You’ve probably heard that famous line from the 1967 movie Cool Hand Luke with Paul Newman. Strother Martin played the cruel prison captain who delivered the line, which is so appropriate today. It dawned on me recently that despite the huge number of ways we have to communicate, we don’t seem to be doing a better job of it these days. Somehow all that connectivity provides very little that’s worth communicating. You might say that our communications efficiency is very low.

Communications is at the heart of all electronics and at the center of our lives. Other than sleep, we spend most of our time with our TVs, radios, iPods and CDs, cell phones, regular telephones, or PCs and laptops, including e-mail and other Internet access. We still indulge in occasional face-to-face communications like meetings, too. Frankly, we’re addicted to communications. That’s real good for the electronics industry, of course. So let’s keep it going.

But are we over-communicating? Are we connecting more but saying less? Sometimes we seem to be communicating just because we can. I have to wonder if there’s anything we can do to improve our communications—and I mean that in the context of meaningful knowledge and understanding. Or am I just old fashioned? Most people seem to be communicating for fun or simply to have something to do.

So much of communications is selling and indoctrination. Advertising on TV, the Internet, and elsewhere has gone wild. It seems like half of what I watch on TV is advertising. I pay the cable company to import hundreds of hours of ads into my home each week. Even if it does pay for the programming, is that stupid or what?

Then there’s the so-called trusted media. I don’t trust it anymore, do you? The media is slanted, with liberal and conservative voices alike. TV and newspapers are simply outlets for certain brands of politics. Just because the media says and believes it is neutral doesn’t mean that it is. It seems to sell the policies, ideologies, and agendas of specific political parties. And we buy it. Many people think that if they saw it on TV or read it in the paper, it’s true. They should be more skeptical. 

Use Your Head

We have incredible richness in the quantity of communications methods. The Internet and cell phones have spawned a wide array of new and different ways we communicate, and we’re embracing them all. Is there any end to it? The Internet alone has given us search, Web sites, e-mail, messaging, YouTube, Facebook, blogging, and a whole slew of other stuff. Most of it is useful. The cell phone extended Internet connectivity and has led to other forms of communications like the enormous growth in texting. Now we have Twitter. What else will we be getting?

So much of this communication is a huge waste of time. Consider the lost productivity due to over-communication. Electronics is supposed to make communications faster, easier, and more convenient. And it does. It saves time. But I do think that some of the new communications methods distract our attention from more important things. It’s no wonder we’re no longer the deep thinkers we used to be. Who has time to think? Our attention spans are too short. We need to be entertained endlessly or we are bored.

Also, a lot of it is worthless. It’s frivolous, self-aggrandizing, and in some cases, downright foolish. Putting compromising pictures of yourself online may be cool to some, but it is still totally dumb. Isn’t texting while driving something only a stupid person will do? As comedian Ron White says, “You can’t fix stupid.” Maybe those who do drive while texting deserve the resulting car accident as punishment, but that doesn’t help other drivers who suffer the consequences.

I hate the idea of another law to ban such idiocy, but maybe it is the way to go. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia have laws against texting while driving. Recently, Congress has threatened national action to legislate a country-wide ban. This is probably an obligation of the individual states but Congress wants control over everything and everyone, just as it always has. Will a national law help? Not likely, as “You can’t fix stupid.”

Remember this. We haven’t seen the end of new electronic communications methods. In our quest for the almighty dollar, we will get new products and services that give us one more way to link up with others. These gizmos will take up even more of our time and could be time wasters as well. I guess that’s both good news and bad news. New businesses bring jobs, wealth, and prosperity to the industry. But the toys these new businesses produce may or may not improve productivity or quality of life or help us in other ways to solve our problems. They’re simply more gadgets to occupy our shallow minds.

So how do we improve the quality of our communications? I wish I had a definitive answer. Maybe the old cliché applies here: “Less is more.” Before engaging in any communications, ask if they are really necessary or if you are just killing time. Ask if the communications will help you or someone else. Or could it hurt someone else? Ask what the worst thing that can happen would be if you don’t communicate. In other words, think and use common sense. Or is that asking too much? Communications in all its forms has made our society what it is today, for good or bad. It could also be our downfall.

By the way, did I communicate my point to you, or did I only add to your information overload? Don’t call or write me.