Computers and the Internet have revolutionized the way people go about their daily business. More information is available at faster speeds than ever before.
However, there is much debate as to whether the Internet had a bigger impact than another device that was invented centuries earlier when a 30 year old German native began experimenting with the art of metal typography. The inventor was Johannes Gutenberg and his printing press, like the Internet, immediately affected people’s daily lives.
So which invention had the greater affect on the society of its time?
First we must look into their similarities, of which there are many.
The major similarity is that both inventions directly led to a plethora of changes, especially in the fields of communication and literacy. As a result of the printing press, thoughts, novels and whole texts could be mass produced in a much shorter duration of time compared to the popular wood-block printing method of the time. Similarly, the Internet provides all of its users with access to millions of websites, each of which has content and opinions waiting to be read.
In both circumstances, these inventions brought about major cultural revolutions that were spearheaded by a greater access to knowledge.
While it is undeniable that the Internet and the printing press have helped reshape human society, there is one fact that separates the two inventions and makes one stand out above the other. This distinction is the magnitude and the scope of the inventions.
The information and knowledge that was disseminated by the printing press was available to only a small fraction of the world’s population in the 1450s. In the 15th century, a person in London had no way of getting his ideas heard by people in Beijing. However in the 21st century, virtually anyone who has access to a computer can register for a free blog and share his ideas with the entire world.
Due to this broad scope, it can be determined that the Internet has had a more profound effect on the societies of its time than that of the printing press.