Where are we going?

Great changes have affected Media through out history. From the invention of writing to the creation of the Internet, the face of media has been in a constant evolution. Important steps marked this evolution. The invention of printing by Gutenberg in 1500 opened a new era in transmission of written knowledge. The spread of the radio in the 1920s made possible the broadcast of news, music, dramas, comedies, variety shows, and many other forms of entertainment to a large number of people. The invention of television in the 1950s introduced moving images on top of the sound that the radio already provided. More recently, the internet has added a new dimension to media: interactivity.
Without any doubts, innovations that were brought to Media have shaped our modern societies. In a period of changes like the one we are facing today, in order to answer a question like “where are we going?” we have to start by asking the question “where is media taking us?”
In his piece, Jurgen Harbermass introduces the concept of public sphere that defines an engaged space, which activates changes in our societies. For instance, an actively involved politician is part of that public sphere. This is concept is pivotal to our analysis given that the influence of media on our societies passes through the public sphere. The traditional structure of mass media leads to a relatively controlled public sphere. Of course, the level of control greatly depends on the type of institution i.e governments or big corporations that exercises the control. In all cases, the debate in the public sphere is biased towards those who control the way of mass communication. Furthermore, the technical architecture that supports traditional media is one-way, organized around a centralized hub with unidirectional edges going from the center to outskirts. This type of architecture paves the way to a generalized passivity. People fail to be active in a public sphere, because they can only take in information but cannot react to it.
The internet as a new mean of mass communication appears to be a good solution to the above-mentioned problem. Its decentralized structure insures that nothing can control it. The information is freely shared among the network. Members of the network are all peers and there is no more hierarchy. In this sense, the public sphere is positively stimulated and the society ameliorated because a thriving nation is a nation where everyone is involved.
All in all, the rise and the spread of the internet as the main mean of communication lets us longer for a brighter future for our societies and gives a positive answer but partial answer to the crucial question where is the 21st century taking have in store for us.