Publications

One-to-one, One-to-many and Few-to-few Communication

By: William Davies

Innovations in communication technology open up possibilities for new forms of social contact, and reduce our dependence on previous ones. Yet there are plenty of instances in which societies and individuals have clung to traditional ways of communicating, despite seemingly more efficient alternatives. The dawn of the video was expected to sound a death knell for cinemas, but cinema attendance levels in the UK actually grew over the 1990s. The written letter continues to play a significant role in our lives – for instance when expressing heartfelt thanks or sorrow – despite the abundant, more convenient alternatives for communicating over distance that are now available to us. The reason for this is that the use of a communicative technology is never quite as simple as its sheer functionality would suggest. In an age of DVDs and film on-demand, it is clear to us that there is more to going to the cinema than simply seeing a film. It is also a night out. And in an age of emails and text messages, it is clear that there is more to writing a letter than simply conveying information. It also demonstrates a degree of sincerity and effort. It is important to recognise these...

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