By KATELYN OH
In today’s world, email has become an indispensable part of our lives. It is the primary means of communication for many people around the world, as with email, people can transmit messages in the form of electronic signals to anyone anywhere at any time in a matter of seconds.
The history of email spans over 50 years. In 1965, the first email system named “MAILBOX” was created and used at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Similar to leaving a written note on someone’s desk, the first form of email was simply a message placed in the receiver’s file directory for the message to be read when the recipient logs in. However, after the invention of the Internet, in order to deliver the electronic messages to the correct address, the email system had to become a little more complex and structured. To solve this issue, in 1971, Ray Tomlinson developed the first networked email and chose to use the ‘@’ symbol to indicate the sending of messages from one computer to another, marking the start of the modern email system. Eventually, as the Internet progressively developed, the electronic mailing system began to gain popularity; by the late 1990s, the age of email had begun.
Before emailing became the norm, people relied on paper and slow hand-written mailing systems for all communication. The introduction of email brought many benefits to society; the process of communication had become so much more efficient, since it was easily accessible and able to be done within a few clicks. For example, before email, all mail was hand-written and physically sent to the recipient via the traditional post system. This process required the work of many people and took a substantial amount of time, which is incomparable to the speed of electronically delivering a message. In terms of increased speed, with email, when in situations where multiple people have to be addressed with the same information, senders no longer have to endure the arduous sessions of copying every message a number of times, since instead, email allows content to be sent to multiple recipients. Another advantage would be its reachability; anyone you encounter over the age of 15 is most likely to have at least one or two email accounts in use, which adds to the overall convenience of the electronic mailing system.
Currently, more than 600 million people around the world use email and an astounding number of over 100 billion business emails are sent every day. With all these advantages provided through this system, email has revolutionized our ways of communication, and it is evident that our society has gone through a significant metamorphosis, forever reshaping the way we communicate and manage our lives.
Works Cited
“Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Email - Email - GCSE ICT Revision - BBC Bitesize.” BBC News, BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zghfr82/revision/3.
Comments