How Changing Media Shaped History and Societies

We are in the middle of a new AI revolution that is going to change media forever. This could give a push to the saturating and plateaued social media. It could also make it even more difficult to reach a wider audience due to higher competition.

To contemplate and guess what may happen, we must understand how changing media changed societies and civilizations. It does three things – unites a type of people, divides or polarizes a group, democratizes a previous media system, and makes content more local, but reduces wider reach.

Creation of Insiders, but also Outsiders

 

Invention of Languages

When early humans invented languages, they became more organized and developed tribes and societies. But this also clearly defined the concept of an ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’. When they came in contact with tribes which didn’t speak their languages, the idea of insider and outsider became clearer. This also led to clashes and cultural feuds.

 

Invention of Writing Systems

When languages were written down, transactions were recorded, the economy was standardized, laws were clearly defined, and faith and belief systems became codified as religions. This created a sense of common civilization but also created a differentiation from those who were outside of the civilization. Humans were united and divided again.

 

Democratizing Writings

When literacy and religious texts were written down in a particular classical language that became the monopoly of the elites, the common folk became alienated from this culture. Local languages replaced these elite languages in the society and led to reformation within the religion and literary culture. This brought the common folk together and differentiated the mass culture from the elitist culture. This slowly led to a social renaissance and at places, even revolution against the elites. Common folks united but separated against elites within their society.

 

Invention of the Printing Press

In a society, social messages were limited to religious texts and administrative documentation. But after the invention of the printing press, not only did these texts reach a wider audience, but they also democratized social communications through novels, philosophical writings and newspapers. People who spoke and understood the same languages came closer more than ever, irrespective of social class because their media influences were common.

 

But it also divorced them from those who didn’t speak the same language. The idea of Nation-States arose, which had language and linguistic ethnicity as an important factor for nationhood. Multilingual empires collapsed, while regions speaking a common language united as a nation. It also became a tool for propaganda that gave rise to world wars.

 

Invention of Film & Radio

The invention of the telegram, the radio, and the camera, led to breakthroughs in mass communication and made the world closer. But soon, political narrative developed and ideologies spread across societies dividing them based on where they stood socially and economically.

Entertainment business boomed, which was once limited to theatre and books. Content diversified to meet the audience’s demands. But even here, content for the masses was different from content for niche audiences catered by independent filmmakers.

 

Invention of Cable Television

The emergence of cable networks led to many television channels that competed for the audience’s attention. Along with entertainment channels, news channels came into existence. Together, they reduced the dominance of older mediums like films and newspapers. Like always, pandering to a particular type of audience developed.

 

Invention of Social Media

Till now, all the mediums were one-sided. There was a clear distinction between the creators and audiences, and there was no accurate way to measure people’s responses. But after the emergence of Social Media, every individual could now respond to everything in real-time. Smartphones turned every audience into creators, breaking the monopoly of studios.

 

However, algorithms developed to cater to what people wanted led to echo chambers, deeper political propaganda, and the development of confirmation biases. Now ‘insiders and outsiders’ were at all levels – pop culture fanbase, celebrity fan club, ideological leaning, social identities, and so on. It alienated people with differences of opinion and led to 'cancel culture' and social boycotts.

 

It also created a clutter of content, both good and bad. This made it even more difficult for a creator to reach a very wide audience like television, film, radio, and newspapers once did. The market became fragmented into niches. This is the highest level of overlapping insiders and outsiders.

 

AI in Social Media

The rise of artificial intelligence will make it more democratic to create and will further blur the difference between the creator and the audience. But with so many more content clutters, the niche would be smaller. To cater for these smaller niches, the content has to be more tailored.

Artificial Intelligence would make translations easier breaking the language barrier. This would bring two people from different countries together, but it would also separate neighbours with different preferences.

 

Wider Reach but Smaller Circle

When language and writing systems developed, it was easier to influence an entire civilization, nation and culture. But when these old languages faded and local languages took centre stage after the printing press and other mass media, the circle of influence became limited to a particular nation or linguistic group. But when that percolated deeper, social groups within a nation and linguistic groups were divided. The rise of social media is making these social circles even smaller. While “mass” media will still exist, its impact will be limited.