Prima Stephaney Y. Nadate and Hannah Jane S. Parreñas
Have you ever tried eating your favorite dish without any condiments in it? Tastes bland, right? Just like a society devoid of communication, it is lacking. Ever since primitive times, oral culture has been vital to humans. It has been the seed that continued to grow and develop into a form of communication that we have now. Then with the influence of oral culture, came the existence of literacy which brought about the era of writing and making the process of interaction more structured. With the unceasing curiosity of humans and their desire to make life easeful, new media arose. It encompassed a wide range of users, from the younger generation to adults and elderlies, and was used in communicating with the public and in the faster dissemination of information. Looking back at how communication evolved from simple forms to something humongous and revolutionary, we can say that the creation of humans with abilities and mechanisms that surpass computers and machines is a possibility. This prediction was based upon the development of a computer-mediated brain-to-brain interaction engineered by Barcelona-based researchers. This discovery showed the feasibility of a brain-to-brain communication and strengthening the applicability of the union of computers and the human brain for high performance (Grau et al., 2014). However, while innovations such as this continue to develop, wholesome interaction, one that involves each other’s presence in close contact, will be set aside.
With the pursuit of convenience, old ways of communication that helped us in building meaningful bonds with others are being forgotten thus, 50 years from now, everything may be done with only taps and clicks or even more, voice commands. As a major foundation of communication, we must not abandon the oral culture. Despite modernization having made the communication process easier for us, oral communication remains vital in making deeper connections with those around us, not just the circuit or virtual connection that technology offers us.
References:
Grau, C., Ginhoux, R., Riera, A., Nguyen, T. L., Chauvat, H., Berg, M., … Ruffini, G. (2014). Conscious Brain-to-Brain Communication in Humans Using Non-Invasive Technologies. Brain Stimulation, 8(2), 323. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2015.01.047
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