Offsetting Our Communication Emissions...

Lets face it. We're talking a lot more these days. But are we really saying more? When mass communication has never been easier, the value of silence has never been greater.

Social media is just fancy cave painting. Honest. We're still the same human animals who thought painting buffalo on walls would spiff things up a bit. Now that we can paint faster doesn't mean we can paint better. Buffalo are still  buffalo (at least until we drive them into extinction), and you're still no Michelangelo. The only difference is that now everyone can see your cave.

Now this is not to say that our new instant mass communication technology is without merit. As with all technology, application matters most. Any fan of TED.com can attest that having instant access to the greatest thinkers, innovators and luminaries of our day has awed and inspired. Individuals empowered by the anonymity of of 4chan can bring about real-world political change. Yet for every artfully crafted oration, the web contains thousands of valueless rants. For every networked movement for positive change are roving gangs of virtual thieves.

When we trade synthesis for expedience, we are really trading value for volume. When we trade interaction for entertainment, we are really trading enrichment for anesthesia.