Evolution of Digital Media

 Forty thousand years ago, some human ancestors painted on cave walls in Indonesia and, relatively later, in France and Spain. Experts need to learn the artwork's purpose precisely, but some believe they might be the first examples of communication and media (Taylor, 2023). The development of technology influenced media and communication, and today we have a digital media phenomena in which any media device a machine can read is called "Digital Media." The main difference between digital media devices and the classical physical is that digital media is created, modified, and distributed on digital electronic devices. The Internet, personal computers, and digital media gave us opportunities we once could only dream about. Digital media created an entirely new world in e-commerce, entertainment, arts, journalism, education, politics, and other fields. As digital media have a revolutionary impact on modern societies, we call the new phenomenon a new period in industrial history, The Information Age (Oliviera & Albuquerque, 2021). 

The development of digital media goes back to the 1940s- 1980s by emerging primary forms of calculation machines, compact discs, and DVDs. After the advancement of personal computers ( 1980-1990), digital media was more accessible to the general public. In turn, it led to the development of word processing, spreadsheets, and databases. The third active phase can be considered from the 1990s to the present. The development of the Internet revolutionized how we consume and share media. It includes social media and the mobile era. They made easy our access to media and information instantly.

The evolution of digital media is still in process, and it is not easy to say where it will end. What is explicit digital media's profound influence on our societies, cultures, and communication. 

References:

Oliveria & Albuquerque (2021). Cultural Evolution and Digital Media: Diffusion of Fake News About COVID-19 on Twitter. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42979-021-00836-w

History and Evolution of Digital Media.  https://www.sgl-rotec.com/history-evolution-digital-media/