The New Printing Press

Back in the 1440s, Gutenberg’s printing press (that's Johannes, not Steve) helped democratize knowledge and connect human beings to a common reality. For the first time, peasants could possess their own copies of the Bible, and literacy suddenly became cool, at least as cool as reading the Bible. It also empowered the common folk, which led to the Reformation, which eventually opened the door for the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. For many, knowledge — first of their own religion, and then of science, art and history — was seen to be the key to human progress. The mass production of print media allowed that knowledge to propagate and proliferate. 

The printing press also created a new medium of entertainment in the novel, which, let's face it, had a commendable run as the number one form of mass media for over five centuries. Ironically, Don Quixote, a story about a man who cannot distinguish the products of his imagination from that which is real, was one of the first of such books to introduce readers to a knowingly fantastical version of reality. Cervantes playfully engaged the imaginations of his readers without burdening them with any claims to historical fact... unlike some other books that were very popular at the time.

We understand our world through language. Not only do Inuits have fifty words for snow, but they can also distinguish between fifty kinds of snow. The more words we know, the more shades of nuance we are able to discern. The printing press promoted literacy, thereby changing the way people think. Through this one relatively simple development in communication technology, the human mind was changed forever. 

Fifty words for snow, no words for how cool this guy is.

It has even been suggested that the idea of adulthood came about as a direct result of the Reformation and its ensuing wave of literacy. Prior to this, in the evenings, adults and children alike would play games in the streets, but as literacy spread, the adults would be inside reading while the children played outside. 

As the merchant class grew, literacy became seen a marker of social standing. It was also how people knew that they weren't being cheated in financial transactions and legal affairs. To be able to read laws and contracts helped change the balances of power. 

Eventually, they would just make the print finer.

By the late nineteenth century, as more kids became educated in reading and writing, a delineation formed between children's books and books that were geared more toward adults. In recent years, however, some of the most successful works of fiction have been those that appealed to both demographics. In other words, those lines are once again becoming blurred. It might have something to do with the fact that practically nobody plays outside anymore. This regression could also be part of a broader cyclical pattern.

Consider that five hundred and fifty years after the invention of the printing press, the internet is doing essentially the same thing, but with more pornography. For better or worse, through online media, people are connecting to common realities and uniting as groups of like-minded individuals who may also be completely insulated from other ideologies. 

We also have new forms of communication that have developed because of this one basic advance in media technology... like blogs, for example, which, for a long time, I thought was a kind of Turkish pastry. 

Further, just as books helped draw a line between childhood and adulthood, the internet may be thought to be doing the reverse. That is, by exposing kids to images and ideas that they may not necessarily be psychologically equipped to handle, we may be cutting their childhoods short. On the same token, social media and comment boards notoriously bring out the most childish behavior in adults. If you don't believe me, go to just about any news website and scroll down.