This is not a topic for intellectual discourse, or maybe it
is. It just so happened that on a scorching Saturday afternoon, while waving a
plastic handmade fan, I thought about how much the message sending and
receiving patterns had evolved.
Of course, at the time, I held my Smartphone and twiddled
away on the touch screen even though the battery level was low, “chatting” with
known and unknown Tweeps and Facebook friends. Using my minimum knowledge of
short form words, I communicated joy, despair and outrage on a number of
trivial and not so trivial issues.
As I’ve come to
expect, it is easy to be misunderstood on a platform that does not exactly
translate your words into moods accurately. In some instances sarcasm becomes an
outright insult and a joke written or twitted about rings a different meaning
to it being actually said.
I can’t help but think sometimes, that the current social
media platforms though engaging, have reduced the actual process of
communication. Comprehension is lacking in most dialogues and short form words
are finding their way into everyday lexicon with impunity.
Why did we struggle so hard to get our dictations right? Why
was it important to master the arduous technique of composition?
There is a lot of activity on social media platforms and I am
compelled to keep up. However, most of these activities require reading. But
how much is being understood?
Each time the debate over literacy levels rears its head, I wonder
if the percentage on Twitter, Facebook, WordPress and Blogger are taken into consideration.
I have come across great pieces which may have gone
unnoticed if not for the accompanying comments in agreement or against. And I do believe,
we do have quite a number of strong communicators in our midst.
With this in mind, the communication process is complete
when the receiver of the message comprehends what the sender conveys and
provides feedback highlighting that comprehension.
I’m grateful to the social media platforms that have availed
me the opportunity of worded self expression for the world to comprehend.
My written ramble ends here for now.
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