The Evolution of the Media and the Cultural Development of Society

Year 100: Papermaking develops in China and spread in the Asian world
1000: Movable type used in China
1400: Movable metal type used in Asia and developed in Germany
1600: First newspapers appear in Germany, France, and Belgium.
1702: London's Daily Courant - the first daily newspaper
1837: The first telegraph is created
1876: First telephone message is sent by Alexander Graham Bell
1894: Motion pictures appear
1920: The first regular radio broadcasting in Pittsburg
1933: Television is invented
1937: The first digital computer appears, made of telephone components.
1941: First TV commercial
1949: Network TV is introduced in USA
1956: Videotape recording is invented
1970: Videocassette recorders appear
1980: Audio compact disks are introduced (CD)
1982: First digital video disks appear (DVD)
1990: World Wide Web (www) is introduced
1998: Digital TV broadcasting begins
1999: MP3s are introduced
2000-2001: Satellite digital broadcasting develops
Microsoft Xbox appears
2002: The Blackberry smartphone is introduced
2003: Web 2.0 is developed (the interactive media)
Skype Internet telephone is introduced
2004: The appearance of Facebook
2005: YouTube appears
2006: The first e-book readers are introduced.
2006-up to the present: technology continues to develop new and more complex social networks, smartphones,
and devices.
Positive and Negative Aspects of Mass Media

Nowadays, it is impossible to imagine life without mass media. They are omnipresent and usual companions of
our daily routine. Media products could not be more diverse: they range from newspapers and countless other
written products over radio, from television broadcasting to the internet, video games, and motion pictures.
Their diversity as well as their consistent development make mass media a fascinating field of investigation,
and there are more and more schools and universities across the globe which concentrate its history, its future
prospects, and various other aspects of academic life on mass media. The influence attributed to media
constitutes a controversial topic. Undoubtedly, mass media have important effects on individuals, institutions,
society and culture. While fulfilling numerous valuable functions, such as circulating information and thereby,
contributing to education, there might also be some negative effects resulting from the exposure to certain
means of mass communication

Decide and discuss whether the following statements are positive or negative and add some of your own

Media provide information

Information might be biased and unreliable

Media can educate the public

Media entertain people

Media may present false stereotypes

Media help people integrate, communicate and socialize

Media are a force of dispersion and individuation in society

Media can also act as an agent of spying people

Media may take sides of the economic and political systems

Media can attract and direct attention to social problems

Media portrayal of aggression may provoke aggressive behavior in audience

Media can act as an agent of change in the development of the society

Media can act as a mechanism of persuasion and mobilization

Media promote and reinforce consumption