When it comes to catching up with grandma or the cousins, Skype is a fantastic tool. As a means of trying to convey the essence of yourself to a prospective employer, whom you have never met in person and who scrutinizes your every move and inflection to get a sense of whether or not you are his or her dream candidate, it can be another story entirely. BBC News Magazine recently examined this video interviewing phenomenon and pointed to research and anecdotes which suggest video interviewing is becoming more and more common.
Regardless of how they are conducted, job interviews are designed to give both interviewers and interviewees an opportunity to learn more about one another and, hopefully, to provide enough additional information about a person or organization to make wise and informed hiring decisions. A face-to-face interview affords people the luxury of looking in the eyes of those they may call boss or employee, shaking hands with one another, and gleaning telling insights from subtle movements and gestures. It also allows for a potentially more relaxed, natural experience.
Video conferencing, on the other hand, is plagued by information limiters and distractions—from the camera’s small range of view, to the compression of the audio and video, to uncontrollable and bothersome variances in lighting. These and other limitations require individuals on both sides of the camera to adapt and adjust the way they present themselves to accommodate the medium. Such adaptation can result in stilted and awkward mannerisms and speech—behavior which flies in the face of counsel given by career coaches to clients in search of a new job: be authentic in any interview situation.
Large scale adoption of video interviewing specifically and video communication generally is a relatively recent occurrence and, like any communications technology, comes with benefits and a number of pitfalls. However, human communication has been mediated by various mediums for millennia without such mediation altogether preventing meaningful, authentic expression and the fostering of rich and intimate relationships. The Scriptures are a prime ancient example of this.
During the first century AD the apostle Paul communicated to a constellation of churches he helped establish by way of letters. All of these, with the exception of his letter to the Romans, were written as a way of following up with churches (and individuals associated with these churches) and reminding them of things he taught in person. His letter to the Romans, on the other hand, was written prior to a hoped for visit with them. In that way it could be seen as a sort of written introduction, and, as such, perhaps not too dissimilar from a CV sent to a prospective employer prior to an in person interview. Of course, his primary intent in sending the letter was not about making himself known, but rather was designed to share the Gospel that he had been commissioned to preach. However, in the process he inevitably conveyed something of himself both by way of his introductions and final greetings, as well as by his style and structure.
The apostle John also wrote a number of letters to various churches—some of them brief, but nonetheless passionate and pointed. In his second epistle, after expressing love for his readers, he exhorts them to walk in truth and love and beware of those who would lead people away from the truth of God. And then, sounding like a good pastor and one who understands the limitations of mediated communication, he signs off with this: “Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete” (2 John: 12, ESV).
Were John around today it’s just possible he would Skype his congregation. However, somehow I think he would still strive for complete joy and, given the chance, would choose to communicate face to face.
This post was written by Dave Reinhardt who, in the interest of full disclosure, Skypes with his family on a regular basis. Dave is now pursuing a PhD at the University of St Andrews with a focus on the theological significance of embodied expression.
Dave, surely you are familiar with Roger Scruton’s recent considerations in aesthetics on the face and the relationship between selves? Your post reminded me of his “The Face of God”, which had much relevance to the neglected issue of the theology of place. One of the dangers of skype-like communications, even as Neil Postman pointed out, is the create a space which is not real, not corporeal, anti-incarnational, and even gnostic.