Hey people!! This is my very first entry on this blog!! (: What better why to start than to talk about how communication has evolved from history till today!
Do you think that everyday, from the moment we open our eyes to the last person we wish "Goodnight", we are constantly in need for interpersonal communication?
As the comic strip above suggests (not limiting to long-distance communication only), even from the early times of cavemen and what-have-you, humans have been utilising whatever tools available to them to communicate ideas, theories or emotions to one another.
From the amount of tools available to us today for effective communication, i'm rather convinced humans cannot do without interpersonal communication. Simply because: No man is an island. We communicate because we need to survive on this place called earth.
People communicate for various reasons, of course. In earlier ages, tribal tongues, stone inscriptions and even tribal dance were all probably part of communicating a certain code of conduct being expected, ancient worship, and a way of living within the tribe/community. This of course developed further to the spoken and written languages that we use today, which has helped bridge the divide among groups and led the world to interact more closely and effectively with one another. The advent of techonology in communication tools only served to fuel the rapid fire in bringing people in closer contact with one another. Now we are no longer limited to our physical boundaries, but are able to interact and communicate (only with a split-second time lag) with people across the globe with the touch of a button.
Now, we would all think that since communication technology has advanced so successfully (and still is advancing at a rapid pace), people would spend less time and effort trying to communicate. But just look at the people of today! - Television, Internet Chatrooms and Forums, Blogs, MSN, YouTube, Facebook, Smartphones, SMS, Video Conferencing and the list is never-ending! It seems that people are trying all ways and means to be seen, to be heard, to constantly communicate at the first second thier ideas, opinions, or simply what they had for breakfast today.
How many of us feel comfortable in abandoning our handphones for just a day? Or how many are able to stay off the computer for a day or two? The most probable answer to either of the questions above is you can't! It seems that the need for communication in humans have spurred men to develop more effective means of communication, which again in turn has fuelled in us a more desperate want and need to interact with the world out there. Communication today has exceeded the basic needs of communicating for mere survival as compared to thousand of years ago; it has become a lifestyle to live up to, a way of life that has us constantly plugged in to the latest world news, our friend's birthday party, etc.
Our way of communication may have become less physical, but be it SMS-ing, video-conferencing, blogging or even a tribal dance, but it seems that humans now more than ever are hooked onto communicating with one another.
though this is your 1st post, i read it the last (because of the structure of the webpage) and i think compared to your 2 later posts, this post really lacks the direction of like what you wanna talk about. yes. communication, but i'm pretty lost skimming through the post haha!
ReplyDeleteon a brighter side, it actually shows that u've improved! haha!
i've improved with such a lousy post..you've gotta be kidding!
ReplyDeleteand yes...i know it lacks direction.
it's my virgin post after all! haha. but you still read this super long aimless post, so thanks!! (:
Interpersonal relationships. Life is all about relationships. Our relationship with our school friends, our relationship with our teachers, relationships with our family...etc. We have these relationships because of a need to be heard and be seen. These relationships are also a fulfillment of social roles in our society. No matter what, to maintain these relationships, communication is only necessary. It is only thanks to technology today that has made this communication more convenient as well as evolved communication itself today.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I would ever be able to do without my blackberry and facebook ever! However, I would think this is a result of advancement of technology rather than due to our need for communication more than ever today. hmm.
ReplyDeleteElaine: Agreed! What is life without relationships with others. Life would be quite meaningless. yea, maybe i failed to see that it is technology that has triggered our need to communicate even more with others around us. Morever, it only takes a click of a button from the comfort of our homes now!
ReplyDeleteAnnon: Yea i think you raised the same point as Elaine. anyway, i think technology has changed the whole definition of what communication is today. We rely alot more on technology to keep in touch with each other now compared to before. Technology probably has raised the awareness of the importance of communication.
argh. somehow i think this entry and the whole discussion has veered off course! seems like this is more of an argument on technology rather than communication. haha. anwhows, thanks for commenting ppl! :D
ReplyDeleteWhen you used the word 'hooked', I couldn't agree with you moar...
ReplyDeleteHumans have been addicted to communication since the beginning of time. If not, the average caveman wouldn't have painstakingly carved out pictures on cave walls to get their message across.
Iffy, isn't it?
haha what's with your lingo man. i don't quite get what's iffy. hmmmm....and what's with spelling "more" as "moar" too. hahaha!
ReplyDeleteanw, yea you're just like the caveman i guess. totally addicted!
true though..i can't imagine having to spend SOOO much time trying to carve my notes onto stone slabs or something (no liquid paper too!). how terrible.
The internet has indeed opened up a whole new world of communication and networking for all. Suddenly pple from all walks of life can have a voice that can be heard. They can even freely express themselves and hide their identity by giving psuedo names, etc. as they wish. Hence this technological wonder has helped improved our communication and expression of thoughts and ideas by leaps and bounds.
ReplyDeleteDad: yea. tht's what our teacher did mention in class! how the ability to hide behind the screen as "Annon" and create a false persona gives us the incentive to communicate with the rest of the world outside, not just to ppl we know. Yea and i agree being "Annon" helps us air our opinions more readily and aids in our communication. thanks dad! (:
ReplyDelete