Abstract
In this era of smart phones, artificial intelligence, and algorithms, communication has been characterized by polarizing hyperbole, alarmist headlines, and click-worthy soundbites meant to enrage. “If it bleeds, it leads” is not only a catchy slogan from fictional journalists in films like Nightcrawler, but is becoming a defining feature of our communication with one another, thereby shaping our culture and even constituting our national identity. The humanness that we inhabit can be understood in terms of how it contrasts with these “smart”-based algorithms of the internet, which is driven by clicks, likes, and eyeballs. Focusing on what makes humans different from robots, or what sets face-to-face communication apart from internet-based communication, may in fact be the key to dismantling the destructive echo-chamber affect and reactionary/hostile communication styles we’ve come to accept as the norm. In a homogenized internet-based world, differences are no longer tolerated, understanding is no longer promoted, dialogue is no longer achievable, and Democracy becomes a fantasy of the past. Human traits such as creative expression and the arts are bridges that can lead us to compassion, understanding, and empathy. It is these human traits that are the salve on a world hurting and damaged by the destructive and dehumanizing tendencies in our modes of communication.
Presenters
Rosalie FisherCommunication Instructor, Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona State University, Arizona, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Communications and Linguistic Studies
KEYWORDS
Communication, Empathy, Human, Humane, Conflict, Dialogue, Understanding
