Since my birth in the 1980s, I have witnessed the progress of different technologies. From CD to MP3, from pager to cell phone. Communications have changed, very quickly. I witnessed the dawn of YouTube and Google, but also the extinction of VHS and floppy disks. All this in the space of about 15 years. On my cell phone, I can count on a little over ten applications for communicating, not to mention the fact that I can text and also call! You know, the primary function of a… telephone.
We could almost say that after the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Renaissance, we are in the age of communication.
“ What a time to be alive”, as the saying goes. But I wouldn’t go so far as to say that we are really in the era of communication. Although we have all the tools to communicate around the world, an important element is missing.
I have been observing the universe in which I navigate for quite a while. Social networks, the media, the news, the different speeches and opinions, and there is one consistency: we seem incapable of discussing. With the different waves of change whose genesis comes from often ostracized groups, like Black Lives Matter, #metoo, the LGBTQ+2AI movement and so on, it is normal that there is a clash between the old school of thought and news.
I hear you from afar telling me that this is absolutely nothing new, that it has been like this since the dawn of time. Every new generation clashes with the previous one, it has always been like this and it will remain so for a long time to come. I experienced it myself with my Haitian parents who immigrated to Canada in the 1970s. We clearly did not have the same vision of life. There were a lot of clashes between us because of our differences of opinion, so it wasn’t always easy. I certainly understand the principle of clash generations.
BOOM ! A trigger comes to turn our daily lives upside down! We demand, we want things to change, and FAST and anything that seems even remotely to go against this change is an enemy of the cause. ONE FOR ALL, AND ALL FOR THE CAUSE! And those who oppose it? May the devil take them!
The simple fact of questioning a popular idea risks bringing you the discontent of a web audience who, under the cover of a shady profile photo, sends you outrageous things. Now, I am not one of those who believe that nothing more can be said. That is not my point at all. I don’t think we should automatically get canceled.
On the other hand, in our quest for new applications and technologies to communicate, there is no application to listen…
I mentioned to you above that communication with my parental unit was not easy. In fact, what was difficult was realizing that we were different despite our relationship. At the same time, my sister and I always had a place to talk, to debate, to disagree. My parents taught me to listen. And above all, they taught me the wonderful art of nuance. And this is what is greatly lacking in our daily challenges. THE SHADE. With all these technological advances, these applications, this artificial intelligence, where has our organic intelligence gone?
We are too quick to not listen, to jump to conclusions, to get upset. We tend to forget that education does not only involve the exchange of words; it also goes through error. If I was able to evolve in an educational environment, it is because I was allowed to make mistakes. I was allowed to ask questions, no matter how crazy they were. “There are no stupid questions,” they told me.
If to err is human, nuance should be too. And understanding comes through compassion. Obviously, the older we get, the more we take everyone’s knowledge for granted. We ignore the level of education, the origin, the fact that human beings are not all the same. And compassion takes over. We are adults now, so we no longer have the right to make mistakes! “If you don’t think like me, you have a serious problem. » No compassion, no nuance, no listening. With all this technology, have we regressed?
Obviously, I find it very utopian to hope for a world filled with nuance and compassion. This is obviously impossible. All I can do is write this post to remind those who read it to be compassionate, attentive and above all, nuanced in their lives.