Role of Technology in Communication Process - Research Paper Example

? Role of Technology on Communication Process Communication is the key towards building strong relationships, both in personal and official life. This paper would look into the traditional communication processes and how they are transformed with the emergence of technology. The paper would also give an inside into the pros and cons of changed communication processes due to technology. By the end of this research paper, the readers would also understand the social revolution that technology has brought by affecting the conventional communication processes. To gather information and review theories regarding communication processes, different academic websites, journals and books have been utilized to support arguments. How Communication Processes are influenced by the Use of Technology World has transformed into a global village, thanks to the arrival of a number of technological developments. These technological developments has enabled person sitting at one corner of the world to communicate with another person sitting at the opposite corner of the world. All of this is possible just because of gadgets, computers, internet and efforts to close the gap between people living on earth. It can be argued that in today’s era, all communication processes are based on technology, with the exception of face to face communication or speech based communication. From the beginning of the human race on earth, human has strived to develop methods and technologies that help them to keep a record of their imagination and thought processes. First, we used to have stone tablets which were replaced with the advent of the printing press and then with the emergence of computers. Thus, the communication processes adopted by the human race has been changed from time to time (Cuel & Ferrario, 2007). Before going into further detail, it is important to understand the communication process. Berlo (1960) made amendments in the communication process model presented by Shannon and Weaver (1949) to make it more understandable for the audience. Shannon and Weaver’s model of communication consisted of 4 steps namely source, message, channel and receiver. Berlo changed these steps and identified source as the actual messenger who is sending the message. The second step was the message which was named as intended message design which clarified the audience that it actually includes the purpose, language and priorities included as content in the message. The third step in Shannon and Weaver’s communication model was channel which was named as a medium of communication by Berlo. The last and fourth step was receiving of message at the receiver’s end which heavily depends upon the perception of the receiver. Here, the impact of technology on communication processes would be discussed with respect to an individual’s personal and professional life. First of all it need to be understood that communication carried out with the use of technology is referred to as mediated communication. If you are using a cell phone to send a message, it is mediated communication. If you are sending an email to communicate, it is mediated communication. Even if you are delivering your intended message through television to mass audiences, it is also called mediated communication. In our personal lives, we get engaged in communication processes for almost 18 hours of the day. If it was the 18th century, then a person who is engaged for 18 hours in communicating with people would go mad due to lack of facilitating gadgets available (Tomei, 2007). Imagine women of 18th century sitting in Europe wanted to send her beloved husband her picture to ease of his nerves during the tiring war that he is engaged in Caribbean. It would take a month or a couple of months for the picture to reach at desired destination as it will be carried through sea-route. At that time, people used sketches to make such communications and write a number of pages to express their feelings. Then came the cameras which made it possible for people to transfer their pictures and express their feelings. Since then, a number of inventions were made to ease down the hurdles that were experienced during communicating people far away. In the late 1870s Edison gave us phonograph and telegraph which became a widely used communication medium in no time. 1876 saw the emergence of telephone which was introduced by Graham Bell. Telephone is considered as being the most major invention in the communication field. People were amazed that they can actually listen to their loved ones sitting far away and business processes for multinationals was simplified. So how the technology did affected communication process here? The answer is it reduced the time gap between sending a message and receiving a response. It gave people the liberty to get engage in long and clear communication process with less chances of lapse (Walsh et al., 2000). Now we will discuss the personal messages that people send through different technological sources. Imagine you want to send a greeting card to your fiance in America while you re sitting in Australia, on the eve of Valentines Day. The selection of greeting card, writing your sentiments on it and sending it via courier would have taken four to five working days. But why getting stuck in this hassle? Now people can send greeting cards by using different seasonal greeting websites where you can brows and select your favorite card and send it instantly by clicking four or five times. The card will be received within a blink of eye at the receiving end. Similarly, a seasonal greeting website in America may also help you. You place an order at the website and they will deliver the card to the desired location and charge a nominal fee for that. Then we have cell phones. Short Messaging Service (SMS) provides a fantastic facility to its users where the sender can type his or her message and press send. Within few seconds, the message will be received on the receiver’s cell phone. If this is not sufficient to prove the benefits of use of technology in communication, then consider the smart phones and millions of communication applications come with them. Even if there are no cellular services available, smart phones enable its users to send their communication messages by using different third party communication application, such as Viber, Skype or Whatsapp. Other worth discussing technologies facilitating the communication processes in the modern world are internal-communication devices (intercom), walky-talkies, head phones, iPod, MP3 devices, Universal Serial Bus (USB) and etc (Matzat, 2004). Now the focus would be on exploring how technology has influenced professional communication mechanisms. The biggest beneficiary of communication technology has been the business world. Business processes are considered to have been simplified with the emergence of different technology based communication mediums that does not only reduce the time gap between sending a message and receiving the response, but has also helped businesses around the world to cut down costs. Timely decision making and long distance business meetings within few seconds are the most profound benefits of using technology in business communication (Walsh et al., 2000). Fiber optic was introduced in the late 80s around the world. Fiber optics cable enables businesses to conduct long distance communication without needing a physical hotline or connectivity between the sender and receiver of the message. The invention of Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) provides business with quick connectivity with the business units dispersed all over the globe and gathers sales and operations report from foreign ventures of a parent company. ADSL has been overlapped by with the emergence of Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), Wireless Fidelity and WiFi networks which provides on the go connectivity to business personals so that they can stay in contact with their colleagues, partners, board members and other official staff (Miller, 2012). Another major discovery in the recent past is Personal Digital Assitant (PDA) which works more as a computer cum cellular device. Business personals prefers PDA over laptops as it enables them to write emails, respond clients, browse products and services, maintain contacts and attend the meeting. They provide longer battery time to the users and are easy to carry as compare to laptops. E-learning software allows businesses to share and seek knowledge regarding new business tactics and report sharing (Lube, 2007). When we talk about businesses striving to establish their brands in the market and engage in marketing communication, technology also plays a vital role here. Unlike the past when organization used to communicate their marketing message to the target audience by using television, radio and print advertising mediums, now businesses are relying more on social media advertising. The internet has emerged as a problem solver for businesses as it helped businesses to reduce their marketing costs. Different social media forums like Facebook, Twitter, and Hi5 along with other mediums like Blogs and Official Website allows organizations to send their marketing message to a large audience. The marketing message has vast coverage and leaves a long lasting impact on the mind of the consumers. In addition, the marketing message reaches people beyond geographic area. In this manner, marketing communication carried out with the help of the internet or social media mediums have maximum reach and provide target audience to provide their feedback on the marketing message immediately. Maintaining social media channels and other online advertising sources is less costly as compare to conventional marketing mediums such as print, TV or radio mediums. The use of the internet to communicate with the target audience also enables organizations to gather valuable data related to the customer base and identify consumers’ choices and preferences towards a particular product or service (Miller, 2012). After reviewing unlimited benefits of technology, now is the time to look at the downside of this situation. The next few paragraphs would focus on identifying and defining the cons of technological advancement and its impact on the communication processes. The first and foremost con of using technology while using technology is that the facial expressions that are required to set the tone of the communication process is not present. The body language helps the sender of the message to reinforce the effectiveness of the communication message which is not allowed at if the medium of communication is technology based. The second basic and evident con of use of technology in communication process is that, the receiver might not have the possession of the same technology or even if he or she have the technology, there is a possibility that the receiver does not know how to use the technology properly. The term used to define this gap in skills to use technology for communication is known as the digital divide (Lamb & Davidson, 2005). Another mainstream issue that is faced by masses in professional and personal life while communicating with the help of technology is the lack of security of information shared and the privacy issues. A hacker might hack your computer and fetch all your financial information that you communicated to one of your friend on social media. On the other hand, people share their personal believes, ideas, lives, businesses and other details by using technology to communicate. This information, data, ideas, believes, life experiences and business secrets can easily be stolen by a hacker (Olson & Olson, 2000). After studying the pros and cons of using technology to communicate, this research essay would now focus on understand whether or not world has seen a social revolution due to increased use of technology in communication processes. It is evident from the events that took place recently in the world. The biggest and foremost evidence of how technology communication has brought about a social revolution in the world is Egyptian Revolution. In 2012, Egypt saw uprising of Egyptian youth against the dictatorship of Hussnei Mubarak and prevailing poverty at Tahreer Square. President Mubarak sensed the seriousness of the issue and to cut down any communication between the protesters, he ordered jamming of any telecommunication systems existing in the country. After three days of frustration, one of the protester at last found the way to communicate with the rest of the nation. He started to communicate the feelings of protestors and appealed rest of the nation to join them at Tahreer Square via facebook. The social networking site at that moment never knew the potential that it can also be used to ignite protestors and bring unity and strength among the nation (Vargas, 2012). At another instance, when Mumbai was under terrorists’ attack in 2011, all phone lines and any communication medium existing in the city were jammed, so that the terrorists and their conspirator cannot communicate and expedite their plan. At this crucial time, youth in Mumbai came up with the idea of lifting up the morals of the nation and the law enforcing agencies via facebook and twitter (Sheedy, 2011). From these two instances, it can be inferred that use of technology in communication processes not only serves as information sharing medium but also enables its users to reach masses residing even in remotest areas of the world. Another social revolution that technology has brought in communication processes is the use of slangs, short terms and emoticons. It is estimated that around 15% of the organizations’ revenues on creating slangs and emoticons to liven up the communication process on their social networking and chatting sites. Now, when two people communicate over internet or cellular service, they make maximum use of emoticons and slangs to express their feelings rather than writing the whole sentence and then delivering the message. It can be seen as a cultural setback because use of emoticons and slangs is not considered appropriate in some cultures. But considering the increase fatigue that people experience with managing their time, it is a viable option to send communication messages while driving, working, eating or playing games and not stop doing what you are doing. Multitasking skills are the necessity of the time, and communicating while performing a task or daily routine makes life easier but hectic for the users of technology (Sheedy, 2011). It is clear from the theories and ideas presented by social experts that use of technology is not reliable to predict any changes in the social upheaval in the world we are living. But in the broader perspective, use of technology in communication processes have reduced any gap that might exists between the members of the society and allow people to invest their time efficiently in daily routine (Preece, 2000). To conclude this essay, it can be inferred that technology has massively influenced the ways in which our usual communication processes use to take place. Now people are more aware of the preciousness of time therefore it becomes important for them to communicate more in lesser time period. Although, distances might be increasing between people as they can communicate with each other by sitting at their homes, but the considering the hectic lifestyle that we humans possess now days, use of smart phones, tablets, PDAs, laptops, third party communication software or conference calling facility is the necessity of the time. Throughout this essay, ity has been observed that there are more pros of using technology in communication processes as compare to the cons of the phenomenon. Also, it has been found that technology communication has bridged the gap between nationalities of the world and urged the requirement to use it for the sake of establishing unity and strength among the people living on planet earth. List of References Berlo, D., 1960. The Process of Communication. Bagota. Cuel, R. and Ferrario, R., 2007. the impact of technology in organizational communication. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 13 August 2012]. Lamb, R. and Davidson, E., 2005. Information and communication technology challenges to scientific professional identity. Information Society, 21(1), pp.1-24. Lube, S., 2007. Managing Information Communication Technology Investments in Successful Enterprises. New Delhi: Idea Group Inc. Matzat, u., 2004. Academic communication and internet discussion groups: Transfer of information or creation of social contacts?. Social Networks, 26(3), pp.221-55. Miller, K., 2012. Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes. NY: Cengage Learning. Olson, G.M. and Olson, J.S., 2000. Distance Matters. Human-Computer Interaction, 15(3), pp.139-78. Preece, J., 2000. Online Communities: Designing usability, supporting sociability. NY: John Wiley. Shannon, C.E. and Warren, W., 1949. A Mathematical Model of Communication. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Sheedy, C.S., 2011. Social Media for Social Change: A case study of social media use in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. [Online] Available at: www.american.edu>[Accessed 13 August 2013]. Tomei, L.A., 2007. Integrating Information and Communications Technologies Into the Classroom. New Delhi: Idea Group Inc. Vargas, J.A., 2012. Spring Awakening: How an Egyptian Revolution Began on Facebook. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 13 August 2013]. Walsh, j.P., Kucker, S. and Maloney, N.G.G.S., 2000. Connecting minds: Computer mediated communication and sceintific work. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 51(14), pp.1295-305. Read More