A New Perspective

I have written before that I am saddened by the decline in face-to-face communication due to the increasing development of the Internet and what it has offered so far (i.e. Facebook, Friendster, Multiply, Yahoo Messenger, etc.). I have said that despite the convenience such web-based communities has offered, it has negatively impacted our ability to personally interact with other people and that without realizing so, human beings are slowly becoming devoid of face-to-face contact with others.

However, I have now considered a new perspective.

This new perspective was due to Lawrence Lessig’s talk on Remix. Maybe I was too stuck on the past not to see that indeed a new kind of “culture” has emerged right before my very eyes and in fact I was immersed in that very “culture” myself. I don’t really have Facebook or Friendster but I do rely on E-mail and Yahoo Messenger very much. In fact, it is now very difficult for me to imagine not having the convenience that the Internet has to offer the “new” generation. Maybe in this new “culture” that we have, personal interaction is no longer largely dependent on physical contact but web-based or mobile-based contact. Maybe the formation of interpersonal bonds has evolved in such a way that face-to-face interaction is no longer needed. Who is to judge that clicking “Add as Friend” in various online communities has less value than meeting someone in more or less “traditional” means? The new generation is now part of a new emerging culture and maybe sticking to the “traditional” no longer holds much bearing for what was good then does not mean the same now.

Although I recognize the merit and value of the “traditional” means of communication, I now also acknowledge and value the fact that we no longer live in a world, which does not have the Internet and Mobile Phones. We are all in a new culture – a new perspective.