Do you send letters through the mail? Yes, the physical mail that gets picked up and dropped off by the mailman. What would society look like if humans still had to communicate through physical means? Luckily for us, this is not something we have to deal with, the invention of the telegram has made communicating with others far away simple and efficient.
The invention of the telegram was motivated by a need for a faster and more effective way of communicating over long distances. The telegram helped with all aspects of life, from business, government, military, and recreation. Prior to its invention, messages were sent via horse and messenger. This method was painfully slow and inefficient, that was till 1838 when Samual Morse and Alfred Vail unveiled the electric telegraph. The original version used morse code to transmit dashes and dots which would represent numbers and letters. This new form of rapid communication served as the breakthrough for economic development. When it comes to driving factors, humans played a very crucial role in the development of the telegram. Humans developed a need for more organizational capacities in the world of business. Humans also had to operate these telecommunication lines which led to a need profession of telegraph operators.
When it comes to the technical make of the telegram, an analog system would not have been ideal. An analog system relies on continuous signals which are susceptible to interferences, especially over long distances. A digital telegraph and the use of morse code provided a stable and reliable form of communication. The telegram started to come down from its peak as newer forms of communication were invented. As the telephone and fax machines began to become more popular, telegrams quickly became outdated and slow.
Today, humans can communicate almost instantaneously through devices they have in their pockets. Telegrams are a thing of the past, now only found in museums.