Written by Shayan Shajarian and Tuomo Hartikainen
Communication is a process where thoughts, ideas and information is exchanged and can be often divided into verbal and non-verbal methods of communication. This process is dynamic, meaning the message is context dependent, transactional, meaning that the people interacting with one and other interpret and react to one and other, multifunctional, meaning it can be used for many purposes and multimodal meaning that the message consist of more than just the words being exchanged, for instance non-verbal communication.
The perception of the communication is very important and often non-verbal communication, meaning for example gestures, tone, emotion and so on will take precedence over how something is worded.
In recent years computer-mediated communication or CMC has become very prevalent and it has brought with it certain unusual aspects to communication. In CMC the use of non-verbal communication is mostly limited, although live chats with imaging may mitigate this, but on the level of only exchanging text, the non-verbal aspects of the communication is often limited to emojis, the use of capital letters, pacing and other text based methods.
An argument is made that even though through the use of computer mediation people are talking more to one and other, people are often also more antisocial and defensive in face to face communications. As we are connected to more people than ever before through the internet, what is the quality and meaning of those connections? Are we missing out on other connections as we are shifting towards more and more CMC?
Communication is a skill, which means it requires practice to be effective. Kids these days can do CMC very effectively, often times more effectively than adults, and from emails to emojis and video calls, technology sure has solved some things CMC previously lacked about effective communication. However, CMC is still not as effective and precise as face-to-face communication, even with video cameras.
Touch is a part of human communication that can’t be accurately transmitted yet (say what you will about Huggy pyjama, I firmly believe it is not the same as real human touch. We would need some kind of portal-screens for that). While it is undeniably important in this day and age to be able to use CMC effectively, by ignoring face-to-face communication we might miss out on something even more important. In my experience, with face-to-face communication I can establish deeper connections to other people than with any kind of CMC at the moment. It allows me to evaluate the intentions of the person I’m talking to and see if they’re genuine far better than CMC could. I’m not sure CMC can ever completely replace human interaction and that’s why I try to listen to the people that are in the same room with me.
They say communication is the key to so many things: a good relationship, teamwork, even success. It seems like more communication is always better. The impact that phones and internet have had on our lives by allowing us to reach more people and connect further than before is huge. In my opinion, most of the effects have been positive, and CMC has some advantages over real life interaction also.
The anonymity of the internet has for example allowed people to share things they might not say to anyone in person and realise that other people think about that stuff too. However, as we embrace this new way of communicating we must not forget about the other kind that developed for thousands of years before this technology.
The perception of the communication is very important and often non-verbal communication, meaning for example gestures, tone, emotion and so on will take precedence over how something is worded.
In recent years computer-mediated communication or CMC has become very prevalent and it has brought with it certain unusual aspects to communication. In CMC the use of non-verbal communication is mostly limited, although live chats with imaging may mitigate this, but on the level of only exchanging text, the non-verbal aspects of the communication is often limited to emojis, the use of capital letters, pacing and other text based methods.
An argument is made that even though through the use of computer mediation people are talking more to one and other, people are often also more antisocial and defensive in face to face communications. As we are connected to more people than ever before through the internet, what is the quality and meaning of those connections? Are we missing out on other connections as we are shifting towards more and more CMC?
Communication is a skill, which means it requires practice to be effective. Kids these days can do CMC very effectively, often times more effectively than adults, and from emails to emojis and video calls, technology sure has solved some things CMC previously lacked about effective communication. However, CMC is still not as effective and precise as face-to-face communication, even with video cameras.
Touch is a part of human communication that can’t be accurately transmitted yet (say what you will about Huggy pyjama, I firmly believe it is not the same as real human touch. We would need some kind of portal-screens for that). While it is undeniably important in this day and age to be able to use CMC effectively, by ignoring face-to-face communication we might miss out on something even more important. In my experience, with face-to-face communication I can establish deeper connections to other people than with any kind of CMC at the moment. It allows me to evaluate the intentions of the person I’m talking to and see if they’re genuine far better than CMC could. I’m not sure CMC can ever completely replace human interaction and that’s why I try to listen to the people that are in the same room with me.
They say communication is the key to so many things: a good relationship, teamwork, even success. It seems like more communication is always better. The impact that phones and internet have had on our lives by allowing us to reach more people and connect further than before is huge. In my opinion, most of the effects have been positive, and CMC has some advantages over real life interaction also.
The anonymity of the internet has for example allowed people to share things they might not say to anyone in person and realise that other people think about that stuff too. However, as we embrace this new way of communicating we must not forget about the other kind that developed for thousands of years before this technology.
