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| http://textually.org/textually/archives/2006/06/012721.htm |
Developments in communication
technology such as mobile smart phones, the Internet, projectors, digital
displays and computing devices have helped create communication platforms,
channels and methods by which to reach larger audiences.
Communication
technology is advancing so rapidly that what was once deemed possible only in
the realm of science fiction and comic books - just a few decades earlier - is
now a reality manifested in the form of 3D projection technology, augmented
realities, advanced applications of touch screen technology and, even more
astonishingly, thought controlled and brain computer interfaces. Common to all these
communication technologies are elements of brevity, speed, ease and immediacy.
A well-used
adage in psychology states that the best predictor of future behaviour is
present and past behaviour. If we apply such reasoning to communication technology
and its use of pictures, memes, pins, captions, video clips, graphics, and
photos then we may conclude that it is highly likely that communication
technology in the future will continue to advance to the point where a new
global digital literacy will evolve. The digital literacy will carry breadth
and depth of meaning, references, connotations, relevance and application in
easily recognisable formats (perhaps something akin to hieroglyphics or
characters). The literacy will be presented in readily transferable formats
allowing for instant recognition, comprehension, replication, disposal or
transference across the globe. The recognisable formats will be such that they
will cross all cultural, physical and language boundaries thus enhancing
communication on a global level.
The
global digital literacy would not only lend itself to visual applications but
also to thought and brain applications where verbosity and lack of clarity may
prove to be counterproductive. This is not to say that words and language
structures as we know them today will change beyond recognition but that a new
literacy will overlay existing literacies that may in turn undergo modification
into new formats so as to allow even greater accommodation of the demands of
future communication technologies. Apart from commercial considerations and the
like, there are obvious social benefits to be gained from a global digital
literacy. However, I must add a word of caution, (no pun intended). It is
important to remember that as such communication increases on one level, so
too, on another level, may the degree of alienation and isolation.
Last
semester I witnessed a cafeteria full of students, most of whom were engaged
with a digital device of some kind. Students without a device were staring into
space reluctant to impose on those engrossed by their devices. The odd thing
about the scene was the silence and stillness. Nobody spoke, nobody moved, no
body made eye contact. I likened the scene to that of a funeral. The quiet and
stillness was reminiscent of the gloom that engulfs us when somebody or
something has died.............
That photo? The caption reads, 'By
wearing the mobile phone scarf,
you can venture into public spaces confident that if the need to compose a
private text message were to arise the object could be pulled over the face to
create an isolated environment.'
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