Culture & Communication Essay

            The relevance of technology has grown throughout the ages and is now an inseparable part of society. As it evolves, so does surrounding culture and communication. What once started as an entrepreneurial idea has become the base of the lifestyles of many people. The public now has access to almost any information in a matter of seconds, can achieve an online diploma, and can communicate with each other through many methods such as pictures, social media, and texts. One can even live off the connections technology makes to the community. Advancements in technology create a world where about anything can be made easier, perhaps too easy. The uprising of a new era holds great developments for the future, but leaves behind in pile of rubble many values our evolving society may never again experience.

            Early technology thrust the world into a state rapid change to satisfy the urge to make a more efficient and better connected society. Before the 19^th century technology had little to no impact on the world’s communication. In fact, mass communication wasn’t even existent until Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. “The rotary press was just on tiny part of the great technological explosion known as the Industrial Revolution, which would irreversibly change Western culture and lifestyles” (Culture and Communication Part 1 25). This brought with it the first form of mass communication. Information could be sent out to numerous people. These messages were interpreted by civilians who could then respond the message by starting trends, contemplating a topic, or taking action to support or deny what they had read. People could now become part of a mass culture, however, some might call mass culture “conformity”. Mass culture would help to eventually break down the barriers between upper class and lower class citizens as a sense of community began to form. With a sense of community, empathy becomes more relevant as seen on Joe’s journey around the U.S.A. “It was truly inspiring, you know, just on humanity…to know that we can take care of each other” (Craigslist Joe). The evolution of technology had brought a new sense of community with it. Jeremy Rifkin argues that in order for the human race to come together as an extended family, we must learn to communicate better with each other in which technology can come in handy. “There was no such thing as Germany. There was no such thing as France. These are fictions. But they allow us to extend our family so that we can have loyalties and identities based on the new complex energy communication revolutions we have that annihilate time and space” (Rifkin The Empathic Civilization). Rifkin may be correct in this case. Identities like religions, sports teams, or nationality may help us become closer as a human race. As technology advances and becomes a part of popular culture, our society finds it easier to communicate, yet, ironically loses its sense of community which creates a pretentious culture.

Technology has many obvious effects on communication and lifestyle in modern society. At first glance, most of these effects seem beneficial to society, however, some technological advances have hindered the fluidity of our cultures connectedness. New technology such as online socializing, banking, education, interviews, and conferences are just a few ways technology makes life easier and perhaps saves time. The fact that we rely on such technologies makes us a self-centered, introspective, and perhaps less empathetic culture. Roman Krznaric explains the key to a revolutionary and successful society. “…empathy is the way to revolutionize our own philosophies of lives, to become more outrospective, and to create the revolution of human relationships that I think we so desperately need” (Krznaric The Power of Outrospection). Technology is a form of communication without human elements. Therefore, human confrontation in “real life” is almost alien to a judgmental culture. Users of technology don’t truly experience people's stories and gain perspective on others’ lives which creates a barrier between subcultures and cultures. Connections become severed from these limited forms of communication. Communication isn’t just limited by technology, but it is also limited by mass media. Mass media, some suggest, has too much power when the opinion of the people is at hand. “In mass communication, professional communicators use technological devices known as mass media to communicate over great distances to influence large audiences” (Culture and Communication Part 1 7). Mass communicators carry out a single message that is usually biased towards their opinion so the audience is more likely to be influenced by them. This is corruptive in a way because people that don’t see past this ruse fall into the lure of having an opinion they didn’t create. Mass media becomes part of our life by discussing popular culture, advertising, and discussing national and international problems. Our culture is so familiar with the mass media around them that they can easily filter out all the advertising put up. “For many years America has been exporting its popular culture, first as images in motion pictures, magazines, music, and television and finally commercial enterprises” (Culture and Communication Part 2 36). Our society has adapted to mass communication and can simply thrive off of it without realizing it. Technology and mass media have contorted the trustfulness and communication efficiency of modern society.

The new age of communication effects modern and future society which will always function differently because of its impact. Left behind are many human values which civilization may never see again. Some think they truly help the community through buying into consumer items that support charities and that creates a false sense of community and satisfaction because you know you helped someone. Even though it does help, there is much more that could be done. Slajov Zizek compares this to buying organic apples to prove his point. “I don’t think you believe…that they are really any better…We are cynics they’re sceptics but you know, it makes you feel warm…I’m doing something” (Zizec First as Tragedy, Then as Farce). Our society is slowly losing its sense of community as ethical duties seemingly become easier to “satisfy”. People who suffer who we think we are helping aren’t actually being helped permanently. Their suffering is only prolonged. The only feasible way to correct this problem would be to create a society where poverty is impossible. Many other changes should be made in modern society to further benefit future generations and quicken societal evolution. Sir Ken Robinson gives an example of an element of society that should be changed. “Schools are still pretty much organized on factory lines” (Robinson Changing Paradigms). Education pumps out kids in batches, treating them like a product. They are all taught the same methods instead of focusing on what each individual child needs to blossom intellectually time-wise and learning-wise. If this isn’t changed, future generations may lose the individuality and boldness to thrust into the next revolutions. In fact, much more is at stake. Even the uniqueness and power of individuals (such as artists) are slowly fading. Technology has made sharing personal information, art, or work extremely easy. Keen argues against the ease of sharing of art through the internet.   "Slap up their early stuff on Facebook. On YouTube. It would get lost. It would get lost in the ocean of garbage" (Keen PressPausePlay). So many people can share their information and art that it becomes lost. There is so much other information on the internet that the chances of your message being heard by the community is very slim. Many more components of traditional society fade as technology and communication methods evolve.

The path to a better community lies through keeping traditional values while letting technology advance. Technology will create a better connected society but empathy must be kept intact through human elements such as sense of community. Society must find a way to use technology and maintain outrospective properties without becoming self-centered. The human bond will be strengthened if all these goals are achieved. A utopic society will never be achieved if the natural human characteristics cannot be maintained as a result of communicative suppression, but future generations will thrive if our culture learns how to better connect itself.