Talking through Screens

Information transfer is a funny, funny thing—especially when you are witnessing it through the eyes of a different culture.  In the United States today, the vast majority of people, with only the major exception being the oldest generations, are “screen literate.”  They use the internet to pay bills, find restaurants, communicate with people worldwide, watch television, and so much more.  They have phones that they take with them everywhere so that they can communicate through text messages.  Many even have smart phones that allow them to further indulge not just their capacity for, but their need for, on screen communication. 

Here in Argentina (yes, I finally made it!), the transition hasn’t yet been taken quite as far.  The younger generations all use computers with email and facebook, but they aren’t as dependent on them as those of us from the States.  While we, the students from Clemson, frantically use our computers during lunch, the Argentine students are content to simply eat and enjoy the company of those around them.  Also, BlackBerry’s (how I miss mine!) and iPhones are available, but aren’t used except by people in the business world.  It is very unlike the states where all of my friends return my email within 30 seconds of their reading it through their phone. 

There are many reasons that the transition is not as extreme here.  The main reason, of course, is money.  Argentina isn’t a struggling nation compared to many, but it definitely does not have the affluence of the United States.  (Just to give you an example, most houses don’t have air conditioning or heat or wireless internet—because all of those things are on the same comfort level for me!)  Because of this, technologies that lead to the transition in communication styles are slower to catch on.

The more I think about it, the more torn I am on my feelings regarding this transition.  One the one hand, I am part of the driving force of the transition.  I live my life with computer, television, iPod, and BlackBerry screens.  One the other hand, however, I am again experiencing the value of living in a culture that has not fully entrenched themselves in the movement toward a screen culture, that is, as a result, at a much faster, connected pace.  While my extreme type-a personality is sometimes crying inside with frustration, part of me enjoys taking the time to physically and verbally great every single person in a group when leaving or arriving. 

I wish that there was an easy way to find harmony between the communication cultures of the past, but I don’t know that there is.  We have already lost much of the verbal culture and soon will have also begun to forget about the special, important aspects of the written communication culture of the near past.  Where are we going with all of this?  Will we become so caught up in ways to virtually communicate that we won’t take the time to talk face to face?  Will the cycle be cyclical and lead us back to a culture based on verbal communication?  I guess, as always, time will truly tell.


**The internet connection I am currently using is taking forever to upload pictures, so when I find a better connection (there should be one in my house next week!) there will actually be pictures in my blogs!!**