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Convergence
1. the act, degree, or a point of converging.
2. Concurrence of opinions, results etc
3. Maths. The property of or manner of approaching a finite limit, esp
of an infinite series: conditional convergence.
4. The combining of different forms of electronic technology, such as
data processing and word processing converging into information processing.
(From Collins English Dictionary, 1991)
The merging of different
forms of technology – such as Internet access on television and email
access on mobile phones – will be a vital part of technological advance
this century. But the definition of convergence will also be likely to
change to incorporate the central question: how do we co-exist with technology?
Children as young
as six are now taught how to use computers and emails in school. Teenagers
are often more net-savvy than their frequently technophobic parents. Many
businesses – even accepting the bursting of the dot.com bubble – are now
reliant on Internet technology. The reach of this technology extends across
our education to our domestic lives to our jobs.
But how will this
technology affect us? It will continue to accelerate all aspects of our
lives. Information is now more readily available than it ever was. Communication
is faster and more efficient – a central demand of businesses and corporate
ideology.
Yet the flipside of
this progress is that the Internet does not put a premium on accuracy
or veracity. The questionable advice available on health sites is only
one example. As this democratic medium makes itself open to anyone’s take
on reality, the quality of information we digest and learn from may suffer.
Similarly, the challenge
posed by email will be to resist its functional qualities rubbing off
on other ways we communicate. We coped without it for years. As a communication
tool, its impact is arguably to reduce the attention span. We send curt
messages containing only basic information. We also send emails rather
than communicate verbally. Emails – lacking in tone and emphasis – offer
an easy alternative to confrontation or imaginative discussion. The effect
this may have on the way we hear and the way we articulate ourselves poses
important questions.
The advance of convergent
technology in the home (games on TV, videos on the computer, Internet
access on the phone, or ad nauseam new combinations) and the school will
give children a grasp of how best to marshal it in the workplace. But
how will it affect our language? Will we still communicate as creatively
as we once did? The technology we use must serve and advance the way we
interact with one another, not limit it.
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