Media Evolution Emulation

The article researches the methods of media evolution emulation. The author believes that communication media undergo the same stages as any other technology which can be roughly described as emergence, development and disappearance and gives a thorough insight into the evolution of media (as exemplified by the Internet) as a natural life cycle. Here, two approaches - technological determinism and social constructivism - are merged into a sub-theory called media-constructivism stating that constant interplay of new and old media is the main factor determining the result and direction of a new medium’s evolution. This linear interpretation is opposed by a multilevel pattern taking into account economic, political, social, cultural and other factors. It is also pointed out that each medium does not evolve separately but in constant intercommunication.