Lots of noise – little context
What is it? Technically hardly necessary, loud and therefore highly suspicious from a social perspective, and experiencing its second spring or autumn in February? That’s right – it’s the leaf blower! Once invented to blow autumn leaves off the streets and somewhere where, in the best case scenario, they might be less of a nuisance. Currently, this device is experiencing an unexpected wake-up call from hibernation. It is needed to blow away confetti after the carnival parade. The controller may be pleased to be able to amortize a “fabulously expensive” machine in half the time. The neighbors are probably less enthusiastic about this.
Context?
What does this have to do with communication? – Well, when I heard the word "blower," other meanings immediately came to mind. There's the blower in a marching band, the blower that dries paint, etc. I'm sure you can think of other serious examples.
You can see it in this word: communication only makes sense when the context is taken into account. We live in a time when everything is said—but often out of context. A sentence, a screenshot, half a thought are enough to reliably generate outrage. Context? Now considered a superfluous luxury. Context is what gives information meaning in the first place. Without it, communication remains acoustic dust. Irony without intonation becomes an insult, criticism without context becomes an offense, a number without classification becomes a headline. We scroll, judge, share—preferably in the heat of the moment. The main thing is that it's loud enough to justify our own attention.
Differentiation costs reach, exaggeration brings clicks
In digital spaces, context is often undesirable. Character limits, algorithms, and the attention economy reward omission, not explanation. Differentiation costs reach, exaggeration brings clicks. Discourse is thus increasingly resembling a poorly maintained green space: lots of blowing, little order, and in the end, the leaves are still everywhere. This is how world politics in particular is communicated.
Those who refuse to provide context are not communicating clearly, but conveniently. Perhaps we should ask ourselves more often before we speak or share: Am I explaining something, or am I just making noise?
© Pexels / Sóc Năng Động
