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.
I don't think technology affects my communication skills. Technology is a tool and your language is another tool. Without technology you use your verbal and non-verbal skills to make people understand you. With technology you expand your communication. For example, with chat and email, you can communicate with people who are far away on the other side of the globe.
ReplyDeleteTo learn to become better at communication I recommend trial and error. If your words were not understood, did you speak loud and clear enough? If you used the wrong emoticon, was the audience incorrect? If you write sentences forming paragraphs, make sure the sentences are grouped logically, thematically and chronologically depending on the circumstances.
Regarding face-to-face communication, I appreciate it, when the bank's or government's website is made so poorly, I don't understand how to use them. For example, Moodle is used poorly among the teachers in every course I have seen so far. That is why we still need lectures and exercises as the usability of websites is poor. Another reason is that teachers abuse Moodle by not following the correct conventions on how to use it. Without order there is only chaos in Moodle.
Did you know they are closing down Google Plus? I like the simplicity in Google Plus. Facebook is a mess. Why I enjoy Google Plus is that it has no advertisements and you can go through a stream of news articles. With Facebook there are ads and other non-relevant posts everywhere. Why am I talking about social media? I see social media as part of CMC, because the first C in CMC stands for computer and we still use computers for social media and smart phones are like small computers. Also, social media still needs improvements. Information overload is one of the problems and the algorithms for showing articles need to be improved.
- Tomi Häsä
I agree that CMC has it limitations, and more and more efforts are made to fill this gap, either trough voice messages or the use of gifs as well as the different possible reactions to posts (for example in facebook).
ReplyDeleteI believe that before it was maybe not possible to keep it touch with as many as people as it is now, and therefore this may affect the quality of our interactions but only with those we would have not kept in touch before. For example, when I was 6 we moved to Venezuela and my grandmother to the Chilean countryside. We had to call to a payphone and hope someone picked up, to go alert to her house we were trying to reach her, and call again in about 30 minutes and just hope she had got the message/was at home. Or set up exact times for her to walk to the payphone and we would call, cause there was no network connection there.
Most of the time, I dont really message my closest friends that much because we will meetup every couple days anyway. But on the case of friends that have move abroad or that i left behind when coming to Finland, it has helped us maintain our friendship even if we just send each other a couple memes a day. However I do agree that when people do not focus on the person in front of them and focus on phone interactions (rude!!) it affects the quality of the face to face interaction itself.
I don't have the same idea that mentioned in your post. For me, technology could even improve your communications, it depends on how you use the technology. First of all, let's take a look back years ago, we have to use letters that takes months to reach people from distance, we go to the street or coffee shop to meet friends, but for new friend, will all of us brave enough to come to a stranger and say hello? With technology, you can easier to do that. People tends to stay in their comfort zone rather break it and technology help those who are not brave enough could communicate in their safe area. Technology also helps to practice skills such as presentation. Without technology, we rarely have chance to present to many audience but thanks to technology, people can now livestream and talk in front of people. there presenting skills will increase.
ReplyDeleteFinal word, it doesn't really matter if we have or dont have technology, it depends on people that they willing to communicate with each other of not. Technology will always a helpful tools and support you to break your safety line.
Thank you posting about very important topic!
ReplyDeleteAll in all, I think you should always communicate so that you are true to yourself and you could say the same content face-to-face. I don't believe those who say that technology doesn't change their communication. Of course it does! You can reach people more easily and in different platforms. There are many interesting additions to communication: you can add emojis and gifs. Communication can be done so quickly that it is easy to write something that doesn't fully represent your ideas. Amount of misunderstanding has raised since the communication has became faster.
I think it is important to stay polite and always think how the responding person sees the content of the message. What kind of tone is in the message? CMC can never pass real life communication.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteRelating to this topic I have found out that arguing by using only text messages is much easier than face to face. Using text based communication forces both participants to read and process everything the other says making it much harder to talk over. Texting also gives you more time to form a meaningful response and structure your argument. There is more time to think about what you want to say and this makes accidentally saying something really hurtful in brief moment of anger less probable.
- Joni Eronen
The fact that some people have a kind of negative vibe towards CMC, I think is because technology hasn't yet reached its full potential. These days it feels like CMC is being used more and more for replacing regular face-to-face communication instead of being used as a complementary tool.
ReplyDeleteCMC can have huge positive effects on human communication and social life if it is used right. It can for example help people who are too shy to communicate face-to-face, or are physically far away from their friends and family. Maybe in the future, when technology is so ubiquitous that it isn't even thought of, CMC will feel like normal communication.
I agree with the fact that CMC might make connections to people less meaningful due to the increased amount of possible connections. Using technology for communication takes practice and consideration.
An interesting post which let me consider the main concept of CMC and the communication between human through technology. In this century, the development of technology detonated, we can’t deny it caused a huge impact in our life, whether positive or negative, we aim to create improvement and accomplishment. In this world, technology affect our communication skills from face to face to non-verbal communication, how to develop and use it are all decide by human, we should take it as assist tool rather than change the whole type of communication, that is the only way of sustainable development and meet the principle.
ReplyDelete-Chia-hsin Wu 282239
An interesting post which let me consider the main concept of CMC and the communication between human through technology. In this century, the development of technology detonated, we can’t deny it caused a huge impact in our life, whether positive or negative, we aim to create improvement and accomplishment. In this world, technology affect our communication skills from face to face to non-verbal communication, how to develop and use it are all decide by human, we should take it as assist tool rather than change the whole type of communication, that is the only way of sustainable development and meet the principle.
ReplyDelete-Chia-hsin Wu 282239