The Effect the Internet Has on Social Skills and Communication - Essay Example

Running Head The Effect the Internet has on Social Skills and Communication The Effect the Internet has on Social Skills and Communication The Internet and online communication has changed social identity and traditional communication patterns. While the internet is global in extent, it is by no means a general medium of communication in the way that radio or television already are. The number of internet users has expanded at such a phenomenal rate that estimating their number with any accuracy is quite impractical. The total number of internet users worldwide by 1999 was estimated to be between 150 and 180 million (Papacharissi and Rubin 2000). These numbers show that the Internet has a great impact on all spheres of life and social relations between diverse audiences. Electronic communication is very popular because it helps to transmit information to the recipient and receive reply faster and easier in comparison with other types of human interaction at work. Also, the addressing of a message enables normal mail to be processed and delivered without need for the sender to inform the recipient that the message is to be dispatched. On the other hand, electronic mail systems store and then deliver to electronic mail boxes which enable the recipient to retrieve the message when convenient. Following Dimaggio et al (2001): “Enthusiasts predicted that the Internet would reduce inequality by lowering the cost of information and thus enhancing the ability of low-income men and women to gain human capital, find and compete for good jobs, and otherwise enhance their life chances” (p. 38). E-mail is the cheapest form of information interchange, because it helps to save costs for delivering information at the shortest period of time. The great layer of information and varieties of technology become available now for wide target audience. Internet has changed social interaction and patterns of communication between people “forcing” them to spend more time before their screens. Recent years, Internet chat rooms become the most popular channels of social interaction between computer users all over the world. Internet chat rooms have a great impact on personal identity and inner “self” of visitors. In recent years the understanding of “self” has been changed, because as a collective sentiment, it needs to be upheld and reaffirmed (Papacharissi and Rubin 2000). Cyberspace makes it possible for every person to create a unique identity according to personal expectations and desires, but it hides negative and even dangerous consequences for people he/she communicates with. “Cyberspace opens the possibility for identity play, but it is very serious play” (Turkle, 2004, p. 275). In this situation, stipulated gender identities exist only in cyberspace, which defines and organizes them. The search for identity includes the question of what is the proper relationship of the individual to society as a whole. Internet and chat rooms open new opportunities for people to change their identity and a social “self”. It means that a man can communicates as a woman, or a child can identifies himself as an expert in particular field. For instance, the case of Marcus vividly portrays that a teenager can easily become a “legal expert” in a chat room. He deceived hundreds of people who needed professional help and advice. This case depicts that “in a few weeks Marcus had created a new identity for himself: legal wizard” (Lewis 2004, p. 289). The Internet communication facilitates dialogue, empowers people to make things happen rather than have things happen to them, and as a tool for creating new forms of solidarity and cooperation, yet internet technology does not do all these things in and of itself. Mobilizing the opportunities offered by the Internet will therefore always involve unacknowledged conditions, unintended consequences, and a dazzling array of interests which are not only contradictory, but may also be contested by others. The Internet creates a new form of social interaction which affects and changes human relations towards impersonal communication changing culture of people. Language of signs and symbols becomes the embodiment of culture and is a means whereby people communicate to other people, either within their own culture or in other cultures. According to Henderson (2001): “Cyberspace slang is rarely tied to the familiar, with occasional exceptions such as virus for destructive programs capable of replicating themselves in computers throughout the land almost instantly or in real time” (p. 38). On the other hand, Internet communication deprive every user a chance to send verbal and non-verbal messages to the recipient. The Internet creates its own culture which reflects in its language what is of value to the people. The problem is that Internet communication uses only language of signs which differs greatly from traditional communication patterns. Many chat rooms’ visitors’ describe their experience as “My interac­tion with PFSIider seemed more authentic than much of what I experienced in the daylight realm of living beings” (Daum 2004, p. 267). A recipient has no chance to perceive and interpret behavior of the other person. In terms of the crisis of personal culture Internet identity becomes an interpretation of the self that establishes what and where the man is in both social and psychological terms. “For many people, joining online communities means crossing a boundary into highly charged territory. Some feel an uncomfortable sense of fragmenta­tion, some a sense of relief” (Turkle 2004, p. 275). The main effect of unfair actions of the Internet communication is that online interaction becomes a real threat for many people who rely on honesty and fairness of another visitor. This self-image results from a problematic division of true and imaginary self. For instance, when Marcus revealed his background and age, he received a numerous “hostile” messages. The cause of this situation is that Internet chat rooms do not portray a positive and realistic image of users. It does not provide images of men to show a variety of human beings, deserving of respect. Another effect of Internet chat rooms on visitors is feeling of alienation and desperation and inability to socialize. Also, internet chat rooms have a psychological impact on human personality. “For some people, it is a place to "act out" unresolved conflicts, to play and replay character-logical difficulties on a new and exotic stage. For others, it provides an opportunity to "work through" significant personal issues” (Turkle 2004, p. 275). Violence and aggression are the main things expressed in chat rooms through “wrong” identities. The main effect of online communication is a “dual nature” of people who use chat rooms. Daum (2004) mentions: “Pete knew nothing of my scattered, juvenile self, and I did my best to keep it that way” (p. 268). Autonomy is not established by a kind of release from social constraints, so that the unencumbered self can realize individually-determined ends, but is realized through full participation in the civic order or disorder. “Online expe­riences with "parallel lives" are part of the significant cultural context that supports new theorizing about nonpathological indeed healthy, multiple selves” (Turkle 2004, p. 275). This represents a threat for children who can be humiliated and threatened by others. It is important to note that computer culture is not as good as it is supposed to be. Usually, users do not follow culturally stipulated rules and norms which lead to degradation and violation of human rights and dignity. In their research, Papacharissi and Rubin (2001) found that: “satisfaction was associated with a more instrumental approach to the medium, whereas, similar to past television uses research, affinity was linked to a more ritualized use of the Internet” (p. 177). In cyberspace this gap in public trust is going to be one of the biggest problems facing the wiring up of public service delivery, and data protection laws (Dimaggio 2001). Critics (Papacharissi and Rubin 2001) admit that the attempt are made to trace and evaluate the significance of Internet communication as the process of development which can be discerned and analyzed in detail in the functioning of virtual society. In spite of advantages mentioned above, the Internet communication cannot replace meetings and face-to-face communication. The Internet communication has some negative impact on social communication including a sense of alienation and lack of oral communication skills, “dual” self identities and unfair behavior of people communicating online. The Internet communication does not include sending both verbal messages and nonverbal messages (tone of voice, facial expression, behavior, and physical setting). For instance, important decisions (problem solving) cannot be solved using the Internet only. In these satiations, face-to-face communication allows to save time because communicants receive both verbal and non-verbal messages which help them to communicate more effectively than vie e-mail. On the other hand, it is very difficult to use group discussions via the Internet effectively, and in this case the Internet cannot replace meetings. Critics underline that unwillingness to communicate verbally is one of the main problems affected the Internet users. “Unwillingness to communicate has been linked to anomia and alienation, introversion, self-esteem, communication apprehension, and reticence” (Burgoon, 1976 cited Papacharissi and Rubin, 2000, p. 175)”. Verbal communication is more effective, because it helps to persuade people to do something, to develop positive attitudes, and to cause other changes in peoples thinking and behavior that will be beneficial to the company at shorter period of time. The idea that internet technology might somehow bring about benefits automatic­ally, bypassing the forums for decisions and the lines of con­flict within individuals, contradicts the self-understanding of a modern man. The main advantages are fast information interchange and wide target audience. Thus, the Internet communication hides many threats for users making impossible to identify a persona and his/her real background. Online communication inculcates some users to behave violently because it proposes an easy solution to compete on the virtual arena. References 1. Daum, M. (2004). Virtual Love, in Behrens, L., Rosen, L.J. Writing and Reading across the Curriculum. Ninth edn, pp. 267-274. 2. Dimaggio, P., Hargittai, P., Neuman, R., Robinson, P. (2001). Social Implications of the Internet, Annual Review of Sociology, 4, 307-310. 3. Henderson, C. (2001 July). How the Internet Is Changing Our Lives. The Futurist, 35, pp. 38. 4. Lewis, M. (2004). “The 15 Year Old Legal Whiz” in Behrens, L., Rosen, L.J. Writing and Reading across the Curriculum. Ninth edn, pp. 289-294. 5. Papacharissi, Z., Rubin, A. M. (2000). Predictors of Internet Use. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 44 (2), pp. 175-180. 6. Turkle, Sh. (2004). Cyberspace Identity, in Behrens, L., Rosen, L.J. Writing and Reading across the Curriculum. Ninth edn, pp. 275-283. Read More