In my lifetime the emergence of the internet has had the single greatest impact on the world. With technology advancing at a historically fast rate, humans are challenged to adapt or be left out of the conversation…literally.
The focus of this post will be on the evolution of personal communication between individuals and its negative implications in the future. To begin, let’s rewind and explore how personal communication has changed over the ages. Let’s start back to in communication dark ages when the primary form of communication (aside from conversation) was letters. Yes, I’m talking about a time when the written word was captured on coffee hued paper and ultimately enclosed in an envelope where it would arrive at its destination days, weeks, or sometimes even months later.
The letter reigned as the primary form of personal communication for many years but there were some limiting realities to the medium. The most notable limitation came in the delay between letters. Due to the time delay in letter exchanges between individuals, the communication contained in letters had to be comprehensive, articulate, and coherent. This can be epitomized in courtship between couples. The success of the courtship was often exclusively dependent on the ability to effectively communicate ones love in a text of the letter. Relationships were often built in sustained through this medium. The obvious advantage played to those who possessed a talent with the pen, and we can assume that letters were packed with expressive language that was lengthy and explicit. Emotion manifested in candor and clearly communicated thoughts/ideas.
Onward to the debut of the telephone. The written word is replaced with the verbal. Feedback jumps light years from days to seconds. Sentences are constructed almost instantaneously and are more often the result of an emotional reaction rather than thoughtful deliberation. Welcome to the scene – verbal nuance. Sarcasm, humor, sadness, happiness and a slew of emotions that can be detected through tone, pitch, silence, volume, etc. Letters fade into an outdated mode of communication- why would I write a letter when I can make a call and instantly communicate with someone? Speed and convenience wins the day.
However, there is one nagging limitation to the telephone: access. Initially, phone conversations could only occur if both parties have access to a telephone (Operator…?). Then when the phone became a standard household item, the limitation became proximity to a telephone line. The was erased with the development of the cell phone, but people still battle with erratic phone service and appropriate moments to take/make a phone call (the most limiting aspect of personal communication with the cell phone).
And now we arrive at the modern day and the use of texting. The greatest limitation of the telephone is minimized to a certain degree. Users may always send a text to someone (there is not “appropriate” time to text someone) and, most importantly, it’s easy. You don’t have to come up with reciprocating conversation to keep a discussion alive.
Sadly, the articulation of the letter and the emotional element of the phone conversation are lost. The advantage that has drawn the kids to this medium of communication is the level of control involved and the appeal of the short, focused messages. Due to a limit (or some might say a welcome advantage) in overall amount of letters (or “characters” as in what they are now referred to) in each message, the themes within each text are usually singularly focused. Brief, terse thoughts that are rife with poor grammar, foreign acronyms, and illogical contractions dominate the common text message.
Almost worse than the death of articulate language and quick, creative thought is the disappearance of pathos within the personal communication. Texters must rely on the use of emoticons, ellipsis, the exclamation point, and other creative grammatical machinations to convey emotion that is sometimes misunderstood by the recipient.
The point. I am a believer in the power of the written and spoken word. The threatening downfall of each of these mediums will serve future generations negatively. The eloquence of our ancestors is morphing into a message that is confined to 140 characters and unrestricted grammar. I think that success in the information age will depend largely on the ability to synthesize information and articulate it clearly and effectively. The growing popularity and the inherent laziness of the text as the sole form of communication between individuals is cultivating a generation of individuals that communicate in short, simple, and uninspired dialogue.
Communication is what ties humans together. I am a frequent texter and believe it serves a very useful purpose in modern day personal communication. But I do not believe it should totally eclipse the use of complex and emotional communication seen in letters and conversations. Like anything, effective communication can only be reached through practice (hence an impetus to this blog), and I will not only practice it myself but I will encourage it among others.
Because at the end of the day- who doesn’t love getting a letter in the mail?
Powerful message. It has sparked conversation for our trip from SA to Drip, proving your blog's impact and successful purpose.
ReplyDeleteT
no matter how i've thought of this, it seems to high light the socioeconomic issues of ability to communicate. that probably didn't change from the origin of written language around 2500bc thru the middle ages past the enlightenment. those with power and money learned to write/read or hire those who did. agricultural,industrial,manual laborers and slaves weren't educated until until 18-19th centuries. it was slowed by industrial owners fearing loss of child labor after industrial revolution. belles lettres and scholarly writing reserved for those who could afford longer ed. this would be the type of writing you are referring to vs practical minimal exchange of data
ReplyDeleteit might have been post civil rights, ie my beaumont hs was integrate in the '70s, for most people to have opportunity to read/write well if they had that potential.
a value of texting is that most people under 30 are expected to use it. it is a pan social class issue for the written word to have value. i think the same people who wrote well using abstract ideas, grammar,common spelling remain a small subset of people who are well educated and seek careers requiring high caliber writing and reading which remains a very small group of jobs in the entire class of jobs. those who do it for themselves could easily be similar to those wrote well in the renaissance. texting hasn't improved writing but has marked a move toward making written communication universal .
excellent writing remains rare. congratulations aon being motivated to work toward it.............tom