Look, Listen, Learn

In today’s modern society, information and design is bombarding every aspect of life. From the moment we wake up in the morning to the minute we fall asleep we are constantly being informed and reached out to by roughly 11,000 designs, but with the human mind being very selective of what we acknowledge and absorb, and the overly cluttered and crowded world of the media, performance recognition is decreased.  Living in Birmingham, one of the UK’s largest cities, it is impossible to go anywhere without being bombarded with graphic information, even a short walk to the shop I am constantly being pushed to buy products, sign up to new contracts and go to different events and places, however, even though I am a very observant person, and am constantly absorbing information, it is still impossible to contain everything within myself. Very often we rarely recognise we are looking at design when it is not associated with any aspect of our lives. For example, a family car advert for me would not be distinguished whereas a family or a parent would associate it with their life, and even though we have both seen it, only they would take note of it. Whereas a poster for a local student night out, would be noted by for me and not necessarily by the parent or family.

As we are no longer able to find things out for ourselves, not through choice, but through the constant impact of unlimited streams of information through our mobile devices, internet, journeys we travel and products that we buy. We have developed into a society that no longer listen or look to learn, but instead to reply with answers. We can’t avoid not knowing all of this information; we now understand more subconsciously without even realising it. But has all of this added a negative impact on communities and societies? With constant streaming of information to nearly everyone around you, surely a lot more people will now know roughly the same information that you do. On the other hand, the negativity is that no longer are we able to teach in the same way and learn in the same way. Do we listen to people and what is being said, and understand it all, or do we wait for a presentation or a technology enhanced version of what was being taught to be processed, and then understand everything that was being taught. Sure, it is impossible to go through life now without using technology and sources such as the internet, but would it really hurt us to take a break away from it, for a day or two, giving us the chance to go and explore, hunt for the answers, track down the events and more importantly remind ourselves on how to listen, and learn.­­