We need to use email, etc. as a way to enhance our communication, not as a replacement for face to face communication. Let us not allow advanced technology, as cool and convenient as it can be, to replace the natural human ways of communicating. There is no equal substitute for face to face communication and personal social interaction. Email, chat rooms, instant messaging, and Facebook have partially replaced the social interaction that has been essential to human growth and development, and I think that this may have the potential to not serve us so well in the future. Communication is not just about words and language. Non verbal communication is a huge part of how we interact and understand each other, as well as a way to gauge and get to know our selves. When we restrict ourselves to the use of virtual methods to communicate, we miss out on the facial expressions, hand gestures, certain tones of voice, and body language that always take place during communication. How can we really express ourselves online with the same level of sincerity as if we are face to face?
We are replacing these essential parts of communication with other various ways to convey the same messages, such as emoticons and text slang (LOL, SMH, etc.). Instead of sitting with a friend and sharing a joke, and getting to exchange that feeling in person, my friend will now type “LMAO” and I replay with “ROFL”. BORING! Virtual flowers are not as effective as bringing them to a loved one yourself, and neither is an email kiss for a way to say “thank you”. I want to feel that kiss so that I know that it is real and that it is really coming from the person that I think it is. What’s next? There is already online dating, and this is a major way that people initially become aware of each other these days. But the entire relationship cannot be conducted online. Suppose you have a serious connection and feelings for this person, and marriage becomes a possibility. Eventually you will have to meet this person, unless technology comes up with a way to carry out a wedding ceremony online. “Click here for I do”. And please, I am certainly not willing to consummate my marriage via email. Then, will parents raise their children online? Send Lil Johnny an update at the end of the day with a checklist to make sure that he did his chores and goes to bed on time? We will be a world full of emotionless robots.
One of the main ways that I think that online interaction can be potentially damaging is for the education of young people, especially high school. Don’t get me wrong: I feel that online classes and distance learning can be a diverse, interesting, and beneficial way to learn, and can be a good experience when it is added to the standard curriculum. However, the same thing applies just like with other communication experiences, education through email and online education should not be a total substitute for in-class learning.
I agree with the idea that sometimes things are just better in person, like a kiss or flowers. However, e-mail is only a tool in order to facilitate one’s life. It is not a means for conducting one’s whole life over the internet. Of course, there are many people that do conduct their whole life via e-mail, but I feel that the majority of the population only uses such things as e-mail as a tool in life. In no way do I feel that it is harmful. I actually attended an online high school for the last two years of my high school career, and I do not feel that it negatively affected me at all. It is not like people who attend online schools are shut out from the world. In fact, many students attend online high schools because they have too much going on in their lives that they need a flexible school schedule. I was working and volunteering while attending my online high school and that was the case for a lot of my fellow classmates. We used online high school as a tool as opposed to a way of life. Despite my experience and that of my peers, there are many people out there that cannot do well in an online environment because they need physical interaction while working on school work, and these people could be considered kinesthetic learners, but I’m more visual/verbal, so it worked out perfectly for me.
ReplyDeleteThere’s this passage in Eve Ensler’s new book, I Am An Emotional Creature that I really enjoy and your blog reminded me strongly of it. In the monologue, You Tell Me How To Be A Girl In 2010, she says “I want to touch you in real time, not find you on YouTube; I want to walk with you in the mountains, not friend you on Facebook”. There’s this message that’s being played constantly in our world today that says, “Faster!” and that sometimes means that our lives fly by without meaningful interaction with people. Now, let me clarify that I don’t think that all online communication is meaningless because I don’t think that. But, I do believe that face-to-face communication is extremely important and I agree with you completely on that.
ReplyDeleteI’d hate to have my future children going to school with nothing but computers. I can understand the advantage of having online classes in college and, maybe in high school. But, there’s evidence shown that people need face-to-face interaction. We need communication and online communication doesn’t always work the way we as humans need. I hope that our future doesn’t involve humans-through-computers for everything because there’s only a certain amount of intimacy that’s held through online communication.
As an older adult, I have witness the deterioration of communication in our society. Just this morning as I was driving down a street I noticed a man with his son waiting for a bus or ride of some sort. The man was totally engrossed in some texting operation instead of watching his little one on the sidewalk of a busy street. He should have been talking with this child, holding his hand, making him a part of his life instead of separating himself from the young one's environment.
ReplyDeleteI am afraid that the upcoming generations of college students will only have the option of online courses. This will be so sad for both student and teacher alike. There is so much to be gained from face-to-face interactions with other individuals, especially teachers, that cannot be included in online communication.
I agree that there is no substitute for a face to face conversation. We miss out on the facial expressions, body language, and the tone of the message through email. There are assumptions that the reciever may come to, rather than thinking maybe the message meant something else. Messages can get crossed. You may send something to someone and they got the wrong message. You could have offended them or thought you said something totally different.
ReplyDeleteI am a face to face person. I have a hard time getting everything out to make sense when face to face, so to send something over email, it may come out as something totally different than what I actually mean. If I cannot hear what I am saying and see if the other person gets it, then I cannot be sure the message got through the way I wanted it to.
I also agree that online education can be beneficial for those who cannot make it to school during school hours or those with kids who have to be home, but computers, I have noticed, have become a big part of peoples lives. Everyday, it doesn't matter where I go, there is someone texting on their phone or checking their facebook. I have even come across people who talk in a face to face environment and used text talk. I don't understand it, but the younger generation does, so it does show how the language has started to deteriorate.