Musings on Modern Communication

"The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate."--Joseph Priestley

"Two monologues do not make a dialogue." --Jeff Daly

    This topic has fascinated me since the late 1990's and early 2000's when I began using the Internet and email regularly. I remember asking myself how email was going to change the quality of human communication, and that question remained in the back of my mind as newer methodologies of communication began entering my life--online chatting, Instant Messaging, text messaging, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Technology has a way of evolving faster than anything else in the world, it seems, so the relevancy of my original question remains. I now ask myself how all of these modern technological mediums of communication (aka "cyber communication") affect human communication on a day-to-day basis.

   I have observed many interesting sights while out in public over the past decade that definitely remind me how much the world has changed since I was a child back in the 1980's; for instance, I've seen people sitting in crowded coffee shops and cafes staring into laptop screens and seemingly oblivious to the world around them. I've witnessed people sitting in restaurants together while also talking on cell phones to other people. I've observed people (usually teenagers) hanging out together while texting (each other) & looking at their phones in complete silence. I've heard many similar stories from others who have also witnessed such occurrences, and it leads me to wonder if people feel closer to each other when they cyber communicate or if their cyber communication lacks a certain quality that only face-to-face communication can provide.

   I'd like to list my own pros and cons with cyber communication and its effect on my life as a way to get further perspective on the issue and see if others agree or disagree:

PROS: 1) I can talk to people on my own time. If someone sends me an email, message, comment, etc., I can respond whenever I'm ready to and feel like it. 2) It's fast and easy. I just have to type something and I'm done. 3) It's convenient for everybody else too. They can respond to me whenever they're ready and feel like it. 4) It's as current and consistent a form of communication can be with folks that don't live with me. I can be updated with the goings on of friends and relatives that I otherwise rarely see on a regular basis, and I happen to place a high value on that.

CONS: 1) It usually lacks human presence and the ability for me to express exactly what I'm feeling to someone in the moment. 2) There's a chance that someone might misinterpret what I'm expressing (or vice versa) and we're not able to clarify what we mean--using nonverbal communication, including facial expressions and tone of voice. Emoticons don't quite get the job done, in my opinion. 3) It usually requires having an Internet connection--if I lose that, even temporarily, I'm cut off from cyber communicating in an environment that's constantly being updated (with Tweets, comments, etc.) unceasingly. Oh, and the Internet isn't always cheap--neither are cell phone bills--however, traveling to see far away friends and relatives to communicate face-to-face can also be pretty pricey (and time consuming). 4) It has a way of making written communication grammatically incorrect and less eloquent. Gone are the days of handwritten letters--for the most part. The language of emailing and texting allows for multiple abbreviations and shortcuts in writing that tends to rub self-proclaimed academians (such as myself) the wrong way. My best friend (a high school English teacher) used to tell me about his students using text abbreviations in their essays, and I realize that the younger generations may be having more difficulties in the quality of their communication because the modern way is all that they may be growing up to know (outside of formal schooling). Speaking does allow for less eloquence during conversation with people we're familiar with versus communicating in more formal environments and with people we do not know; however, I wonder how strongly the influence of cyber communication is affecting others' basic writing and speaking skills. This con holds a lot of weight for me--it's certainly a big one!

   It appears as though I have found an equal amount of pros and cons with cyber communication, and arguments for or against it seem to be pretty balanced for me. That being said, I do not expect our level of cyber communication in the world to decrease--in fact, I believe it may only increase, along with our ever-evolving technological tools that allow us to communicate in a multitude of ways. I must point out here that phone technology has seemed to improve in bringing us ways to see the people we're speaking with in real time. This technology allows for a simulated face-to-face conversation that comes closest to the real thing, and I find that pretty cool! :-)

   So, the purpose of my blog today is to create awareness of how our cyber communication may be affecting the quality of our communication as a whole. Is is keeping you regularly connected to your loved ones? Is it pushing you away from having meaningful experiences with people you care about? Is it something that you can better regulate in your life to find a better balance in how you communicate? These are some of the questions that I've been asking myself when it comes to this subject. For the most part, I feel better connected to people that I do not see on a regular basis. Can I use it a bit less and pick up a phone and call some of my family and friends more often or go visit them in person? Yes. Will I? I'll try. ;-)