Modes of communication have become far more fragmented, beyond just speaking, writing, physical gestures and sending smoke signals.
Today, modes of communication have become far more fragmented, beyond just speaking, writing, physical gestures and sending smoke signals. As human beings evolve, our methods of doing things become more and more sophisticated.
Human interaction requires communication in one way or the other. Even before our methods evolved into oral and written forms of communication over 30,000 years ago, we made great effort to send and interpret gestures in order to convey messages across to each other.
These may have been signs and sounds, but somehow, we managed to get by and form interest groups, communities, countries and so on, based on our location and also the extent to which we were able to express ourselves.
So communication is essential in the grand scheme of things as far as the general development of the world is concerned; but is also important for our interpersonal relationships as it allows us to decipher characters, build trust, express interests and manage preferences.
Today, modes of communication have become far more fragmented, beyond just speaking, writing, physical gestures and sending smoke signals. As human beings evolve, our methods of doing things become more and more sophisticated.
Technology fueled conversations
So these days we have technology, which is gradually becoming critical in nearly every aspect of our lives. We now have cars that can drive themselves and robots that can exhibit human behaviour becoming part of our reality (beyond the fiction that we’ve see in numerous movies and television shows).
Now, the influence of technology has made available to us an instant means of communication, through telephones, the Internet, social media and many other advanced platforms. While this might be great for efficiency in sending messages to each other and getting things done in the fast paced global environment, the practice of using these as the primary mode of communication has made us even more “microwave in nature”.
Instant communication
We want things done “now”, without thinking about the amount of time and work it takes; we express our immediate thoughts, without actually giving much thought to the words that come out of our mouths or the text we type in our social media handles.
This concept I would like to call “instant communication”, which is gradually becoming the primary mode of interaction has seen many relationships fail and has caused instability in the global space, using the example of the current President of the United States, Donald Trump, whose Twitter account has been used to convey information that has led to some havoc and controversy.
The mere fact that these media allow for information to be shared without much verification (fact-checking) or thought puts us at risk of diminishing or even completely losing our credibility.
The interesting thing is that despite the use of these advanced technological methods for communication, when information is misconstrued, we still have to revert to the traditional method of speaking in person to defend the information we send via those methods; a good example is the continuous questioning of the United States Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and her defence of each of the President’s 140-character tweets during White House press briefings.
This is an example of what we are currently witnessing on the global scale when it comes to communication. But this concept of expression without much thought is something that we go through everyday in our personal relationships. Yes, technology may have the influence of speeding up the messages we send. But are we also fast-tracking our thought processes?
Passing the message in person
Even in our face-to-face conversations these days, we tend to remove our filters and say the first things at the top of our heads instantly. Has the world become so far ahead of us that we are trying to catch up with our thought process as a result of the fear of being left behind or appearing to be slow in thought or not sufficiently assertive in our speech and actions?
Many conversations these days, written, oral and online seem to be more abrasive and lacking of sentiment or consideration for our characters. Could this be why psychologists are beginning to observe certain gaps in this area, and writing and talking more about emotional intelligence? It is becoming increasingly clear that we might need to take a step back and start to practice the act of thinking before we speak or write once again.
This is not to say that we should lie to each other because of the fear of saying things that may hurt the other person. But we should learn to convey our messages with more tact and care so as to reduce the perception of bias or lack of clarity. This is also not to say that we should go way back to the archaic methods of handwritten letters, but we could should adopt the process of proof-reading and taking a second thought over the effect of the message that we are attempting to pass across to its recipient(s).
Communication may have very much evolved today, but some of the fundamental aspects from the very beginning of time, such as the amount of thought and effort required still hold true. Let’s continue to hold on to these so that we do not get too far ahead of ourselves all in the name of efficiency in the modern age.
Written by Oyin Egbeyemi.
Oyin Egbeyemi is an engineer-turned-consultant-turned-educationist, runner and writer.