Communication – Reflection
I chose “communication” as the element that I have observed as being most evolved. I have seen that just in the past two years the interaction between nations (not just cities or states or neighborhoods, etc.) has grown exponentially with the onset of social media such as Skype (my personal favorite), FaceBook, Twitter, Tweet, and blogs of all sorts. These online tools are portals to the lives of millions of people.
One of my teachers uses SKYPE to interact with her daughter in Iran. Her daughter carries her lap top around her surroundings and shows her mother what the environment is like. My teacher friend uses her experiences for geographical lessons in her class of special ed. (prisoner) students.
A friend of mine uses FaceBook and SKYPE to interact with her daughter in Italy. She gets to see her grandchildren growing up. I myself am embarking on a Skype group “hug” today, when my sisters and cousins in Milwaukee are gathering for a reunion. They are bringing my mom (who is 88) to see me online – we haven’t seen each other since my father’s death two years ago. I realize that this is all very emotionally charged…yet the world has become much smaller for many of us, because of the development of social electronic communication.
Satellites have been developed for this very thing. It may be a by-product of society to include education, business and government in the mix – but when it all comes out, we are social beings. It may not be in my lifetime (or my childrens’ lifetimes, or even my grandchildrens’ lifetimes) but there is probably a door in communication that is about to be opened to extra-terrestrial beings (no, not ET). We are probably on a very important wave of future communications. It is (and should be) a very exciting time.
My sister also uses Skype and Facebook to communicate with her son in Afghanistan. This innovation has also allowed him to see his son. One of the best outcome these innovations have created is the ability to keep family closer no matter the distance.
ReplyDeleteIn a recent discussion with a few ladies during a church function,one person was afraid that her daughter would lose social skills needed to be successful. She was worried that she would not be able to carry on a face-to-face discussion or have a meaningful relationship because she is not getting the social interaction of the past. As I listened to her, I wondered if the consequences of these magnificent innovations would impact our young people in a negative way. What do you think? What do you believe I should tell her?
Wanda
Wanda: To the contrary, I believe that the innovations have been instrumental in improving social skills (although some of our English grammar has been impaired for serious writing skills - which might be a valid negative worry) in that there is a certain protocol in each of these sites that keep new users from "going amuck" :) Sometimes people are too shy, or do not want to be seen for various reasons (vanity tends to make people self conscious in a video or photograph type of feed). There is always a down side to innovation - and adopters tend to be wary of sudden hyped inventions. I believe that you should tell your friend that any established social internet format (facebook, blogspot, wiki, skype etc.) would be safer than a recent beta version of these entities. Thanks Wanda...this was thought provoking! :)
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