A Bane To Interpersonal Communication - Research Paper Example

Technology: A Bane To Interpersonal Communication Of The Institue Introduction The invention of technology like video conferencing, mobile phone and internet has broadened the scope of communication in people’s day to day life (West & Turner 2009, p.xii). Development of online relationship is growing with people coming from different cultural background, races and age group getting to know each other (West & Turner 2009, p.xii). The new way of communications is fast, smooth and swift. These qualities of communication through technology make people think that it is the best way to communicate as it saves time, energy and money. However, it is not as rosy as it looks. Communication through cell phones, text messaging, social networking sites and e-mails have affected the interpersonal communication in a negative way. Even though modern technology has helped human being in making communication process fast, hassle free, and swift, it has failed to enhance the quality of communication between human beings. Modern technology of communication has affected the humanity negatively by reducing the human touch from that interpersonal communication and hence, the very soul of human interaction has lost with the invention of modern communication devices. Impact On Relationships Technology has invaded every aspect of people’s lives. Human being has become so dependent on technical devices that it won’t be wrong to say that he has become a slave to technology. He has started using technology not only for work communication, business transactions, paying bills, shopping and social interactions but also for maintaining contacts in his personal relationships. According to the study by ‘Internet Usage’ (2008), there has been 20.7% increase in population using internet from 1995 to 2008 (Wood 2010, p.xii). Also, a study by Demographics(2008) revealed that 71% of US population depend on internet for communication (Wood 2010, p.xii). These findings prove that technology is being used not only for professional purposes but also to communicate with people who are part of personal lives. This affects the interpersonal communication to a great extent. More and more people are using internet and mobile phones for interpersonal communication (Wood 2010, p.xii). People are choosing to keep in touch with friends and relatives through e-mail or social networking sites (Wood 2010, p.xii). People are trying to be ‘social’ by being active on social networking sites rather than meeting each other in person. Technology has influenced not only the social circle but also the way people are handling their personal and intimate relationships. According to a report by Demographics (2008), most of the relationship (friendship, dating, group etc.) which were developed through face to face interactions are now taking place online (Wood 2010, p.xii). Impact On Interpretive Skills Interpersonal communication happens when people involve their emotions in the communication (Konijn & Vugt 2008, p.100). Communication is hindered if one of the people involved decides not to communicate openly. This is because the feelings, emotions or thoughts that are communicated in interpersonal communication are interpreted by the other person on the basis of the tone, the body language and the intensity with which they are communicated (Konijn & Vugt 2008, p.100). However, when people communicate through cell phone, e-mail or chat, interpreting the emotions becomes difficult. Hence, the communication, most of times, remain cold and distant. This can also lead to misunderstandings in communication. Impact On Self Image With the advent of social networking sites and chat rooms on internet, creation of self identity on internet has become a norm. An identity is a complex personal and social construct as it consists of three parts which are: 1. who the person is, 2. how he wish to present himself to others and 3. the way he is perceived by others ( Wood & Smith 2005, p.52). Internet has made it possible for people to manipulate their identities online and present themselves as they wish others to perceive them (Wood & Smith 2005, p.52). Hence, the self presentation on social networking sites and chat room are not always authentic. This hampers the interpersonal communication. People who experience fraud through pretentious internet identities feel betrayed by the others as they perceive the others in the chat room as authentic (Wood & Smith 2005, p.51). When they realize that the other person is not what he is presenting himself to be, they feel cheated and experience distress. This experience makes people cautious when communicating online and hence, most of the communication and interpersonal interaction on internet remain cold and superficial. Hence, no matter how many friends or relationships one develops on internet, the fact remains that the relationships does not deepen unless one meets face to face. Impact On Nonverbal Communication Nonverbal communication is one of the most important aspects of interpersonal communication. “Nonverbal communication is transmission of meaning from one person to another through means or symbols other than words”( Weiten, Lloyd, Dunn & Hammer 2009, p.208). The nonverbal communication plays an important role in making a person understand those things about people that are not communicated verbally. Nonverbal communication like body language and facial expressions reveal the true feelings and thoughts of a person (Weiten, Lloyd, Dunn & Hammer 2009, p.209). For example, if a person says, “that is fine with me” with stiff lips, it means that he is actually not fine with it. In this way, the nonverbal communication contradicts with the verbal communication and reveals the true feelings of a person (Weiten, Lloyd, Dunn & Hammer 2009, p.209). Also, according to Choi et al. (2005), as people feel a “need to act quickly in social life”, their subconscious mind automatically and instantly express and grasp the true feelings and thoughts through the nonverbal communication cues (Konijn & Vugt 2008, p.100). However, when people communicate through cell phone, chat, social networking sites or e-mails, they do not get to see all these nonverbal cues given through body language, facial expressions, gestures and movement of eyes. Hence, lack of the aid of nonverbal communication through modern technology creates a barrier in maintaining a genuine interpersonal communication. Impact On Verbal Communication Verbal communication is the communication process where a meaningful message is transmitted to other person with the aid of words and language through speech (Wood 95). As verbal communication involves words, language and speech, one may think that technology cannot affect the nature of verbal communication. After all, when you listen and talk to a person on phone or face to face, there are no chances of misunderstanding or misinterpretation of what is being said. However, it is not so. Technology has affected not only the nonverbal communication process but also the verbal interactions between people. Study by Kurdek (1998) revealed that most of the dissatisfaction and break ups in relationship occur due to lack of appropriate communication between the two people involved (Weiten, Lloyd, Dunn & Hammer 2009, p.207). This shows how important it is to have an ability to communicate with others. Some of the qualities that make verbal communication effective are empathy, honesty and effective listening skills (Weiten, Lloyd, Dunn & Hammer 2009, p.216). Verbal communication can be ineffective if a person fails to empathize with other or fail to listen effectively to what is being said. According to author Jonathan Coleman (2000), technology has hampered the quality of communication as it does not allow a person to concentrate on one conversation at a time (Wood 2010, p.152). According to him, people are not able to communicate well as their attention is divided between two things, i.e. the activity that they are engaged in and conversing with other person on phone (Wood 2010, p.152). This affects the quality of communication and the intention of the communication is not fulfilled. Hence, Coleman says that technology “creates the illusion of intimacy while it actually makes us intimate strangers” (Wood 2010, p.152). Moreover, people hesitate to communicate their true feelings when they are public. The usage of cell phone has led to private conversations being conducted in public (Weiten, Lloyd, Dunn & Hammer 2009, p.209). This shows that the essence of intimacy in verbal communication is dying and hence, the purpose of verbal communication is becoming weak. Conclusion The research in the field of interpersonal communication shows that even though technology has made human being’s life easier and comfortable by introducing cell phones, internet, video conferencing, social networking sites etc., it has proved harmful to personal lives. Technology has affected the depth and authenticity of the interpersonal communication negatively. Lack of control over the use of cell phone and being reachable at any time has led people to have less time for themselves and heir families. Cell phone, laptops and e-mails have made people to work even at home and at odd hours. This affects the bonding between the family members as they spend less time with family and more time with the technical devices. Hence, it can be said that technology has proved to be a bane to interpersonal communication than a boon to it. References: Weiten, W., Lloyd, M.A., Dunn, D.S., & Hammer, E.Y. (2009). Psychology applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. West, R., & Turner, L.H. (2009). Understanding interpersonal communication: Making choices in changing times (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Wood, A.F., & Smith, M.J. (2005). Online Communication: Linking Technology, Identity, and Culture (2nd ed.). Mahawah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Wood, J.T. (2010). Interpersonal communication: Everyday encounters. (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Konijn, E.A., & Vugt, H.C. (2008). Emotions in mediated interpersonal communication: Toward modeling emotion in virtual humans. In E.Konijn, S.Utz, M. Tanis & S.Barnes (Eds.), Mediated Interpersonal Communication (pp.100-130). New York, NY: Routledge. Read More