The Impact of Technology on Communication - Essay Example

The world is changing at a frantic pace. The biggest reason for these changes is the continuous evolution and advancement of technology. Interpersonal communication, in particular, has been significantly transformed by the gizmos and gadgets which have taken up permanent residence in many people’s home and work lives. This change is perhaps best reflected in the slow demise of the United States Postal Service, which is nearly bankrupt and threatening to shut down altogether due to the predominance of technological communication such as email, according to an article entitled “U.S. Postal Service Nearing Bankruptcy as Email Asserts Its Dominance”(Wehner).

Some people may regard this change in communication because technology has made it cheaper and faster to communicate than ever before. Yet, many other people view technology’s changes to communication as a very negative force as it has created a new generation of people who are extremely ignorant in terms of communicating appropriately and effectively. According to the article entitled “What is Good Communication,” there are distinct characteristics which clearly define good versus bad communication.

In looking at the comparison, it is evident that many of the qualities, which make up “bad” communication are extremely evident in much of the communication conducted via technology. For example, poor communication has qualities such as “people wear(ing)masks, the sender attacks the receiver, the receiver doesn’t listen to sender, either sender or receiver is distracted, the message is garbled or ambiguous, the sender has hidden agenda, and one or more of the people involved are overemotional” (“What is Good Communication”).

All of these qualities can be found in how people communicate today due to the influence of technology. This is especially prevalent for Internet-based and texting-based communication where people can hide behind their electronic devices which creates an atmosphere of anonymity and a false sense of security for the communicators as they are not having to deal with a person in any real capacity. Because of this negative impact, it has become increasingly important in my own life to incorporate the characteristics of good communication with those that I communicate with using methods such as email, Skype, and telephone.

People, nowadays, already carry an expectation with them that they are dealing with poor communicators when they technologically communicate with a person. Therefore, I ensure that I strictly adhere to the characteristics of “good communication” when I do communicate with others in this manner to exceed their expectations which will automatically provide these same people with an excellent impression of me. Some of the characteristics of effective/good communication include “people (who) are authentic, the sender is neutral or positive toward the receiver, the receiver is open to listening and pay(s) attention to the conversation, the message is clear and direct, and sender discloses what they want out of the conversation(“What is Good Communication”).

In making sure to communicate in this way, I am using the notion that “technology has limited and hurt interpersonal communication” to my advantage because I make it a point to show those I communicate with that, while others may not know how to communicate effectively due to technology, I, do. This ultimately makes me stand out from the crowd, and it helps to establish the fact that I am knowledgeable, responsible, and professional to everyone that I communicate with.