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Human Communication

We, as a species, are a very social, and anti-social at times, people. From our earliest stages of development, humans have found ways in which we can communicate with one another, and it shapes how we interact among ourselves. It is a reflection of our thoughts and emotions just as much as it is a medium for transferring information.

Now a days, after thousands of years of development, we live in an age in which communicating with others is extremely simple and available. Social media and digital technology has changed that so much. You can talk with a person at the push of a few buttons, in a written text, a phone call, a tweet, a meme, whatever, it is likely that no matter what, you should be able to get a hold of someone.

Of course there are certain affordances and limitations that come with this kind of technology, but there always will be. Think of a smart phone. It ‘allows’ for touching and typing, visual and audio stimulation, and most also include touch screens, meaning interactivity is enhanced a thousandfold. Granted you would also need an Internet connection, but nothings perfect. Yet with it, you have access to nearly all the data available in the world, in the palm of your hand. Organization and data sharing has never been easier, and there is little to no effort involved beyond typing on a few words or commands.

Newer generations seem to be born with a digital touch, and us millennials have more or less been the guinea pigs, but it is more of a struggle for older generations. Some might catch on rather quickly yet some have more difficulty with it, more or less used to the way things were for them growing up most of their lives, and that seems foreign to us. It is a concept known as the Alien Past. Susan Strasser wrote an article about it in the Journal of Consumer Policy, describing how as the generations continue, the past seems more and more foreign to us, as those who lived then wold find the past or future equally foreign. We’ve all heard the complaints that today's generations are more anti-social, they don’t know how to interact in public, or how to talk to others, etc, etc, and while these arguments are not without merit, they do seem a bit too exaggerated. Although perhaps our generations could spend less time looking at this...

and more time reading a book or two.

Although the older generations can’t truly call us out on being anti-social...

The ever growing tech industry has also provided us with new ways of educating people about media. There are the traditional ways of course but there are other means of teaching, such as combining traditional teaching styles and incorporating more informal settings, to learn about this new media as many younger generations do, described as learning transmedia literacy skills.

Looking back on how we communicate with each other, how these techniques adapt to time and change, what is developed through local cultures, allows us to understand each other more, and allows us to embrace who we are. It will never stop no matter the future. Although, perhaps we should avoid communicating solely in memes, the world would only be filled with sarcasm and opinions. Oh wait...