Health communication: making the most of new media technologies--an international overview

Not since the hundred years following Gutenberg's invention of the printing press in c. 1450 has there been such a tidal wave of change in the way humans communicate. We are moving from the Age of Mass Communication into the Age of Interactive Communication, in which many of the old communication models will be insufficient or redundant. The rate of diffusion of these new media technologies almost defies comprehension. The convergence of computer, telecommunication, and televisual technologies is presenting the consumer with a myriad of choices. The challenge for the communicator is to find a way through this maze and to ensure that the message is received. For the health communication professional, the urgency of the message often adds further difficulty to the task. Differing rates of diffusion internationally and a confusion of technologies do not make the problem any easier.