Means of Communication

When we express our thoughts to others by speaking or writing, then it is called Communication.  We can easily communicate with people who are near us but to communicate with people who are far away from us, we need some means of communication. These means of communication help us in sending and receiving messages. With modern means of communication, messages can travel quickly. Let us study about various means of communication. 

Postal Communication - The most common means for sending and receiving messages is through the post office. We can buy postcards, inland letters, stamped envelopes and postage stamps from a nearby post office and use them to communicate with others. We can also send money through money order. If we want to send an urgent message, we can send it through telegram. Gifts and articles can also be sent through postal parcel service. 

Telecommunication - Telephone is a very common means of communication nowadays. On a telephone, we can talk to a person living at any distant place of the world directly by using STD and ISD facilities. With mobile phones capturing the market in a big way, telephones are now becoming more popular. SMS (Short Messaging Service) is a faster and a popular way of communication.

A Fax Machine is used to send pictures or documents instantly to another fax machine through a telephone line. We place the documents in one fax machine and the exact copy of that is received by another person in another fax machine. 

Mass Media - Mass media such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television and cinema helps us to reach a large number of people at the same time. It can be of two types: 

Print Media— Newspapers, magazines and book are the printed means of mass communication. Newspapers and magazines carry news, views and information about events all over the world. Books provide more detailed information on any subject besides providing us entertainment. The newspapers, magazines and books together form a very powerful means of communication. 

Electronic Media - In a country like ours where the literacy rate is low, electronic media like radio and televisiom offer excellent means of mass communication. We can listen to the latest news, discussions, commentaries on sports, music through radio, and watch them on television. The difference between radio and television is that radio is just an audio means of communication while television transmits audio as well as visual signals. Cinema is another popular means of mass communication. It can be broadly classified into two categories— documentary movies that provide information, and feature films that are major source of entertainment.

Computers and Satellites - Computers are the latest means of communication. The Internet connects the computers in different parts of the world and makes it easy to communicate with each other through e-mail. An e-mail is much quicker and cheaper than a telephone call. 

Satellites are used for long-distance communication. Many television programmes can be relayed 'live' in different parts of the world through satellites. For example, we can sit at home and watch a football match or a cricket match that is being played anywhere in the world at that time.

Means of Communication

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