The Digital Echo of Orality: How Walter Ong’s Work Influences Today’s Communication Strategies

Jesuit priest and media studies scholar Walter J. Ong (1912–2003) examined how communications technology shapes human consciousness. Ong’s theories, particularly those outlined in his seminal work “Orality and Literacy,” delve into the distinctions between oral and literate cultures, providing a comprehensive understanding of how communication methods shape human environments. This exploration offers profound insights into the digital age, particularly in the realms of digital communication and marketing.

Auditory environments, as discussed by Ong, prioritize speech and sound. One of their main advantages is the promotion of communal engagement and interpersonal connections. In exclusively oral societies without writing, knowledge lives in spoken stories, songs and dialogues. Rhythm, repetition and other creative patterns aid memory and group recall. Communication emphasizes sound, performance, emotion and participation over analysis. Knowledge resides within the community rather than individuals.

However, the ephemeral nature of sound presents a limitation, as it relies heavily on memory for information transmission and preservation.

Visual environments, on the other hand, introduced by the advent of writing and print, prioritize sight. They enable the documentation and extensive analysis of information, encouraging individualism, abstract thinking, and critical analysis. Yet, they may contribute to isolation, as the interaction is often with the text rather than with another person.

In other words, embodiment is minimized. Individual understanding takes precedence over communal and shared knowledge, wisdom, and tradition.

The digital environment could be, particularly through platforms like podcasts and audio chat solutions, both synchronous and asynchronous, bringing back the benefits of the auditory or oral environment. Podcasts create a space where storytelling thrives, echoing the communal and narrative-rich aspects of oral cultures. They foster a sense of intimacy and connection, as listeners often feel a personal relationship with the host. For digital communicators and marketers, podcasts offer a way to engage audiences on a deeper level, leveraging narrative and personal connections to build brand loyalty and community.

To effectively blend the best of both worlds, digital communicators and marketers can adopt a multimodal approach. This involves integrating visual elements with auditory content to enhance engagement and comprehension. For instance, incorporating visual aids in podcasts or creating interactive transcripts can cater to diverse learning styles and preferences, enriching the digital communication experience.

Storytelling, as Ong also highlighted, is a fundamental aspect of human communication, deeply rooted in the oral tradition. It serves not only as a method of entertainment but also as a means of education, cultural preservation, and identity formation. In the context of digital marketing, storytelling is paramount. It humanizes brands, facilitates emotional connections, and enhances message retention. By crafting compelling narratives, marketers can resonate with their audience, differentiating their brand in a crowded digital landscape.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) introduces a nuanced dimension to digital communication and marketing. AI can analyze consumer behavior, personalize content, and automate interactions, offering efficiency and scalability. But the key lies in leveraging AI to enhance human-centric strategies, ensuring that technology serves to augment rather than replace the authentic connections fostered by storytelling and personal engagement.

As an oral medium, AI voice assistants parallel radio and television. Their programmed responses lack lived communal context, but advances in conversational AI aspire to replicate interpersonal exchange. Like radio DJs, customized AI personas may someday approximate relationships. We shall see.

So.. my point in all this? As digital communicators and marketers, we must thoughtfully combine digital media’s capabilities to serve human needs for knowledge, information AND community. As Ong instructs, no medium alone defines consciousness or culture.

By thoughtfully combining digital formats from writable, visual, to audible, digitally connected communicators and marketers can potentially nurture knowledge-sharing, empathy and truth-seeking to serve both individual and communal well-being.

Guiding technology to meet fully human needs remains our challenge and opportunity.

I press on. Thanks for listening (Reading).