When stand-up comedy first began, the jokes or skits made were unlike the jokes nowadays. Today, comedians use an observational/monologue approach to their performances where comedians in the 19th and 20th centuries used props and skits. This is due to a new age of comedy that involves memes, different societal issues, race, and politics. While these ideas of stand-up comedy were changing so was technology. Technology has made stand-up easily accessible through various venues of social media like Twitter, YouTube, Netflix, etc. There are positives and negatives to the implementation of technology. Comedians who are well known can gain popularity and revenue through these sites and apps, but aspiring comedians, who aren’t well-known, are hindered to gaining exposure. Also, since stand-up is a bigger industry than it was, there are more people trying to become comedians, which makes it just as hard to become a notorious stand-up comedian. In the 19th and 20th century, the number of comedians in the world were low compared to now, so comedians could afford to not have technology to use in their toolkit. The way of life was also very different then than it is now. People were used to going into town to get to something they instead of having what they need at their fingertips via a phone or computer which benefited comedians.

   Social media has played a big role for comedians. When they keep up with things going on in social media, they have an advantage… they can use the things they see on social media in their performances and people can relate.

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   With the evolution of technology in stand-up comedy, new and different venues of comedy have sprouted. There are TV shows, movies, and short films that we have access to with the click of a button. This has affected stand-up comedy in a negative way. Comedy was more stand-up oriented in the 20th century, and comedians would perform acts for a live audience which isn't the case for most performances now. Comedians didn't have to worry about a TV show or movie over-ruling their career as much because people didn't have access to movies or shows. As TV shows and movies became more popular, people migrated from going to watch a stand-up comedy performance to staying at home or going to a movie theater to get their entertainment. Although this is true, it was easier for comedians during the 1900s to gain popularity through performances even though movies and TV shows were on the rise. Once smart phones and computers were invented, the difficulty for aspiring comedians to get noticed increased dramatically. The popular comedians of the industry during this innovation period hopped on the trend and this gave them a big advantage of their future in the industry. This gave unpopular comedians a disadvantage because they didn't have enough connections or money to allow them to go digital. 

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   A lot of people focus on politics now unlike people in the 1900s. Many industries have adjusted to the acknowledgement that politics play a big role in the way things are run. Stand-up comedy is one of these industries. People have different perspectives on what's funny or not, and people also have different perspectives on politics. Comedy and politics are similar in this way and comedians recognize this. Recently, stand-up comedy has and will continue to shift from monologues and stories to political jokes. This change was created by people on social media who voice their opinion on what's going on in the political world. When they give their opinions, they sometimes use jokes in their post to show their views on the situation. As a result of people voicing their opinions about politics, comedians have shifted to use a political front in their performances to make it easier for others to relate. With the amount of fake news in social media, some stand-up comedy venues have benefited like Saturday Night Live. The way they use stand-up comedy is more of the traditional way in that skits are created and actors are used to portray a certain incident about a political employee and even the president. 

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