Communication is one of the most important qualities of human existence. It is something that defines way of life for many people across the world. There have been various changes noted in the last forty years in regard to communication. Technology has always modified the manner in which we communicate and interact with each other. Back in the 40’s period, landline phones ushered in an advancement in the field of communication. From that time there was a radical transformation in our main communication style. The development of smartphones has made its subscribers’ life much more comfortable though the transformation is not purely good news. There are both advantages and disadvantages. I will demonstrate my opinion further in this paper.
How people communicate and interact amongst themselves has greatly changed over the last forty years, part of it good and also some negative. Communication is strongly distinct from what it once used to be not only at social level but also technologically. Friends and families of this present time interact and communicate so distinctly when paralleled to those in the 1940’s. Technologically communication has thrived in various ways that supersedes even our thinnest hopes in previous times, people can see someone through face to face interaction in a different state without necessarily leaving our home. Though this is good, it appears more common to interact with a friend or family member through technology, than physically meeting, face to face, and real communication aspects of our life.
Let us just draw a contrast where technology once was and where it is currently. In the 1920s the primary means of communication was through radio, by the 1930s to 1940s some intelligent man had conceptualized the idea of television, without color, just sound and pictures. Not only were televisions just started to flourish at this period but also phones were ultimately able to make long distant calls, stateside. Let us first of all explore some decades to 1989 there are now these great huge computers and this astonishing thing known as the World Wide Web. Today people are really networking and connecting on a different scale since now communication is not just straightforward in one way, but in various ways, we have even started to instruct and learn distinctively as well. Previously, people had to visit someone’s place or house to relay a message, and now it is just a click, and the message is relayed to the receiver sitting in any part of the world.
The smartphones have not only transformed the manner we network and connect with other persons but now we cannot think life devoid of these devices. For instance, Personal safety applications are fitted with GPs tracking system which aids us to arrive home securely even at middle of the night. Some people cannot stay the whole day without touching their smartphones. From switching off the alarm clock in our mobile devices early morning up to the time of checking emails before retiring to bed, in all smartphones is where we carry out all these activities. And for that reason, it has to some extent made us anti-social.
And for that reason, it has turned us anti-social. In an effort to network and keep in touch with other persons in distant place from us, we are neglecting and assuming those who are just with us. To avoid being assumed they too busy themselves with smartphones. For instance, if one is in a room with close family members, there are high probability that everyone is focusing on their smartphone instead of interacting with one another. A study demonstrates that the application of smartphones have negatively impacted interactions held between close friends. Although in the past forty years our communication and interaction level has improved by just pressing a send button, we are losing the meaning of productive interaction. As technology is getting more sophisticated, communication is getting more modernized and better. Taking clues from my personal experience, I can state that with the age of technological advancement, communication has greatly improved compared to earlier years.
