Do you text? You know texting, it’s that thing some people do constantly on cell phones even when they are face-to-face with someone or driving a car. My 20-something kids forced me into it by not answering the phone or returning emails. I’ve found it’s actually pretty handy for quick updates like “will call soon, trapped in an elevator right now” or “how’s the supply of vodka do we need more?” Despite how young people use it, it’s really not designed for long conversations although actual verbal conversation is considered passé these days anyway.
It took thousands of years for mankind to progress language from grunts and groans and cave paintings to a complex system of symbols written on every type of medium from paper to computer screens and now something called e-paper. English departments everywhere are concerned that our species is regressing back to caveman times, that new technology is reducing our communications to digital “grunts and groans” in 140-character chunks delivered by cell phone. It seems that complex language may be now reduced to abbreviations and smiley faces called emoticons.
Baby boomers have been bombarded with new communications technology since the late 1940’s and 1950’s. We were the first television generation, but many of us are just not willing to adapt to texting and eBook readers and iPads, even if we do think some of it may have a pretty good cool factor. We were taught that the “medium is the message,” but is it? Isn’t the message the message? The only way to sort that all out is to compare what was being said in caveman times versus today. Does the technology really matter? Despite the medium, has the message itself changed?
Caveman Og (using sign language to mate Oona): Og need food.
Oona’s reply: Og get own food, Oona busy fix hair.
Modern man John (texting to mate Carol): Need food.
Carol’s reply: Go to KFC, busy washing hair.
I’d say it’s fairly close. So to put it all in a larger context of new media, consider the following:
Over time the introduction of new media has always seemed daunting, from the first cave prints to the latest eBooks. Imagine Oona’s reaction when she came in the cave one day and Og was drawing pictures on the wall. She probably scolded him for making a mess then shook her head in disgust as she said “glum flug zim wa goga hattu.” Which translated loosely to, “I don’t like this new media, I still prefer telling stories by drawing in the dirt with a stick.” Yes, their sparse language was quite efficient actually.
So Og, frustrated and feeling misunderstood, heads over to Zula’s cave and paints an outline of his hand on her wall. Zula is impressed and says, “glis clum flug gogo bom clik clak clu glu.” Which again loosely translated meant, “Oh Og, that is outstanding. Now our creative expressions will be captured for eternity and not wiped out every time some glaglu (meaning lost) walks in the dirt by my cave.”
He looks at her, she looks at him. He smiles and asks, “boom boom?” She smiles back and heads for the back of the cave. “Boom boom yah yah” she replies. The exact meaning of that phrase has been lost but we believe it to mean something like, “come, let us celebrate the launch of a new medium with joyous song and share our happy feelings.” Og never saw Oona again. She took up with Zurg, who brought home lots of mammoth meat and never painted on her walls.
Fast forward several thousand years. John Ogden is at Fast Fred’s Electronics Store and in a 140-character, cryptic, abbreviated text tells his mate Carol Zulaski he thinks she is singularly beautiful, that she has made his life worth living and that he adores her so much he has just bought her a new iPad 32GB WIFI 3G. Loosely translated that means “boom boom?” Carol texts a reply, “Boom boom yah yah.”
Note: Recent analyst reports show that Apple sold an estimated 5.6 million iPads since it was released in June 2010, lifting the company’s stock price forecast to a record high. Amazon reported this past July that sales of eBooks were outpacing sales of hardcover print books by nearly 2 to 1, and predicted eBook sales could reach $2.5 billion in 2012. Thirty states have adopted laws banning texting while driving. A September 2010 report by the NHTSA shows there were nearly 5,500 traffic deaths caused by distracted driving in 2009, an increase of 6% from 2005.
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