History, Evolution, and Growth of Communication: Pre-historic to Digital Era

In today’s fast-paced digital age, it is difficult to imagine the transformative journey of modern communication. The era of social media has redefined the ways we interact and share information. Instant messaging with real-time sharing has become an integral part of our daily communication and has fostered global connections. We effortlessly share information and remain constantly connected with the world around us. However, it is interesting to trace the path of this seamless communication from the pre-historic times and explore the roots of the modern communication landscape. It is essential to understand the history of communication to predict the future. This chapter draws attention to the historicist impulses from the earlier oral times to the present days and addresses the communication phenomena with a broad brush. The account here ranges from oral traditions, chirographic, handwritten, print, electronic and digital eras, and traditional cultures of communication history. The pre-historic traditions of story- telling, the narration of a collective past, the religious and humanistic handwriting cultures leading to a novel system of stability and permanence to provide a basis for what a later age would deem civilization, will be sketched. This scholarship will largely engage in covering the role of great religions of the world and how sacred texts emerged and flourished in handwritten cultures. The chapter will map the techniques adapted to preserve the oral expressions of notable Greek and Roman speakers through scroll, parchment, and other means, enabling the groundwork for the classic stream of human communication history. Additionally, the focus will be on how communication evolved post the print and industrial revolution and remained an integral mode of communication for several decades. The evolution of modern technology with a sharp emphasis on communication in the digital age and prospects will be plotted. Finally, this chapter will include a few landmark historical works as a promissory note towards future adaptations and would go further in narrating the global trajectory of history of communication.