 | Issue: | Global-ICT 2007 |
| Article no.: | 12 | |
| Topic: | Globally connected yet locally isolated | |
| Author: | William T Hayes | |
| Title: | President | |
| Organisation: | IEEE Broadcast Technology Society | |
| PDF size: | 192KB |
About author
William T Hayes is the President of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society. Mr Hayes is, as well, responsible for the planning and development of all technology projects for the Iowa Public Television (IPTV) network including RF transmission facilities, studio origination facilities and 750 interactive classroom facilities throughout the State of Iowa. Mr Hayes has worked in radio and television broadcasting since 1973 and has planned and constructed two start-up full power television stations. Mr Hayes is an author for TV Technology, a leading technical magazine. William T Hayes holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications.
Article abstract
We live increasingly in a virtual technology-mediated world where we are globally connected but locally isolated. People walk and talk with mobile devices oblivious to their surroundings and the handset’s screen becomes their view of the world. Many use technology as a buffer to avoid personal interaction and the consequences. On a larger scale though, technology gives everyone, everywhere, access to knowledge, a chance to study and understand their neighbours throughout the world and our social networking has become global.
Full Article
In 1989, astronomer Carl Sagan lamented: “We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.” At the time he was describing the technical illiteracy that he viewed as a recipe for disaster unless some significant changes were made to improve the general understanding and applications of technology. Close to 30 years later it doesn’t appear that a significant improvement in this situation has occurred and this dependence has increased. As a technologist working in the fields of information and communications technology I find this a disturbing situation, since daily dependence on things that are not understood is an invitation to catastrophe. I am not going to focus, though, on the need for better technical literacy, but rather on the need for individual management of personal information and communications technology. Nowhere is the increased individual dependence more apparent than in personal information technologies. Worldwide cellular and mobile technologies have made it possible for individuals to be globally connected. In my position I travel quite a bit and, thanks to my PDA and my wireless laptop, I am ‘virtually’ always in the office. The tremendous benefit of this technology is that I am able to respond to needs quickly. I am able to work dynamically, which in my case means when I am at my most creative – something that seldom occurs while I am sitting at my desk. I am able to communicate ideas and instructions to my staff whether I am there or not and whether they are there or not. In essence, I am not tethered and what could possibly be wrong with this? Well, my experience has been that it is possible to be globally connected and locally disconnected simultaneously. Let’s look at the concept of social networking. The word social relates to interaction between people, peoples, and communities. Networking is the practice of building and maintaining informal relationships, especially with people. If you think about it from the standpoint of computer networks, the social portion is the physical layer where the individuals interact with each other directly without the use of technology. ICT has added a new layer to the social network that allows the interaction without the direct connection and while this is certainly not new, the rapid growth and deployment of bi-directional wireless technologies has changed the dynamic of interaction and not always in a positive way. The technologies that are being deployed are neither good nor bad; they are merely tools to be used. Learning how and when to use the tools properly is important because there are often ramifications to their improper use. I am of the opinion that when I am face-to-face with someone, there is great significance to that interaction because it provides the truest view of the relationship. In theory, words convey only about ten per cent of the meaning in face-to-face communications. Body language accounts for about 50 per cent and the tone of the voice carries the remainder. Body language, facial expression, vocal inflection and tone are all part of the communications needed to give and get the truest representation possible. All of these factors confirm to and from the other person our level of interest and engagement. In essence we are communicating how important or not we believe the interaction, and possibly the person, is in our view. If the theory is accurate, in a conversation over a cell phone, 50 per cent of the meaning may or may not be accurately communicated and if the exchange is text-based, that number may rise to 90 per cent. Now notice, while I don’t say that the meaning will be lost, the accuracy will almost certainly suffer. In the case of the cellular conversation, both parties will continue to receive visual information but it may be completely unrelated to the message. Talking on the cell phone while driving is an easy example, where the local external condition such as being stuck in traffic can create an environment of stress that distorts the message being sent or received. The frustration with the external situation will come through in the tone of the voice and may easily imply an unintended message. The issue becomes even more complex and convoluted when the exchange is entirely text based and perhaps 90 per cent or more of the intended meaning is missing of uncorrelated. Most people have read more or less into a message than was intended, by incorrectly filling in the missing meaning based on their current situation and their mood. To further compound the difficulty, we are now seeing a push to increase the amount of information and content that is available to the consumer regardless of their location. Systems to access sophisticated information in real-time are being deployed worldwide so commuters can watch news and entertainment programming to fill the time that would otherwise be ‘wasted’ while sitting in traffic or riding the train from work to home. If only that were the case; in reality, we see people fully engaged with their mobile devices walking the streets oblivious to their local surrounding. It is almost as if the screen of that small hand-held device has become their view of the world around them. Many of us actually use technology as a way to avoid face-to-face interaction. Sometimes, it is easier to deliver the message remotely and be removed from the consequences. Sometimes, the person or persons don’t interact well and the technology provides a buffer or shield. Sometimes, it is just too much trouble or you are just too busy. I think everyone at some time has used the technology as a tool to either avoid or minimise the effects of personal communications. These situations remind me of what a friend of mine said about serving as sailor: “At some point in its life on a ship at sea, every tool becomes a hammer.” He was referring to the amount of corrosion that an ocean-going vessel accumulates and the need to constantly maintain and clean the ship. While dealing with this chore, he often found himself trying to break free a corroded fixture and having to use a wrench or a screwdriver to beat on something because he didn’t have a hammer. Likewise in communications, there are times when remote communications must be used when in reality face-to-face would be better. As I noted earlier, the science and technologies we are exploring are neither good nor evil, they are tools and it is up to the user to select the right tool for the job. In the beginning I quoted Carl Sagan and his concern regarding technical literacy; to that I would add that we should also be learning to manage our use of technology. It will be very sad if we find ourselves in electronic conversations with people across the globe and yet unable to communicate with people across a table. So, what impact has information and communications technology had on the world? The answers are endless and more are coming. On a large scale, the technologies have given access to knowledge to everyone, everywhere – which is a tremendous benefit. It allows people the opportunity to study and understand their neighbours next door and around the globe, as well. Through that study and understanding, common goals and interests can be identified and the social network becomes more global and perhaps the needs and good of all will take precedence over the wants and desires of the few. While this is certainly a noble ideal, it remains to be seen if the individuals utilising the technologies will ever look up from their screens and recognise that they must live, work and impact the physical world as well as the cyberspace layer.
