Would you believe that it’s been over 20 years since AOL arrived? AOL was the first provider to bring the internet into the homes of most people. It was a big change in the way people communicated and interacted with others. AOL chat sites were quite popular and you may even remember wasting an hour or even half a day on online chat sites. While the younger generations may never know the frustrations of dial-up internet, they certainly know how accessible other people are when it comes to modern modes of communication.
The infographic titled The Evolution of Chatting provides information from the dawn of time about how humans continue to communicate in one way or another. The forms of communication include story telling, hand signals, grunts, and symbols have all been used to convey ideas and record information. Eventually, humans learned to refine speech and create languages. Following that, communication continued to evolve and technological modes of communication were invented. The invention of the telephone changed the world, but more and more demand for communicative technologies arose as political and economic systems of power came into the picture.
It wasn’t until 1792 that optical telegraphs were invented, revolutionizing the speed of communication. In 1876, the telephone made communication even faster, and 1976 brought us video conferencing. In 1983, the world was forever changed by the internet, and further still in 1994 when webcams became a thing. Shortly after, AOL started pushing the internet as a means to communicate and have fun, entering the homes of millions upon its arrival in 1997. Chat sites were immensely popular, and services like Chat Roulette started gaining popularity and remain popular to this day.
Online chat sites were utilized by 50.4% of American consumers in 2009. Live chats have forever changed how customer service works, and they are widely used to keep in touch with loved ones near and far. In 2012, this number jumped to 65% and continues to grow. Today, sites like Streamberry and Chat Random have refined online chat sites to include more features and better connections. No matter how you choose to chat, one thing is clear, online chatting is the communication style of now and the future.
