Title: The Effect the Telephone Had on Literacy and Society | ETEC540: Text Techologies
Headings: The Effect the Telephone Had on Literacy and Society
The Effect the Telephone Had on Literacy and Society
The Effect the Telephone Had on Literacy and Society
Context
Communal Experience
Literacy Effects of the Telephone
Educational Changes
Changes in Society
Conclusion
References

Content: When the telephone was first invented, there were operators who ran the switchboard. This means that if you wanted to talk to another individual, you also had to talk to the operator first. Previously you would send a letter to someone, and talk to no one. Now, you had the ability to talk to someone on the other side of the country, and rather than just talk to one person, you would talk to two. This ability, and this forced conversation, would create an increased sense of community, as you could now discuss everyday occurrences on the very day, rather than write a letter and wait for a week for the letter to arrive, and wait for a response. Another example of how the telephone increased a sense of community is the party line. When the telephone was first invented, it was very expensive to set up phone lines to every single residence. To save money, they would have a party line, where several houses would share the same phone line between them, and operators would need to distinguish between whom the phone call was for by using distinct rings for all houses on the line. There were privacy issues with this setup. If someone was on the phone, and another house picked up, you could listen to the conversation.