We live in a world where communication through modern technology is almost required. Everywhere people are texting, emailing, writing blogs and tweeting. It’s hard to go anywhere without seeing someone using a phone or the Internet to connect with others. Can you imagine not being able to check your Twitter, Facebook or messages for a week? We would feel lost.
Of course the use of technology can be good. It provides us with faster, more efficient ways to communicate with others, but it can also harm our ability to communicate with people face to face. Many complain that our new digital skills impact our ability to write properly. We look old fashioned on paper
“Cell phones have changed communication because now, instead of friends actually having a face to face conversation, they text each other. This is bad because intent become misinterpreted, which can lead to ‘drama’ and friendship problems. The use of cell phones has affected me because whenever I am in a situation, instead of trying to make a conversation I resort to my cell phone,” Junior Taylor Strahan said.
How the message is sent can determine many additional factors as to how the message is interpreted by the receiver. All new information we learn is compared with the knowledge we already have. If it confirms what we already know, we will likely receive the new information accurately, though we may pay little attention to it. If it disputes our previous assumptions or interpretation of the situation, we may distort it in our mind so that it is made to fit our world view, or we may dismiss the information as deceptive, misguided, or simply wrong.
For example, if two people are involved in an escalated conflict, and they each assume that the other is going to be aggressive and hostile, then any ambiguous message will be interpreted as aggressive and hostile, even if it was not intended to be that way at all. Our expectations work as blinders or filters that distort what we see so that it fits our preconceived images of the world.
According to pewinternet.org, “a bit more than a third (37%) of social network-using teens said they sent messages to friends every day through the social sites, a drop from the 42% of such teens who said they did so in February of 2008”. Face- to -face communication among children and teenagers is being squashed out by social networks. A phone call isn’t used to get in touch with someone anymore; Facebook and Twitter are the main tools of communication. The consequences of this are social awkwardness and even social anxiety when confronted with new people to meet in person. A study was done by pewinternet.org among teenagers on social networks, and the amount of communication among teenagers on social networks, and the amount of communication by social network has remained steady.
Studies show that homework is interrupted and children become distracted when they receive notifications of a new chat messages, texts, or emails.
“Good communication is important because when we are adults and applying for interviews, we won’t know how to have proper communication, which can result in not getting the job. Another thing is kids are so focused on social networking on our phones that we spend less time on school work which causes bad grades. In the future when applying for college, they won’t accept us because we have bad grades and that is due to cell phone use,” Strahan added.
Texting has, in many ways, made communication easier by helping people avoid long, unpleasant phone conversations and making a quick “Hello” much easier. According to the Pew Research Center, 72% of teenagers text regularly, and one in three sends more than 100 texts per day. Clearly, texting is the preferred method of communication among young people, and that trend is moving upward toward adults, who are also texting much more frequently.
Studies have shown that it makes it difficult for students who rely so heavily on technology to actually communicate to adults in person because they don’t quite develop all of the necessary skills to hold or even start a face-to-face conversation. However, these skills are a crucial tool in the workforce. If you want a high paying, stable job, or possibly even to be admitted to a university, you must have good face-to-face communication skills. If you lack these specific skills you most likely won’t even make it through the interview
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