Texting has become the dominant mode of daily communication for most people in high-income countries. The seeming ease of reaching out to someone without physically meeting up via texting, subtly transforms our real time conversations into asynchronous ones. Unsolved issues and conflicts are often left ‘unread’, which can lead to disconnection between people in the physical world. In fact, the sense of time has never felt this strong.
21st Century Conversation Guide is a project exploring alternative conversation experiences made possible by texting’s element of time. Full dialog, feedback from participants, and step-by-step guidance present a wide spectrum of both the format and content of a discussion. Readers are guided towards trying a new conversation mode for themselves.
Through the blurring boundaries between the physical and the virtual, the project suggests that an unprecedented mode of communication might help with problem-solving in specific kinds of situations.