Did you know that the World Wide Web (in other words, the Internet) was invented in order to protect data? After the bombings during World War II, the US army was afraid of losing all the information stored on computers if these were destroyed. So they created a new way to store data.
In a memorial lecture for Owen Edwards, Dylan Iorwerth, editor/director of Golwg, asked the question whether Internet and the digital age had killed television.
He said himself that his title for the lecture, ‘Digital – the end of television?’, was “nonsensical”, but he nevertheless tried to explain why the media had evolved the way it had and compared TV and Internet on several of their features.
The beauty of television when it first appeared after WWII was its privacy. People could entertainment themselves in the comfort of their homes and behind closed curtains, as opposed to seeing a movie in the theatres.
“We like our privacy,” Iowerth said, “and people are willing to accept poorer technology just to stay private. Especially today with photos and films off the Internet,” he added.
Internet, however, means more interaction. People like to communicate and share what they are doing, and Internet and social media have made it possible. In this sense, Internet is also great for people to voice their opinions.
“Internet is a stage for all the other media,” Iowerth said, “but the success of TV is that it has made people want to use the technology themselves.”
In the end, the journalist concluded that Internet probably won in the game of strengths and weaknesses but he reassured us all by saying “no media stops another one.”
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