Before the Internet and social media, or texting and emailing, people around the world were able to maintain relationships through speaking on the telephone. The telephone is the “first mass-produced synchronous communication device”, meaning it is the first piece of technology that allowed for messages to be sent and received at the same time (17). Before this time, messages were sent through the telegraph asynchronously, or with a time delay. The telephone allowed for mass communication across the globe, which would not have been possible, of course, if it were not for the use of the microphone.
The invention of the telephone dates back to March 10, 1876, the same day that Alexander Graham Bell spoke through a liquid microphone and said “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you” (18) (19). The telephone created a new society, making it possible to contact people around the world and indirectly reinforcing the social class distinctions. It had the ability to “bring people together in cities as it scattered them in suburbs” (20). The telephone led to the movement of people across large areas because it allowed them to remain in contact and keep up relationships. These two newspaper articles, both from 1910, about Atlanta, Georgia, and Boston, Massachusetts, show the effects that the telephone had on cities and rural areas (21) (22). Not only did it enable rural areas to grow in size, but a larger cities population also became dependent on the number of telephones in range. The Atlanta article sheds light on the impacts that the telephone had on the population within the cities, addressing the widening of the gap between classes.
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“Bell inaugurating the telephone link between New York City and Chicago on Oct. 18, 1892”. Making it possible to keep connections across a vast distance (23).
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The telephone helped to make relationships obtainable across greater distances, more so than through the use of letters or the telegraph (24) because, much like the use of recording music through the radio, the telephone, too, created intimacy by making it possible to hear another person's voice. The telephone would not have been possible if it were not for the help of the microphone. The ability to transmit one person’s voice over state borders and across the seas made it possible to expand societies over greater distances. Microphone technologies are still being invented to improve the state of our society, as shown through the prominence of the cell phone in today's world.
Visual of the "worldwide mobile phone usage". This map shows how possible connections between countries and across continents become because of the sweeping number of mobile phones (25).
(17) Anheier, Helmut K. and Mark Juergensmeyer. “Telephone,” (Encyclopedia of Global Studies, 2012). Accessed April 5, 2015.
(18) Count Du Moncel. “The Telephone, the Microphone and the Phonograph,” (Harper & Brothers, 1879). Accessed April 5, 2015.
(19) Eargle, John. “The Microphone Book, 2nd edition,” (Focal Press, 2012). Accessed April 5, 2015.
(20) Vanderbilt, Tom. “The call-of the future: today we were about the social effects of the internet. A century ago, it was the telephone that threatened to reinvent society” The Wilson Quarterly (2012). Accessed April 9, 2015.
(21) “Telephone Growth and Population: Bell Company’s 15,006 Phones in Atlanta Means Big Increase” The Atlanta Constitution (1910). Accessed April 9, 2015. http://dl2af5jf3e.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=TELEPHONE+GROWTH+AND+POPULATION&rft.jtitle=The+Atlanta+Constitution+%281881-1945%29&rft.date=1910-06-04&rft.pub=CMG+Corporate+Services%2C+Inc.+on+behalf+of+itself+and+the+Newspapers&rft.spage=5&rft.externalDocID=543866062
(22) “Rural Telephone Growth Faster Than In Cities” The Chicago Daily Tribune (1910). Accessed April 9, 2015. http://dl2af5jf3e.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=RURAL+TELEPHONE+GROWTH+FASTER+THAN+IN+CITIES&rft.jtitle=Chicago+Daily+Tribune+%281872-1922%29&rft.date=1910-07-
01&rft.pub=Tribune+Publishing+Company+LLC&rft.spage=17&rft.externalDocID=387428961
(23) “Bell inaugurating the telephone link between New York City and Chicago on Oct. 18, 1892.” Photograph, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Accessed on April 9, 2015. http://academic.eb.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/EBchecked/media/120540/Alexander-Graham-Bell-who-patented-the-telephone-in-1876-inaugurating
(24) Merriman, John and Jay Winter, “Telephone” (Europe Since 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of War and Reconstruction, 2011). Accessed April 5, 2015.
(25) "Worldwide mobile phone usage". Graph, from www. techlineinfo.com. Accessed on April 9, 2015. http://www.techlineinfo.com/the-evolution-of-mobile-phone-culture/
(18) Count Du Moncel. “The Telephone, the Microphone and the Phonograph,” (Harper & Brothers, 1879). Accessed April 5, 2015.
(19) Eargle, John. “The Microphone Book, 2nd edition,” (Focal Press, 2012). Accessed April 5, 2015.
(20) Vanderbilt, Tom. “The call-of the future: today we were about the social effects of the internet. A century ago, it was the telephone that threatened to reinvent society” The Wilson Quarterly (2012). Accessed April 9, 2015.
(21) “Telephone Growth and Population: Bell Company’s 15,006 Phones in Atlanta Means Big Increase” The Atlanta Constitution (1910). Accessed April 9, 2015. http://dl2af5jf3e.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=TELEPHONE+GROWTH+AND+POPULATION&rft.jtitle=The+Atlanta+Constitution+%281881-1945%29&rft.date=1910-06-04&rft.pub=CMG+Corporate+Services%2C+Inc.+on+behalf+of+itself+and+the+Newspapers&rft.spage=5&rft.externalDocID=543866062
(22) “Rural Telephone Growth Faster Than In Cities” The Chicago Daily Tribune (1910). Accessed April 9, 2015. http://dl2af5jf3e.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=RURAL+TELEPHONE+GROWTH+FASTER+THAN+IN+CITIES&rft.jtitle=Chicago+Daily+Tribune+%281872-1922%29&rft.date=1910-07-
01&rft.pub=Tribune+Publishing+Company+LLC&rft.spage=17&rft.externalDocID=387428961
(23) “Bell inaugurating the telephone link between New York City and Chicago on Oct. 18, 1892.” Photograph, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Accessed on April 9, 2015. http://academic.eb.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/EBchecked/media/120540/Alexander-Graham-Bell-who-patented-the-telephone-in-1876-inaugurating
(24) Merriman, John and Jay Winter, “Telephone” (Europe Since 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of War and Reconstruction, 2011). Accessed April 5, 2015.
(25) "Worldwide mobile phone usage". Graph, from www. techlineinfo.com. Accessed on April 9, 2015. http://www.techlineinfo.com/the-evolution-of-mobile-phone-culture/