cid:2)in(cid:2)Our(cid:2)Lives
Third Edition
Irving Fang
Editor: Erica Wetter
Editorial Assistant: Simon Jacobs
Production Editor: Reanna Young
Text Design: Apex CoVantage
Copyeditor: Andrea Service
Indexer: Kristin Harley
Cover Design: Gareth Toye
Th ird edition published 
by Routledge
 Th ird Avenue, New York, NY 
and by Routledge
 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
©  Irving Fang
Th e right of Irving Fang to be identifi ed as author of this work has been asserted by him in
accordance with sections  and  of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act .
A ll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without per-
mission in writing from the publishers.
First and second editions published
by Rada Press , 
Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fang, Irving E.
Alphabet to Internet : media in our lives / Irving Fang.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
. Mass media—History. I. Title.
P.F 
.—dc


ISBN: ---- (hbk)
ISBN: ---- (pbk)
ISBN: ---- (ebk)
Typeset in Warnock Pro
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To Oscar, Ruby, Max, Annika, and Lucy
who will navigate through a life of media
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Contents
Introduction: Adapting to Our
Media Environment 1
(cid:88) (cid:2) Writing: Gathering Thought 13
(cid:88) (cid:3) Early Printing: Reaching More of Us 37
(cid:88) (cid:4) Mass Printing: Reaching Still More 59
(cid:88) (cid:5) Mail: The Snail that Could 87
(cid:88) (cid:6) Telegraph: Uniting the United States 111
(cid:88) (cid:7) Telephone: Reaching without
Touching 125
(cid:88) (cid:8) Recording: Beyoncé Sings Better
than Our Sister 147
(cid:88) (cid:9) Photography: Personal and
So Much More 163
(cid:88) (cid:10) Silent Film: The Audience Waits 183
(cid:88) (cid:2)(cid:11) A Movie Century: Moving Us 203
vii
viii Contents
(cid:88) (cid:2)(cid:2) Radio: Helping Us through
the Rough Years 225
(cid:88) (cid:2)(cid:3) Television: Pictures in Our Parlors 251
(cid:88) (cid:2)(cid:4) Computers: Beyond Calculation 277
(cid:88) (cid:2)(cid:5) The Internet: The World at
Our Fingertips 293
(cid:88) (cid:2)(cid:6) Video Games: Leaning Forward 315
(cid:88) (cid:2)(cid:7) Persuasion: The Push Never Stops 335
(cid:88) (cid:2)(cid:8) M edia Matter: Entwined in
Human Life 351
Further Reading 
Image Credits 
Index 
Introduction(cid:3)(cid:2)
Adapting(cid:2)to(cid:2)
Our(cid:2)Media(cid:2)
Environment
A  survey of , respondents taken in  countries reported that
more than one person in fi ve ( percent) would rather give up sex than a
mobile phone.
By marital status,  percent of the married and  percent of others
would give up sex before surrendering their mobile phones, and  percent
of the employed compared with  percent of the unemployed. No diff er-
ence was reported for level of education.
Percentage Preferring the Cell
Worldwide United States
Women 30 30
Men 13 11
Under 35 23 25
Ages 35–49 19 18
Ages 50–64 24 18

A diff erent survey found that more people would rather leave home with-
out their wallet than their smartphone.
Th ese results may end up as tidbits to brighten party conversations, but—
even allowing for some skepticism—they tell us something important about
what is going on where cellphones are used, and that is almost everywhere
in the world. For signifi cant numbers of people, mediated communication—
using a device that connects with someone else at some distance—matters
more than one of the most fundamental elements of life, and arguably the
most intense. Mobile phones are preferred to sex by quite a few of the young,
whose levels of testosterone and estrogen are at their peak, as well as by the
old, whose hormonal fi res have dimmed.
