Bossart 1

Kayla Bossart
UWRT 1101-028
Blandford
3 November 2015
Digital Technology at its Finest
Technology has evolved over time, changing the way society views the world. People
communicate in a whole new manner with how digital technology has progressed. Throughout
history, people have communicated with scribes attached to pigeons feet, telephones with
spinning faces, sliding keyboard cellphones, and thousands of other means. They all have
changed the way that people communicate even though they are all working towards the same
purpose. However, three types of communication that have been popular through time are text
messaging, FaceTiming, and landline telephones; they are all very similar and different at the
same time in regards to their rhetor, audience, message, situation, and how they are used.
Text messaging has sky-rocketed in the past twenty-five years for how wide-spread and
abundant this source of communication has become. The first ever text message was sent in
1992, which soared in growth to what is now one of the most popular ways of communicating. It
is quick, efficient, and the preferred way to send a message in this day and age. With text
messaging being words across a screen, the tone is lost, making it hard to understand and know
exactly what the rhetors are trying to say. However, with the use of emojis, we attempt to put a
tone to our words; even with the unique faces and symbols that add contrast to the conversation,
messages still come across misunderstood. Text-message technology has advanced as time has
passed; first being with ten keys to a whole keyboard, to different emojis, and now you can tell

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when someone receives and reads your text. With this, the audience, or the people receiving the
message, gain control, or power, of the conversation; they can choose to respond or to read and
ignore the message. These permanent messages are what our generations lives are consumed
with, causing us to lack face to face communication skills.

However, this system of

communication is very popular and is an efficient way to get quick messages across.
Another growing way of communication is through Apples FaceTime. FaceTime has
been available to users for five years, making it one of the newer fashions of connecting to
others. It is similar to Skype in the sense that it is a video call application; people are able to see
each other and communicate at the same time. Since FaceTime is exclusive only being available
for Apple users, it is not as frequently used as other modes of communication, especially since it
is not as quick and efficient. Calls require time and internet; you cannot just FaceTime someone
for a quick question in a business meeting. People use it for more of long distance relationships
with family and friends, and if there is something in particular wanting to be seen, such as nieces
and nephews opening presents on Christmas day. Along with text messaging, the rhetor and the
audience are co-dependent on each participant. However, a plus to this form is that you are able
to hear the tone of voice and see how the speaker is presenting themselves with their body
language. You gain the full aspect as if you were actually there with the audience, without the
physical means. FaceTime creates a sense of a societal contract, once you are talking you cannot
just randomly stop. The call becomes more fluent and on-going, unlike a texting conversation
can be; the rhetors talk until the conversation is over and they agree on ending the call. This is a
very useful way to communicate with others because it is more personable; you are able to tell
the tone of voice and exactly how the message is coming across from the rhetor.

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A more outdated form of communication is the landline telephone, being the first device
in history that enabled people to talk to one other. Similar to text messaging, telephones have
advanced progressively throughout the past century. More commonly known is the Trimline
residential phone that came to be in 1964. This landline telephone was stationary, hooked onto a
wall that was only able to be paraded around in a small radius. The rhetor had to be careful of
what was being said due to neighbors listening in to the juicy details that the conversation
entailed. Being the only form of communication at the time, it was useful for people that needed
to communicate with others, and popular with teenagers, especially girls. With the fact that
landlines are not as advanced as technology today, there were limitations to this device. There
was no caller identification which really influenced the audience, the one receiving the call. It
transferred power to the rhetor, the one calling, because most people were more likely to answer
the telephone because it could be ringing for any sorts of reasons, especially for emergencies and
necessary information. Similar to FaceTime, you could hear the tone of voice with residential
landline telephones, along with conversations that had societal contracts. Once you answered the
phone and engaged in conversation, there was no going back until it was over. Similar to texting,
you are unable to see facial expressions which add to the conversation, unlike FaceTime.
However, in this time, the telephone was very advanced and people communicated with it ever
so frequently. This invention was a powerful kick start to the advancement of the various types
of communication today.
Communication has always been important from the beginning of time. People are
constantly communicating with one another at all times, especially in todays generation. The
advancements of communication and technology have made it so we can now even see and talk
to one another at the same time. Text messaging, FaceTiming, and Trimline residential landlines

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are very similar in the ways that the rhetors and audiences include both participants, and the
message is the conversation being relayed; while the situations for these can be different in the
aspect of why the message is being relayed. However, power can be transferred depending on
the mode of communication. Overall, these three forms of communication are very alike in
many ways, while also having distinct differences among themselves.