Couple on holiday with two grown up children, sat around a table next to me. The dad was on his mobile phone, the two children on theirs. Every so often the mum would try to interject some conversation, no one interacting until their food arrived and they had to use both hands for their knives and forks. Probably a very common sight but, as a designer who spends his days thinking about communication and how to engage people, it left quite an impression on me.
I love my iphone and I’m as guilty as the next person, for looking at the net, checking texts and seeing what friends are up to. But I deliberately didn’t go online, read any newspapers, check any football results during my holiday… so I didn’t know about any riots, financial meltdowns or the return of jaws. I did this for two reasons. Firstly, to see if I could and, secondly, to give myself a rest from new information.
Technology brings us massive benefits. If you read a story, tell people about it, play a game, see if someone can match your score, see something interesting, show someone. This should be the biggest benefit of technology – sharing the knowledge and making an impression on someone. However, traditional methods of communication, such as talking, can be fun too. There is nothing like talking to someone face to face. Expressions, the tone of voice and the glimmer in the eye cannot be replicated by iphones, Facebook or LinkdIn. And this is why we should value that as the most special type of communication of all.
James Chantler is Creative Director at Happy Creative, a full service marketing and creative agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk
