My doom-and-gloom perspective on contemporary means of communication stems, at least in part, from the history minor in me. Just a few examples from history demonstrate well how our means of communication and our use of language shape us culturally—for good or bad. An early example of communication misused occurs in Genesis 11, where the “whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.” The people used their language to work together to build a tower whose top would reach to heaven so that they would not be scattered over the earth. And because that was not God’s plan for humanity, he addressed this misuse of communication to confuse the people’s tongues, so that they were forced to scatter over the earth. This misuse is corrected by God in Acts 2, where the people gather and hear the gospel proclaimed in their own languages. In this incident we see the greatest use of language—the proclamation of the good news of the gospel—and we see language being used for its highest purpose.
If we skip ahead a few centuries we see the abuse of communication again as the Roman church conducted religious instruction in Latin, so that there was no need or opportunity for most people to learn to read. Only the highly educated clergy had the opportunity to learn to read, and even when they did, the options of what to read were limited. And that is what is so amazing about the Reformation and the invention of the printing press. Now there were books to read, and the Reformers, starting with Luther, saw the need to translate the Scriptures into the common tongue. Once again, communication was used positively to shape culture, as there was now opportunity, incentive, and the ability to communicate more widely the truths of God’s Word. Theology, education, the sciences, politics—all were developed more fully because of the ability to communicate more deeply and more widely than ever before.
And now we have Facebook, texting, e-mail, Twitter—a whole new world of communicative tools that allow us to communicate more widely, but not more deeply. And so I wonder how this communication will shape us—is shaping us. The saddest thing I’ve recently heard is a situation where a young woman has moved away from home. There is a rift between her and her parents, who love her very much. A couple of weeks ago, she e-mailed them to tell them that she is pregnant. Her e-mail announcement to them was followed by a proud Facebook announcement to the world. The parents are devastated. The young woman should be.
I’ve read a couple of articles in the last week that are noteworthy. One is an article that looks at how teens are using Facebook and texting and how it is affecting their ability to think and learn. I’ve often wondered why people are so drawn in by Facebook, which seems to serve to let people know what near strangers ate for breakfast or what chores they've accomplished this morning. One teen in the article gave the most insightful answer to that question that I’ve read, explaining why he has a hard time getting his homework done: "I know I can read a book, but then I'm up and checking Facebook," he says, adding: "Facebook is amazing because it feels like you are doing something and you are not doing anything. It is the absence of doing something, but you feel gratified anyway." I don’t think there’s anything I could add to that. Read the rest of the article—especially if you have children—here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/technology/21brain.html
The second article (http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-gabler-zuckerberg-20101128,0,7889675.story) talks about communication in history, and contrasts the changes between the invention of Gutenberg (the printing press) and Zuckerberg (Facebook):
"Gutenberg's Revolution transformed the world by broadening it, by proliferating ideas. Zuckerberg's Revolution also may change consciousness, only this time by razing what Gutenberg had helped erect. The more we text and Twitter and 'friend,' abiding by the haiku-like demands of social networking, the less likely we are to have the habit of mind or the means of expressing ourselves in interesting and complex ways.
"That makes Zuckerberg the anti-Gutenberg. He has facilitated a typography in which complexity is all but impossible and meaninglessness reigns supreme. To the extent that ideas matter, we are no longer amusing ourselves to death. We are texting ourselves to death."
So what happens to a culture that misuses communication, that doesn’t even have the lofty goal of building a tower to heaven, that seeks only instant gratification? Perhaps a historical analysis of the culture of Rome can answer that.
