SINCE THE 1900S
Though experiments with radio waves started in the 1890s, the first commercial radio stations were established only in the 1920s.
Overnight, radio brought information and entertainment to millions of people worldwide.
When television was introduced in 1927 it revolutionised mass information and entertainment. With radios, daily newspapers and daily TV news an increasing number of people could keep up to date with the latest information.
The 20th century brought with it many important communication methods that we can barely imagine living without these days, such as cellphones, computers and the internet.
IBM launched its personal computer in 1981 and this gradually replaced typewriters. And with the arrival of the internet, posting physical letters and sending telegrams via a telegraph machine became obsolete. The last telegram was sent in India on 13 July 2013.
The basic technology for the internet was developed as far back as the ’60s but the first internet service providers were established only in the ’80s and ’90s.
Apart from giving you all that information at your fingertips, the internet also makes email, chat rooms, social media and real-time online games possible.
The first cellphones, introduced in America in the ’80s, were the size of bricks but they’ve become better and smaller over the years. At first they could be used only to make calls but later SMS (text message) capabilities were added.
Cellphone technology led to today’s smartphones. These are really minicomputers – in fact, many are far more powerful than the computers of yesteryear.