Direct = Dignity

Many people agree that this new generation has its drawbacks. Now of course, which one doesn't? Yet people say that because of this new age of technology, we're becoming less and less 'human' every day.

First of all, what do they mean? Well I've heard a variety of theories, but I think that among all of the topics of interpretation, the biggest are the arrival of the internet and the ability to communicate with cell phones.

The internet: full of promise, prosperity, new means of expressing oneself, and also the biggest nightmare in some respects as well. The internet has a massive variety of benefits at you fingertips, no doubt, such as online encyclopedias or search engines. But, even search engines can ensure trouble. After all, there's a bad apple in every bunch.

Now more than ever can people exploit a unique kind of freedom that has never been available in previous history. People can be as mean as they want to others with chat rooms and online gaming, for example. New arrivals like Facebook and MySpace give people the choice to be as honest as they want about themselves, or completely lie. So as we continue to rely more and more heavily upon the internet to socialize, there really can't be any honesty; is your friend really telling you the truth? Is that other person in their class really a dweeb? Is that really your friend talking? Is there really any reason for him/her to tell you these things that he/she would otherwise never tell you, other than the obvious reason of making things up for attention? Is an online predator reading this same thing right now?

The internet is younger than all of us, yet it's already a veteran of promoting a strange kind of communication that leaves an ugly taste of suspicion always lurking in the background. Is there such thing as honesty? Parranoia? Humanity?

Part of being human is putting yourself out there and taking risks, especially in the social world. Do the words you read on the screen ever really reflect this person's true personality? Or did they have all the time they needed to word it "just right"? Are you thinking of me when you read this? For all you know, I could believe that the internet is the sole greatest thing in the world, but you don't.

In my opinion, the only way to truly know a person is to see them with your eyes and talk to them with you mouth. After all, that's why they're there right? Where's the fun in being social when you can't even guarantee it's even them you're talking to?! Imagine playing a game of Simon Says in a chat room. "Touch your toes!" And then, everyone says, "Nice try, but you didn't say 'Simon says'!" Simple words cannot be trusted. Speech is concrete.

Next, the cellular phone: another fabulous invention that's changed our culture forever. Now, cell phones have been around since the 1980s, but since then, there have been some dramatic changes to how our society works. It's no longer, "Hey! How are you? It's been so long! How've you been? What's new?" on every Christmas. Since the option of talking virtually nonstop has become exploitable, cellular companies have made a fortune, and it's not because of emergencies either (or at least real ones). Only a handfull of people actually use cell phones strictly for emergency calls, and the rest simply don't. Honestly, considering how many different people you call, would you really have time for all of them if you weren't calling, but talking in person?

The cell phone, much like it's computer counterpart, has also diminished what it truly means to be social. If it's not direct, it's not sincere. Simple as that. Have you ever seen a text message that uses complete sentences? Would you ever speak to someone in the same syntax?

The whole sense of vague and dishonest that these means of communicating have created is making communication between people all that much worse, believe it or not. There's no guarantee of honesty. There's no emotion in just words. There's no skill or intimidation involved in asking a cute girl out, or telling your friends how your day was. It's bland. It's colorless. It's the easy way out, which seems to be a common trend when people are given the appropriate choice. So if you want to really see someone for who they really are, don't trust their word, because for all you know...exactly, you don't.

-Will Duffield