Non-Communication

My personal observation is that the amount of information being exchanged and responded to is going down. Fewer messages left on telephone answering devices and on the Internet are answered. Why? It is obvious that too much is on the plate, there is what used to be called "information overload" in an extreme sense. Part of the problem is that information specialists and the like are trying to promulgate and then organize information rather than reining it in in terms of use & practicality. Wes Jackson, a savvy plant geneticist in Kansas has suggested that a basic human condition --"our basic ignorance," must be met, and that we adopt "an ignorance-based worldview" that could help us understand these limits. This is not to suggest that we revel in human stupidity, but that we have "an obligation to act as intelligently as possible, keeping in mind not only what we know but also how much we don't know."*

Multitasking is not something that everyone can do well, and its demands are undoubtedly taking a toll on the way many people do and do not communicate. Choices, it is instructive what people can and can't respond to. I know that many things that come through the e-mail simple have to be erased immediately, I haven't time to even give them a chance. There is a sense of frustration and anxiety in the way messaging is going on, somewhat like advertising and fund raising, politics via media. How many of these things would be useful if I had the time for them? The same thing goes for the telephone answering device, and cell phones have certainly accelerated the amount of traffic here. News reports of people having car accidents because they are trying to text message, talk on the phone and pay attention to e-mails while on the road have sky rocketed, now causing some legislatures to take action, and insurance companies to be concerned.


It seems inevitable that there will be "courses" offered by schools and various organizations to deal with these problems, probably already are. And there will be more sophisticated devices put in place to help people screen incoming calls and messages of all kinds. These probably already exist for those who desperately need them and can afford to have them in place. For now interpersonal communication is especially taking a beating at a time when it is needed the most. There must be more attention given to this problem, and fast; and Wes Jackson's advice would be well heeded in the mix.

* Paraphrased and quoted from Robert Jensen's "All My Bones Shake," page 51