So What Happened to Kindness?

For some time now I’ve been thinking about how the dominance and oversaturation of printed words gradually (almost inperceivably) diminished compassion, feelings, and empathy in exchange for elevated literacy and logic over the course of the modern age.

Back in a day when information was more manageable, print technology brought unity, understanding, and knowledge in addition to creating margin, that allowed time for more thoughtful consideration and civility. As literacy and education grew and spread, these traits replaced the impulsive and seemingly irrational, less civilized behaviors found in more oral traditions. (Pre 1500s)

During the late 1800s and thru the 1900s that valuable margin began to erode. And by the end of 20th century, the healthy time gap between learning, understanding, and response all but disappeared. A giant print industry along with the advent of various electronic technologies took our literal minds to a new unexplored level. The pace of life accelerated. Although the incremental increases in the speed of communications began to compress our world, information was, for the most part, still unified and dependable. Increased speed brought great advancements with increased efficiency and production, along with expectations of faster response and resolution to questions and concerns – swift logical conclusions to complex and often emotional challenges. In short, less patience and consequently less concern for others became the norm due to the efficiency and automated characteristics of developing media.

The beginnings of a technological induced anxiety that would soon reach a level extreme enough to influence sociological behaviors emerged.

Around 2005, something historically significant began to evolve. After about 400 years of the printed word being the dominant communication medium, suddenly it was not. (You may be old enough to recall owning 26 volume sets of family encyclopedias or seeing 3″ thick metropolitan Yellow-page phone directories in hotel rooms.)

Digital communications and digital information changed not just how we interact but how we collectively behave. It quickly took what I refer to as the hyper-literacy of the over-extended print medium to a staggering new level. One that further repressed feelings, emotion, and empathy exponentially. (We didn’t become illiterate, but our sociological behaviors began to appear more reflective of those seen in pre-modern oral and tribal cultures, as post modernism became reality.)

We lost nuance and context that was the revolutionary  hallmark of early print technology and the foundation of more civil literate societies.  The west was born and democracy flourished. The US became the first government in world history to designed and birthed from a written, printed document.

Two Conditions Collide:

2005. For the first time in human history, we were able to have bi-directional, synchronized audible and visual communication, around the globe, seemingly at instantaneous speeds. In other words, although we can continue to improve the quality of sound and visuals, there will be no more meaninful increase in speed or reach of communications. Unlike with early print, there is little mental and emotional margin left to contemplate and consider options, cool off, reduce anger, diffuse tensions, resolve conflict or seek advice with discourse when making critical decisions. The constant expectation of immediate response, action, and results is becoming progressively more oppressively life-sucking.

The second result of the digital medium is the ability to access information about most anything at anytime from anywhere. Information is basically limitless, and accuracy is sometimes questionable at best. There’s a loss of reliability in much of what we read, see and hear.  Information is no longer linear and stable. It can be intercepted from several sources simultaneously, and in random sequences. Information is absolutely abundant but can also be untrustworthy or maliciously corrupted at times.

The Result:

The result of these two realities is that humanity has quickly reached a maximum limit to the speed at which it can communicate and is reaching a point of endless quantity of available data. Some information is useful and applicable but most is unneeded or irrelevant to us individually.

The human head and heart, as conditioned by several centuries of enlightened modernism, simply cannot consume and discern the onslaught of information and digital media stimulation that we now have access to. Combined with years of repressed emotional empathy thru the 20th century, it’s evident that people, in general, are now acting out more impulsively, with less civility, and sometimes even violently with little or no external prompting. Even otherwise thoughtful and considerate individuals seem to have reached their capacity to care and generally be kind to others beyond their immediate families. Many of us are now generally more critical, cynical, sarcastic, inward focused, and feel the freedom and need to immediately respond pointedly and oponionate carelessly without shame or filter.

Merely navigating daily life in this post modern time is inherently stressful and depletes us emotionally and mentally.

This technological state is now the societal norm. It is the reality and experience that the hearts and minds of those born after 1990 will be predominantly conditioned by moving forward. It is the technological environment that will influence the development of their identity and core personal value in their formative years. They never will have known or experienced another way with which to compare and contrast.

So how does our culture regain a more global sense of care and compassion in our post modern times?

I think one key is to somehow ignite a passion in others to live beyond self.  To find their identity and a core value in diverse activities greater than just their role or skills. To instill a sense of gratitude and thankfulness that leads to a sense of selflessness.

That, along with a little healthy vulnerability, self awareness and a regained sense of thoughtfullnes, can go a long way to improving confidence and reducing anxiety and fear which can cripple compassion, empathy, and kindness.