I type, therefore I am

Human civilization is currently at the peak regarding the rate of mass literacy: despite being introduced centuries earlier, the form of writing was limited only to the elite class of society until now, when most of the world’s population—growing exponentially—can express not only what they see but also what they think. But there is another form of writing—the virtual one, or what we refer to as typed text—that has already emerged at an unprecedented rate.

In this modern world—eased by smart devices—we heavily rely on our typed texts, depending on them every day more than we did yesterday: phone call duration, for example, has dropped significantly in the past decades, as researchers have found. Not only are we shifting our conversation from voice to text, but we are also decreasing the scope of our writing: Twitter, for example, now offers fewer characters than it used to before.

With this benefit, obviously, comes a cost—the loss of our true intention behind any text and possible misunderstanding of our shared posts. Unlike voice communication or traditional face-to-face talking—where the listener can clearly understand our emotions most of the time, if not always—current conversations over text often lack the untold part. Another thing to point out is that once our words are out in the open world, they come out of our control: our words become what others perceive them as.

To minimize this inconvenience, emoticons were invented, and they have become part and parcel of day-to-day chats. Yet, it is never one hundred percent possible for a bunch of funny, popping-up circular icons beside our written text chats displayed on a 6.5-inch mobile screen to convey the infinite number of our—better to say uncountable—emotions that are sometimes clearer when not expressed with words. Just as we see in nature, among the silence of animals and birds.

This summary is based on Tom Chatfield’s essay “I type, therefore I am” (Aeon), which explores how digital communication is reshaping human expression, identity, and the way we connect with others. Main essay link: https://aeon.co/essays/the-world-is-awash-with-more-text-than-ever-before