By Layne Hartsell
Contributing Writer

When I wrote my recent article on Netlage, my intention was to show an emergent aspect of culture _ a kind of phenomenon which has emerged, worldwide, involving how we communicate via computers and other electronic gadgets. People are quite connected. We can imagine the energy flows of text messages, emails and cell phone conversations buzzing about the world. Digital media, I wrote, are transmitted in a new code or language, which has developed to a point of complexity where sentences, prose and ideas can be transmitted using abbreviated language and emoticons. This cyber language can be considered an actual addition to language because it has become complex.

It is complex enough to make it difficult or impossible for a first language speaker, who has not used the code, to decipher the electronic messages. And, when it comes to icons, it is amusing to think that we have a playful renaissance of hieroglyphics. Much of the energy driving Netlage comes from teenagers. Teens will typically develop their own forms of language so as to differentiate or even separate themselves for their overlords, the adults. It is a normal process, which continues until they join the adult world and drop their ``special’’ terms as unnecessary.

The fact that Netlage has developed out of the teen and college culture is an aspect of the natural tendency to form a special language. However, in the case of Netlage, the language has followed right up into adulthood because technology and Netlage are not age-specific; adults are contributing to and using Netlage regularly.

We can expect there to be cultural changes, additions and deletions whenever there is a massive external change in the conditions of our lives, simply because we adapt to our conditions. Technology involving electronics has created the external means for Netlage, however, it is our innate sense of making connection with others that is the impetus for cultural changes. We use whatever means we have available. Native Americans used smoke signals to communicate at distance, then there was the telegraph, the telephone, and now there are any numbers of ways to communicate electronically. The reasons why we communicate vary according to what we are doing.

Today, we simply have more media for communication, for example, we might be at work, sending documents by email, while we are maintaining a text conversation with our friend on our cell phone. The enthusiastic embrace of a new cultural manifestation such as Netlage and the technology that makes it possible has many positive aspects because it makes communication more convenient, creates new opportunities, and well, it can be fun. At the same time, I want to also say, as a matter of caution, that it would be best if our enthusiasm for something does not exceed our ability for critical thought or discernment. A question I would ask is, with all of the means of connection, are we really communicating? Is it possible we are losing connection in our connected world?

Constant interaction with the screens on phones, computers or games, is leading us to become disconnected from the world around us. This phenomenon is especially apparent in children. Children and teenagers today are suffering from a short attention span and are stimulus-hungry. Parents may notice that their children are lacking in their development of healthy friendships with other children and that children are seemingly disconnected from nature. When I asked two young people if they liked nature, one said that she hated nature because it is dirty, and the other told me that he hated animals.

They said this quite matter-of-factly, and when they saw the consternation on my face, they were as innocently confused as I was profoundly sad. They thought that it is O.K. to think of nature in such a way. I simply cannot dismiss this basic interaction as a difference of opinions or as an age gap. I believe that there is a serious disconnection occurring due to the undisciplined use of technology. While it is necessary for children to have unstructured time, or play, we also need to be careful to make sure that what they do is healthy. I cannot think of anything better than to form friendships and to spend time in nature.

The technological revolution has also affected adults, making many adult relationships devoid of intimacy, which can create a hunger for real connection. Yes, we are connected electronically, but what are we saying? When we write with truth, others trust us. When we write about what is good, people want to be near us. Learning to speak with a command of our language, and to write with the natural flow of our mind is what makes our communications beautiful, and people will love us. Just do a search for some of Tolstoy’s letters, especially his Letter to a Hindu, which was to a young barrister in South Africa _ Gandhi. The depth and ability with which we communicate can induce a magical experience, one that is not lost to the delete button on the keyboard or cast to the wind of the electron flow busily whirling about in the computer.

Layne coordinates the ITF and teaches at Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea. He can be reached to hartsellml@gmail.com