Do You Know Who I Am?
Scenario 1
An argument at a metro station ticket counter
Person 1 - I want to collect my tickets first.
What do you mean I can't?
Person 2 - I am in a queue here.
Follow the line.
Person 1 - Do you know who I am?
Person 2 - No, but do you know who my dad is?
As nostrils flare, brows tighten and rapid breathing follows.
People gather and slowly things subside.
Scenario 2
A visitor trying to enter a famous stadium
Roger- I need to go inside. Can I get in? I mean where is the entrance?
Security lady - Do you have a membership card?
Roger - I am a member, but no card right now. Can I get in?
Security lady - No sir, not without a card
Roger - But I am a regular player. When I play, there are lots of people and I come through a different gate. This is the first time I am here when I am not playing.
Security lady - Sir, membership card, please
Roger - Please believe me. I have won this tournament 8 times. Please, I am a member, let me get in.
Security lady (nodding head) - Sir, membership card
Eventually, someone else from the security team spotted Roger and let him in. For those that didn't get it yet (please go here for the full story:))
Scenario 1 and 2 are examples of what is generally called high-context and low-context cultures and plays out in our daily lives in various scenarios.
American anthropologist Edward T Hall first introduced the concept of high and low-context cultures in his 1959 book The Silent Language. High-context culture and low-context culture are the ends of a continuum of how explicit the message exchanges in culture are and how important the context is in communication.
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High context defines cultures that are usually relational and collectivist, and which most highlight interpersonal relationships.
In low context, members' communication must be more explicit, direct, and elaborate because individuals are not expected to have knowledge of each other's histories or backgrounds.
This is not to say any one cultural practice is good or bad. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. Also, these are the result of cultural practices that have been in vogue for thousands of years with some tweaks and changes.
While I was reading excerpts from this book, I found it interesting to think about what role technology will have in this mix. And it appears that technology, beyond a certain level of penetration, helps transition societal practices from a high-context to low-context culture. Let me explain.
Role of Tech:
When a technology is newly introduced it might start penetrating a certain class of users who might adopt it for the sake of convenience, as a lifestyle, or status symbol. This happens (as in the case of a top brand mobile phone or a branded watch) as the early pricing is high and the associated brand value is premium in nature and exclusive by definition.
But as mass penetration begins, over time - it loses its relevance as a symbol of status and becomes a functional requirement. The rich and famous then move on to newer status symbols to maintain their exclusivity and brands follow this to release new variants, and new features and maintain a 'premium position' at all times.
In India, the mobile phone transitioned from a premium gadget to a 'necessity' in two decades going from roughly 1 million to 950 million plus users. As the cost of ownership and call charges fell and end-user benefits exponentially grew, it became a ubiquitous common thread binding society.
Naturally, all the benefits from digital currency to OTT to fingerprint authentication to Aadhar became accessible to the masses. And technology became the great leveler - allowing everyone from celebrities and influencers to street hawkers to be able to pay or receive payments through a QR code.
In a way, technology, therefore, enables the transition from high context to low context. Quantum of context reduces because of more things in common across the societal population. Such technologies become a public good, enable infrastructure and create societal transformations faster than others, while simultaneously wiping out status symbols and exclusivity factors along the way.
Why is low-context good for society? Mostly because it eliminates this useless question - 'do you know who I am?' and establishes a more standardized, uniform service availability and delivery. It brings in the sense of transparency and eliminates subjectivity. Eventually, a transparent society leaves little room for corruption and promotes openness, merit, and discussion.
In closing here is a lighter example of another high-context conversation.
Scene 3
At a monastery
At a monastery where an enlightened master was preparing to give a discourse on the topic 'The Self', a large crowd had gathered. More people were coming and there was a jostle for space.
At the crowded entrance to the lecture hall, a monk devotee got pushed over and fell on a well-built young man who was sitting next to him.
The furious young man looked into the monk's eyes - 'Why are you pushing me? Do you know who I am?'.
The monk replied with absolute calmness -
'No. I don't know who I am either.
That's why I am here. Hope I will know at the end of this lecture.'
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1 年Good One. "I am still discovering who I am, Sir. Can you help me with it?"