“There is never going to be a substitute for face-to-face communication, but we have seen since the alphabet, to the telephone and now the Internet, that whenever people find a new way to communicate, they will flock to it”- Howard Rheingold

In my opinion, this quote is exploring a very legitimate yet overlooked aspect of not only our society, but societies of past. People of older generations often criticize those of younger generations because of their “strained” lack of communication due to the Internet and related technologies. However, people who grew up in the pre-Internet era forget that their parents probably criticized them for talking on the telephone rather than meeting with someone face-to-face. The reality is that this kind of critical behavior is an inter-generational trend that is sure to continue as modes of communication and interaction continue to progress. What transcends these generational gaps though is the undeniable fact that this all started with language. Language is the fundamental tool that led to the inception of communication, which subsequently birthed innovative methods of interaction and developed varying human behaviors. Rheingold shares these beliefs, shown in the tweet below:

I believe that Rheingold is arguing that the way we choose to communicate, the methods of interaction we as a society adhere to are ever-changing. Because of this truth, we should not criticize other generations because of their tendencies and habits when it comes to communication but rather embrace new technologies that provide us with the gift of interaction. As Rheingold states, “there will never be a substitute for face-to-face communication…”, so the belief that the skill of basic interaction will be lost on our society is unrealistic.

Question: What is the next form of communication?