Conversation: A Lost Focal Practice?

The ways that people communicate today are different than the ways they communicated 10 years ago, and the ways people communicated 10 years ago were different than 10 years before that. Communication technology, like all other types, is evolving rapidly. Communication that at one time took months to cross continents and oceans in physical letter form can now go into outer space and bounce across the globe in a fraction of a second. To communicate today, we have the option of phone calls, text messages, video chat, Facebook posts, blogs, etc., etc. See? It's easy to make a list of ways of available communication and leave face-to-face conversation completely out of the picture.

Conversation as a means of communication is a major example of one of Borgman's focal practices. In addition, conversation is an art that can be perfected and performed in a complex way, making it qualify as an example of the Aristotelean Principle as well. However, our modern technological society has made conversation somewhat of a lost art. New ways of communication make it possible to have close personal relationships with a person that one has never met, and such relationships can be started or stopped in no time flat. One can share detailed up-to-the-minute experiences with anyone, anywhere, and one can graduate from college without ever having met a professor or administrator. In a world with these realities, does personal conversation have a place in our busy lives?

I think that it's absolutely essential that the focal practice of conversation is preserved. Face-to-face communication is still the most honest, organic way to share one's thoughts. Anyone that wants to lie would most like to do so with a text message instead of telling it in person. Conversation makes our communication genuine, and in my opinion builds stronger, deeper interpersonal relationships. In the professional world, rarely is one hired without a face-to-face interview as part of the process. Employers value social (or "people") skills as part of the skill set of an effective employee. Good interpersonal communication is a hallmark of a good leader, and bad interpersonal communication is the hallmark of a bad one. The problems inherent in electronic communication are displayed in the cyberbullying phenomenon, where the inability to see the reaction to one's words can cause a complete loss of sensitivity and decency. When we lose the ability to use nonverbal language in both statement and response, an important part of our ability to communicate is lost. Deep, nuanced communication is one of the characteristics that sets humans apart from other animals. Let's strive to keep this essential part of our human identity.