Why We Text: It All Started with the Telegraph

In 1844 the telegraph was invented by a man named Samuel Morse. The telegraph was the first machine that allowed people to communicate over long distances faster than a letter. The telegraph was the machine that revolutionized modern day communication. The telegraph was an invention that allowed people to communicate quickly where messages were sent over a long wire. By 1860, telegraph wires stretch from the east coast of the United States west of the Mississippi River. It wasn’t until 1866 that a telegraph line stretched across the Atlantic Ocean, allowing people to communicate outside of the U.S. To use the telgraph, you had to understand Morse Code because all you could type into the telegraph were dashes and dots. In Morse Code, each letter was assigned a specific sequence of dashes and dots.

In 1844, almost everyone who could afford the telegraph got one and used one. Why? Because the telegraph was the “next best thing” and it was what everyone else was speding their money on. Much like the telegraph, the smart phone is “the next best thing” for 2016 so, many people have one.

Morse code is somewhat similar to texting because you have to understand the different codes (abbreviations). For example, WTF doesn’t usually mean “why the face” and lol usually means “laugh out loud” not “lots of love”. If you were to use these in a wrong way, it could completely offend someone and make them mad at you. For example, if you were to hear that someone just lost their job and you said “I’m so sorry to hear about your job. lol” or if your friends grandma had recently become sick and you said “I’m so sorry to hear about your grandma. lol” I don’t think they would necessarily be to pleased with you.

What do you think would’ve happened if a texting device was invented before the telephone?

If Alexander Graham Bell had invented texting and Steve Jobs had invented the telephone, I think that the current generation would be talking instead texting. This also relates to my “next best thing” theory which is that society follows the current trends. Also, most teenagers and adults are using social media networks like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. more than talking on the phone. Lately, everyone is so wrapped up in their cyber life that they don’t spend the time to talk to people face to face anymore. Talking through the phone was invented before texting, so now when teenagers come from school and their parents ask “How was your day? or, “what did you learn?” or “what did you eat for lunch?” they usually get a one word answer like “good” or “nothing” or “food”. I feel that if texting was invented before talking on the phone, our generation would be much more talkative because our version of technology would involve way more conversation and social skills.

Sources:

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"Alexander Graham Bell." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 14

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"Blizzard of 1888." Business Insider. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.

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The Invention of the Telephone

What is something we use everyday? What is the one thing we cannot live without? If your answers were your phone, you're not alone. Everyday we make calls, text our friends, check our social media, and all this is done from your phone. Many people probably don’t even know how this “Phone craze” all started. Some say it was when the IPhone was invented. Some say it was when the cell phone was invented, but if you go way back to the 1870s, you'll find that this phone craze was started by a genius inventor named Alexander Graham Bell.

Bell wasn’t the only one to come up with the brilliant idea of being able to call someone who was no where near you. In fact a man named Elisha Gray also had this brilliant idea. Both men independently created the very first phone, but Bell got his patented first.

The first telephone was very different than the amazing technology we have today. Alexander Bell first referred to it as the “Electrical speech machine”. The only thing it could do was make calls. No texting, no apps, no screen! This phone was a stationary phone, so it could not go wherever you go. You most likely have at least one of these in your house, but this one was very different.

Overall, the telephone was a fantastic invention that certainly influenced current technology and our day to day lives!
Bellis, Mary. "The History of the Telephone." About.com Inventors. About.com, 20 Dec. 2013. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.
"Invention of the Telephone." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 June 2014. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.