We've all been there - sitting across the table or room from someone who has their nose in a smartphone. Their fingers are furiously flurrying around the screen of their device as they respond to a recent text, and the whole time, you are sitting there waiting to be acknowledged. This is one of the negative ways that technology has affected communication and added to the decline of interpersonal communication. On the flip side of the argument, one could argue that technology has improved our communication skills as we now have the ability to reach people across the world with just a press of a button. So what are some of the positive and negative aspects of technology and how it has transformed the way we communicate?
Positive - Speed: With the blink of an eye, we can reach everyone in our circle of influence and get a quick response back. This can make business and personal planning much more efficient.
Negative - Detached Relationships: Even though speed is wonderful for quick answers, it's not for relationship building. During our day-to-day lives, we rarely have face-to-face interactions or even entertain phone conversations. Idle chit-chat that helps to develop a relationship at its core gets lost.
Positive - Better Solutions: Because more people can discuss problems on a global level, there is a greater exchange of thoughts than ever before, and this leads to better solutions for people who are working together.
Negative - Increase in the Generation Gap: While people who grew up in the 80s/90s are completely aware of and probably use most of the communications methods that the individuals born in the 00s/10s use, the kids (0-18) and older adults (60-90) have a clear generation gap to fill. Communication between these older and younger generations is missing a communication style that speaks to both of them.
Positive - An easier way to connect with media: Media used to be one-way, and you could only view it. Now you can actively seek it out and even interact with your favorite media personalities. News outlets look for feedback and involvement from their audience. It's a great way to connect.
Negative - Easy access to media can lead to inaccuracies: With such a major influx of information at your fingertips, it can be hard to decipher what is accurate and what is false. As a result, many people make assumptions without checking their source.
In my opinion, the best thing that has developed in the field of communication because of technology is collaboration. I love that it is so easy to reach out to a variety of people in order to get feedback from many sources. Teamwork can be seamless thanks to technological breakthroughs in communication. So even though there are downfalls of technology's effect on communication, there are a lot of benefits.
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