Technological Evolution

 Technology has evolved for many many years and over time it gets greater and bigger. But where did it start? 

In the first video, we watched the evolution of technology from 10 million years ago to now. 10 million years is a very long time but a lot has happened throughout those years. 10 million years ago was when we first created tools using stone, wood and bones and then 1-2 million years later we discovered fire but that drastically jumps when we go to the BC era where we invented the wheel, static electricity, the hot air balloon. We created magnificent things which lead up all the way to 2020 with the quantum computer. We as people have developed and evolved alongside the evolution of technology to create these wonderful inventions.

We then go on to the topic of media literacy. Reading and writing and becoming literate was essentially seen for the wealthy as you had to pay to learn. Back then the way of communication was through letters and codices if you were wealthy enough to learn to use these. However, it was quite hard to do this constantly so a man called Johannes Gutenberg created the moveable type printing press in 1452 which allowed people who have access to it to be able to communicate with others more easily. But as time moved on with especially the era of Martin Luther, he proved that the government-controlled what we were hearing as people weren't literate so the only way people could know what was being said was for people to interpret them which then evolved. Sadly it wasn't until the 17th century when the penny press came about which was cheap and the cheaper to become literate the easier it is for more people to understand what's being said in which the government did not approve of. The more money people made from these newspapers the better which lead to advertisers. These advertisers would publish not -the truth but stories that involved crime. scandals the whole sha-bang which made them more money. 

                                                  The relentless evolution of technology

Now to this day I still believe this is the way and it has not changed as you see on social media platforms stories and scandals are still there to be published. But people feel we have too much media. With the 20th century technology really took the stronghold of society with people constantly on media. The best way for others to cause commotion and to become recognized is to post something to stand out. However, there are downsides to this as people can become catfished, addicted and can lead to mind manipulation as the younger generation are using technology more and more.

With the very fast evolution that technology has come about workers are losing their jobs to machinery with AI and algorithms especially due to Covid-19. In the upcoming years, 85 million jobs will be lost but the benefit is that jobs are planning to train and upskill their workforces to prepare them for the upcoming years. They want to turn a global crisis into a unique opportunity. 

With the evolution of technology, there are so many benefits that come with it such as allowing us to connect with others, work more efficiently and much more but with the benefits come the problems with media becoming a mind manipulation platform as people believe what they see. But in the future, we will surely be prepared for what comes our way.

-Kate O Toole

                                                            Sources

                                                   Technology Evolution

                                              History of Media Literacy Part 1

                                              History of Media Literacy Part 2

                                           What will the future of jobs be like?

                                         Digital transformation predictions for 2030