How we communicate nowadays is mind boggling. My daughter communicates with her friends through photo streaks. My son uses any and all forms of social media and usually includes memes with his messages, or in place of them. My wife is a Facebook fanatic. I tend to tweet.
If that last paragraph made no sense to you, don't worry - we use our phones to send text messages and check email, too. "Talk," you say? I guess. When all else fails.
Cell phones. The greek root word "phon" means "sound." Think telephone, saxophone, phonograph. "Phon" is a unit of measurement of the loudness of sound. Most audio on cell phones today is not from a caller on the other end of the line (wait, nix that - there is no line now), but instead is something recorded - video, streaming music, etc. I guess in this sense, the word "phone" might be appropriate. As far as communication goes, though, text, photo, and video outweigh the audio uses of our cell phones.
Think about how fast and significantly communication has changed. Letter writing is soon to join antiquated practices of sending telegraphs, posting on MySpace, and using proper grammar in text messages. How quickly we've gone from cave paintings and smoke signals to online help chats and video conferencing. #ThanksGutenburg #YouTooAGBell
While technology offers us immediate connection in high definition to practically anywhere around the globe and is improving and upgrading these possibilities at near lightspeed, is it all good? I'll let you ponder that question. I don't have time this summer to talk through the many facets of that debate. Suffice it to say that I am often a slave to technology and I don't mind. I actually love it most of the time. Still, do I treasure my disconnected moments? Do I notice a serious lack of face-to-face communication skills in the youth of today? Most definitely.
So, let's use our time this summer (or at least today) to go to an island and go back to an earlier time where communication was crude but effective. "Coconut Telegraph" is a song from Jimmy Buffett's 1981 album by the same name. The tune pays tribute to how island gossip travels by mouth, possibly referencing the mode of communication of a dedicated radio channel for boaters around the islands. The messages get noticeably quieter as the week progresses. On Tuesday, the jungle drums are alive with tales from the weekend parties, but by Thursday the lines go silent. Never fear, though, because Buffett reminds us that a new batch of visitors will be arriving on Friday and the ensuing parties will produce plenty of gossip-worthy news for the coconut telegraph. He also lets us know that there are very few, if any secrets too. Now that sounds familiar to the communication methods of today, huh? It's just that today, our coconut telegraph broadcasts communication across a slightly bigger island called Earth (and beyond).
If you're on your phone right now, dial up "Coconut Telegraph" then put the phone down and let yourself be transported to the islands. Consider it communicating with your inner beach bum or island dweller. You should really talk more often.
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| Image courtesy of Amazon.com |
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