Nicholas Carr opens up his 2025 piece Superbloom with a metaphor comparing the boom in communication technology that we see to a superbloom of tulips in California. As humans, we are constantly receiving and emitting signals to one another, and while the thrill of this new kind of communication technology was prevalent at the beginning, we are now facing some unintended consequences.
Carr introduces us to Charles Horton Cooley, an American sociologist from the mid-1800s. Cooley understands that communication is the explanation for how societies evolve. The way that we communicate determines the ways that we think and act. As mechanisms of communication change, we change, and in turn, society changes. He explains differing modes of communication as not just simply having differences, but instead how they act as a way to completely alter group behavior and belief.
Over the course of human history, we have seen communication change from grunts and groans to instant messages being electronically sent across the globe in a matter of milliseconds. The invention of the written word sparked the creation of social groups based on opinions and interests. People from various walks of life began to be able to connect with each other over common interest, drawing society closer together. Cooley coined this phenomenon social media.
This boom in communication technology that we saw in the 19th century increased the spread of information around the world. Communicating and sharing ideas became easy, and for that we saw societal connection. In an ideal world, people being exposed to more information creates the opportunity for more informed and rational thoughts. What Cooley failed to recognize was the difference between influence and manipulation and the downsides that this rate of communication can bring. Carr references the negative effects we have seen through Facebook, the 2016 Presidential Election, and the bloodbath that was the 20th Century, as examples for how this new form of communication has caused harm in our society. Communication is supposed to be good as it is what draws us together as a society, but we have seen it deteriorate us as well.
With the extremely fast pace and broad scope of communication, specifically with the introduction of wireless radio technology, the conversation of privacy versus the public interest came into the conversation. The rise in radio broadcasting was nothing short of incredible. People all over the world had the ability to receive information right to their living rooms, making learning and connecting over new information as accessible as ever. Despite this great invention, wireless communication had quite a few downsides. For wire transfers, privacy concerns were on the rise. People believed that they should be able to control who hears what they are saying, so rules had to be put in place for the protection of telegrams and restriction of wiretapping. As for radio broadcasts, the issue of misinformation spread and propaganda became a serious issue, specifically in Soviet Russia and during the Nazi Regime. With this use of radio broadcasting, there was a major risk of turning societal structure in the direction of totalitarianism. These are just a few brief examples of the ways in which communication technology has had real downsides in society.
Carr paints a comprehensive picture of the role of communication in our lives and how we have gotten to where we are now from our very humble beginnings back at the start of human life. We are shaped by the way we communicate and we have seen both the good and the bad that can come from these ever persistent technological advances.