Did you know that the term “digital” does not just refer to something online? The first thing that pops into someone’s head when they hear the word digital is typically phones, internet, computers, laptops, etc. However, as stated in “Digital Rhetoric: Theory, Method, Practice” written by Doug Eyman, highlights how it can also be “writing, Morse code, and the Braille alphabet” illustrating not everything that is digital requires a handheld device or computer.
Looking Beyond Electronics:
Eyman introduces another resource to prove his point and adds in Angela Haas’ claim on all things digital. According to Haas, she mentions how digital also refers to “our fingers [and] our digits” which shows that there is a deeper meaning beyond what is common knowledge.
Historical Background:
There is actually a lot of history behind the digital meaning. Haas brings up the Latinos, Aztecs, Mayans, Egyptians, Chinese, and Mesopotamians to show how all of them have used some type of digital media to create history. Some examples would be through hieroglyphics, printing press, or clay tokens just to make sure what they did is remembered.
How has it changed?
Personally, doing something online has definitely taken a dramatic turn over the past few years. As technology keeps on advancing more and more ways to do things are being discovered. Examples of this would be cars that drive and park on their own, Alexa’s, Ring doorbell cameras, and smart TVS. Compared to back then when everything was still digital, just in a different way. Some examples would be written letters, using your fingers to count something, and doing math in your head. No one would really enjoy that nowadays because everything is so online focused it would be harder for the newer generations to get used to things going back into their old ways.
Communication:
Communication alone is a huge way that digital media has changed. It went from notes, to letters, to emails, to phone calls, to text messages quicker than we think. It is so much easier to send a message out globally than how it was hundreds of years ago. This goes to show how much technology has been advanced since then. Communication is a crucial part of everyday life, without it we would not know what would be going on around us in the real world.
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