The documentary Digital Nation displays how the citizens of the world are constantly in contact with other people (Digital Nation). A person can use his cell phone to get in contact with virtually whomever he desires. Simply pressing a few buttons allows a person to get in contact with another person in a variety of different ways. However, it wasn’t that long ago when the only instant form of communication was face-to-face. This lead to people having a limited, bounded number of people that they knew, and could communicate with. It’s amazing to reflect on the fact that this was only about a hundred years ago. At the turn of the 20th century there was significantly less information and ideas in the world; there were less people to share ideas with, and less people to form relationships with. People living in 21st century; however, can have relationships and can communicate with as many people as they desire.
In addition to the idea that people in the 21st century are constantly in contact with one another, the documentary Digital Nation describes a growing trend of a generation of people who frequently multitask. There is a increasing tendency for people to lead a rushed, hurried life where they believe the only way to accomplish all they need to do is to multitask. People have the ability to email, surf the internet, instant message, text message, and carry on a phone conversation all at the same time. There is a growing trend for humans to feel as though they are always connected and so many electronic devices and people to keep up with provides added pressure to multitask. Multitasking seems as though it is beneficial; however, Digital Nation presents a stunningly profound argument backed up with scientific research about that those who multitask. Although those who multitask generally believe that they are accomplishing more while multitasking, they are actually consistently having slowed reaction times and are accomplishing less (Digital Nation).
What are the consequences of such a digital nation where immediate human contact is taken for granted? The outcome is that people are losing their communication skills. Face-to-face communication is essential in developing communication skills and is more effective. Without it, people rely fully on words. Electronic communication provides only one source of eliciting what the person you are communicating with is feeling- words. Face-to-face communication allows body language, inflections of the voice, the person’s appearance, and the person's personality to be observed. Yes, there are benefits to communicating electronically, for instance if the person you need to communicate with lives 7,000 miles away, but one should not fully rely on electronic communication. I know that I don’t want to live in a world where emoticons replace facial expressions, exclamation points replace gestures, and typing on a keypad replaces the words coming out of my mouth. In-person communication may seem outdated to the new generation of electronic communicators, but it should not be lost due to technological advancements, and the convenience factor.
Digital Nation. Dir. Rachel Dretzin. Perf. Douglas Rushkoff. Frontline, 2010. Documentary.
You make an interesting point regarding modern communication. I kind of have mixed feelings on the matter. I really appreciate having instant communication with almost anyone, but sometimes the quality of communication is cheapened.
ReplyDeleteHow valuable is face-to-face communication! I value that above all else. I find that if I do not see a person on a daily basis, then I do not keep in touch with them as well. Many of my friends I had in high school I do not talk to anymore simply because I find it important to spend time with the people around me. However, when I get to see my good friends from high school, we are still best of buddies. For me at least, I find that face-to-face communication is the most important and most meaningful type of communication.
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