Communication Breakdown in this Digital Era
Information Technology enabled people to connect socially, even though they live thousands of miles away. We may never know the extent to which communication technology helped to avoid mental health issues caused by enforced isolation. There may be many advantages of communication and information technology but there is a dark side of this technology as well which isn’t even discussed or debated. Yet organizations must answer the big question that this dark side poses. The technological advancements are causing communication breakdown in our social circles.
Centuries ago, all communication was verbal and face-to-face. Then humans learned to write, and within just a few centuries we were able to send letters overseas and thousands of miles away. With luck, we would receive news within a couple of weeks. Today we talk instantly, in real time, via video calls.
Business has followed a similar path. First, we had memos, then came the telephone followed by faxes. By the end of 20th century emails began to be used as a tool of communication and now after 24 years this is quite common across the world including the Indian sub continent. Now the meetings are held through video conferencing and this became common after COVID 19 pandemic. The world of work has never had such ability to communicate internally and externally and we hardly meet physically now. Even the people living in the same city conduct meetings on zoom, google meet, skype and other platforms.
Human Relationships v/s Digital Technology
Digital technology is harming human relationships. The most important thing in all human relationships is conversation, but people don’t talk anymore, they don’t sit down to talk and listen. They go to the theatre, the cinema, watch television, read books and above all are busy on their cell phones but they almost never talk. If we want to change the world, we have to go back to a time when warriors would gather around a fire and tell stories, writes Paulo Coelho.
There is no doubt that cell phones and the internet have drastically changed our society as a whole. They affect the way we transact, nurture relationships, bond with our children and socialize with friends and family. For Gen Z, the ubiquitous nature of cell phones is a given. Our generation vividly remembers how different life was before technology took over and was widely available. Back in our college and university days (even when cell phones were available) our favorite mode of communication was “in person”. Fast forward a decade and everything seems to have changed. The late millennials and Gen Z have a stronger connection with technology than any previous generation. It makes sense that they would; they grew up alongside the internet and smartphones. Experts in all things digital, they do have an advantage when adopting and deploying the latest workplace technologies to drive results. But this affinity for technology ironically is the source of what many deem to be this generation’s greatest weakness: impaired communication skills.
Since all they are comfortable with is digital communication, especially Texting, they seem to be clueless when it comes to non-digital tete a tete. Oftentimes the interactions in person feel awkward and unnatural because they cannot maintain the flow of a real spontaneous conversation. Their conversations “flow” only when they are texting (only after having thought out what to write). This is probably because when most of our communications are virtual we get used to being in a constant state of control and lose our ability to be vulnerable. This communication pattern makes it hard to let our guard down during a conversation.
Story telling
Storytelling is one of the oldest and sacred concepts to communicate. The best storytellers have been the pastoralists across the world who would sit around fire during night time and a person among them would narrate a story and engage the audience. In our Kashmiri society especially in winters a storyteller (dastan gou) would narrate stories and entertain people especially in winter months. Unfortunately most of these stories have not been written or documented .
Conclusion
I recently went through a video wherein a school teacher from Birla Open Minds School Pamore was narrating a story about different weather patterns of Kashmir in chaste Kashmiri. The students sitting around the fire were listening very interestingly. If our schools take such initiatives I am sure we can take our children out of this virtual world and make them feel what the real world is all about. This needs travelling as well; a separate piece on that in the coming weeks. Communication and everything that it entails can improve with practice and real life experiences and connections. We as elders, teachers and parents must help this mute generation to unmute, communicate and engage with the real world that is outside WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat Instagram & other social media platforms.
Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat is an Acumen Fellow & Founder / Chairman J&K RTI Movement
Rehana Bhat is Senior Asst Prof English, Islamia College of Science & Commerce Srinagar