Changing Society & Technology

    I am very busy lately so I don't have time to write a post. Instead I will quickly discuss something which continues to come up every now and then, and while not directly about the funeral industry iy relates to the industry.

   People comment about the changing nature of society, specifically how technology is making us less social.  To me this is a simplistic and incorrect argument; nothing has changed much really.  This is an old issue that has been brought up time and time again, as the web comic xkcd so nicely demonstrates.  You can view the comic in full below.



    The comic xkcd collects quites from 1871 to 1915 about the changing nature of society due to 'instant' technology and communication.  How new technology is creating an anti-social and instant culture, such as in 1884 with the comment about how modern business is always in a hurry. Or the statement that conversation is a lost art in 1890.  But my favourite is the one from 1915 about the change in value attributed to a letter, how now a letter costs nothing and one can expect a short one line reply within a day.  As such the letter (and communication in general) is no longer treated with the same value as in the past.

    This is a criticism I have heard from some within the funeral industry.  That new media, such as the internet, holds many potential dangers.  Quite a few from the industry have been reluctant to take up a dialogue style approach to the internet or social media (with InvoCare as a notable exception).

    Arguments about the "youth today" or "changing society" tend to be superficial and incorrect. As this comic so nicely demonstrates nothing much changes, including our dislike of supposed negative changes.  Social media is not a risk or a curiosity, it is an inevitability.  In a few years something new might be about, but for now social media is growing and there is nothing inherently wrong with this itself.

    Companies who are embracing social media are standing out, and positively so.  I have been asked a few times what I think of "InvoCare's recent social media" endeavours.  So far every time I have been asked the person has then explained how they like InvoCare's socia media.  That it makes the company approachable and personable in their eyes.

    One should not be negative about the supposed changes to society.  For really, there are no changes, and those who embracing the new technology are being seen positively.

Via xkcd: 
http://xkcd.com/1227/

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