internet v printing press

Kaitlin Monda

October 18, 2009

Art 85

Printing Press vs. Internet

Throughout history, both the printing press and the Internet have had huge impacts on society, this is certain. The question is, which had the greater impact? It is hard to compare, considering each occurred at a different time, under different cultural circumstances, but we must look at the big picture and consider how each helped to improve society and what opportunities they have opened up. When you look at it in this perspective, it seems that the internet had the over all greater impact, as it includes multiple forms of media, and is able to span across the globe at incredible speeds. It seems that the printing press was merely a beginning for what would ultimately become the Internet.

Without a doubt, the printing press had a huge impact on society. “The immediate effect of the printing press was to multiply the output and cut the costs of books. It thus made information available to a much larger segment of the population who were, of course, eager for information of any variety. Libraries could now store greater quantities of information at much lower cost…Printing stimulated the literacy of lay people and eventually came to have a deep and lasting impact on their private lives. Although most of the earliest books dealt with religious subjects, students, businessmen, and upper and middle class people bought books on all subjects. Printers responded with moralizing, medical, practical and travel manuals. Printing provided a superior basis for scholarship and prevented the further corruption of texts through hand copying. By giving all scholars the same text to work from, it made progress in critical scholarship and science faster and more reliable” (Kreis). The printing press helped with the availability of information to the common man, which lead to the spread of knowledge and therefore breakthroughs in science and discovery. However, the information shared was geographically limited. The printing press got the information out there, but couldn’t help spread it. Books and manuals had to be shipped over seas by merchants, or brought across countries on through other slow forms of transportation. This is the largest difference between the printing press and the Internet.

The Internet allows people to spread an unlimited amount of information to anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds. “The Internet can powerfully leverage your ability to find, manage, and share information. Never before in human history has such a valuable resource been available to so many people at such little cost” (<http://www.livinginternet.com/tabout.htm&gt;). “In 1996, there were approximately 45 million people using the Internet. By 1999, the number of worldwide Internet users reached 150 million, and more than half of them were from the United States. In 2000, there were 407 million users worldwide. By 2004, there were between 600 and 800 million users (counting has become more and more inexact as the network has grown, and estimates vary)” (<http://www.elon.edu/e-web/predictions/150/1960.xhtml&gt;). This shows just how many people were able to access information on the Internet in such a short period of time. The Internet without a doubt had a more rapid spread than the printing press. It was able to reach millions of people all at one time. People across the world were able to share information as well as their own ideas, hopes, and beliefs. The internet brought all forms of media into one; access to any newspaper was available, no matter where one was located, television shows and news are accessible at the drop of a hat, art can be viewed from one’s living room, and even the radio is now spread via the internet.

Although the information, which stemmed from the printing press, was controlled, whereas the Internet has grown to allow millions of pieces of information by any user, whether it is true or false, the Internet seems to have left a greater impact on society. The Internet is ever-expanding and ever-growing, whereas the printing press was limited in its growth. The Internet can reach billions of people, all over the Earth, whereas the printing press could only get information as far as a traveler or merchant could take it. The printing press was a great invention, but it was merely a stepping-stone for the Internet: “The printing press was the big innovation in communications until the telegraph was developed. Printing remained the key format for mass messages for years afterward, but the telegraph allowed instant communication over vast distances for the first time in human history. Telegraph usage faded as radio became easy to use and popularized; as radio was being developed, the telephone quickly became the fastest way to communicate person-to-person; after television was perfected and content for it was well developed, it became the dominant form of mass-communication technology; the internet came next, and newspapers, radio, telephones, and television are being rolled into this far-reaching information medium” (<http://www.elon.edu/e-web/predictions/150/1960.xhtml&gt;). The Internet is the most advanced form of the printing press, and therefore, is ultimately supierior.

Works Cited

Kreis, Steven. “The Printing Press”<http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/ press.html> Oct 2009

“History of the Internet” <http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/&gt; Oct 2009

“Imagining the Internet” <http://www.elon.edu/e-web/predictions/150/1960.xhtml&gt; Oct 2009

“The Internet” <http://www.livinginternet.com/&gt; Oct 2009.