A Sentence Reduction

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Society and daily life has been reduced to snapshots of moments, but in that reduction it has not simplified rather then complicated itself using less words. When we look at twitter, even commenting on Facebook, it seems that the length in which we express ourself through these vast media platforms is in a very reduced fashion, odd enough we seem to need much more devices and technology to do so. Let it be on your smart phone, iPad, laptop, or desktop, as individuals starving for a Wifi connection to communicate with the world, and still sometimes we have so little or so vague things to say.

Even todays slang in among youngsters consist in abbreviations. OMG (oh my god), WTF ( what the fuck?) K (ok) OMW ( on my way) are some examples. Curios enough we could discuss, is this a new form of subcultural language we are developing or is it a direct affect on our society behavouiral instincts, believing perhaps, that we actually have no time to type (or say out loud) these everyday phrases. Is technology reinforcing and bettering communication providing us with every mean possible to, or is it the construction of these system actually made us into more social inadequate beings.

Last week was my birthday, among the traditional birthday calls and good wishes something very odd happened, i received an email from my grandparents congratulating me. Putting the story into context you should know that my parents are 78-82, my grandmother learned 3 years ago how to use a computer by having a tutor go to her home twice a week. This is the first year they did not call, rather decided to send and email. The email itself was full of good wishes. But this makes you wonder, in one sense i believe they decided upon this media in my behalf, its the "new" young way of communication, perhaps they thought it was normal or more to my day to day. In my side of the spectrum i thought it was impersonal for my grandparents to do so, perhaps exactly for that, the day to day use i give to emails, mustly work related. This makes us wonder about the miscommunication in-between years difference, and what is todays protocol, what is to be valued and what is to be frown upon?

Technology has made us to the point, brief, but impersonal, but besides perhaps twitter which whole concept is to in fact be brief and concise. Almost all other platforms are made for our free use of space, and words and images. Think if your gmail account alone, it lets you hold up GB and GB of information, to the point where you almost feel you will never have to erase anything that was ever sent to you. So why this pattern behavior. Have men been dominated by its very creation, or is it a mere shift of "internet protocol" that is needed for us to engage with the opportunity of space and directness without turning to the premature and vague. -Karla Despradel