Letters Tied on a Balloon: 21st Century Communication

The 21st Century communication is like sending messages
through letters tied on a balloon.

“We have more information but less knowledge. More communication but less community. More goods but less goodwill.” -Randall Robinson

The fact that you are reading this article says that you were born way too distant from the days when communication hardly takes place. Those old days when pigeons were used as messengers, smokes as signals and cave drawings as records of what had happened in the past. We are too lucky to live, eat, work and play in a world of convenience that ill-fatedly, has resulted in mass blindness.

A little history: When the cellular phone was first invented, there were only certain numbers of calls allowed to take place within a city. Come to think of what we have now, we indulge ourselves to unlimited calls and texts saying nonsensical things at all. When the libraries were built long time ago, they were sacred, they were protected as they serve as a well of knowledge. Think again of what we do today, we have the internet; a vast sea of information and a means of sharing those information, but most people use it only to impress the world, to show that they have the ability to buy this and buy that, through their annoying humble brags accompanied with photos as if the world is too ignorant to the things they have.

I recall what one of my teachers said one day in class when some of my classmates failed to wear their uniform and reasoned out that they have no money to buy. She said that she does not buy their alibi and won’t be such a fool to believe a lie. “You have cellphones, you buy prepaid loads, now you tell me you have no money, or is it just a matter of setting the wrong priorities?” 

Many people nowadays experience the same issue. It’s okay to have less foods in the kitchen as long as they feel privileged having new gadgets. Is it what technology teaches us to keep in mind? I hope it’s not. Don’t let man become the tool of the tool. 

Nothing really is wrong with technological advancement. It is actually a sign that man progresses, grows and matures into someone intelligent and capable of good change. However, the mind of man is so complex and

the nature of man is so hard to control. To the point that, unconsciously or in self-denial, he does not admit that what he creates is what destroys the world he lives in. The 21st century communication is like sending messages through letters tied on a balloon. We don’t know how far it will go. We’re not even sure if it will reach its destination. The advancement we live with results to more confusion and uncertainty. We talk too much but the less we are heard, we hear too much but the less we understand. When the truth is, it’s only a matter of putting the proper weight in the balance.

*Photo credits to Google