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The project has broadened my understanding of why people prefer tostay away from technology. Prior to the project, I never knew therewas anybody who could be against the magical inventions that werecreated to help human beings to increase contact with each. However,through this project, I learned that some people, especially theolder generation, are not particularly impressed by the sudden wavethat technology has taken over the lives of many people. They areconcerned that at this rate people will let their communicationdevices do everything for them. I agree with their sentiments thattechnology in communication has turned people into zombies. Throughthe project, I learned that the average American youth spends aboutsix hours a day staring on his phone screen. The statistics havehelped me understand why some people are against the technologicaladvancements in the communication industry. This analytical essaytalks about the advantages, disadvantages, and the learningexperience in the project that involved a formal letter addressed tograndparents in support of technology in communication.
The primary advantage of this project is that it opened my eye on thenumerous improvements in the life of the modern man that have beenrealized because of technological advancements in communication.Before the project, the only advantages of technology, incommunication, that I knew of were speed and ease of communication.However, the project made me realize that there is more to technologyin communication than just smartphones and social media.
The project taught me that technology has been able to help thedisabled in the society to enjoy communicating with others. Peoplewho were outcasts because of their failure to communicate with othermembers of the society can now mingle with their peers. They can fallin love because they are in a position to express their feelings.
The project also brought to light the concept of technology in doingbusiness. I never knew that payments in the past took that long. Theprocess of sending an invoice by post and then waiting for payments30 days later, is unimaginable in today’s world where pricefluctuations of goods is the order of the day. This project made merealize that technology in communication was not necessitated by theneed of entertainment, but by the desire to do business in a swiftmanner. Inventions such as emails are a blessing to the businesscommunity. Young businesspeople that were born in the age of theinternet cannot imagine a world where they could be doing businesswithout the internet.
The most important advantage of the project is that it guided me onhow to write a persuasive letter to change the perception of peoplewho hold a completely different point of view. I learned that themost important aspect to consider when writing such a letter is thecontext and historical background of the target audience. I thenlearned that the language is important when addressing such anaudience. The use of slang and other new words that are popular withthe younger generation would have been totally inappropriate for suchan audience. It is in this regard that I decided to ensure mylanguage and tone came off as official as possible. I also used a fewtechniques that I knew would appeal to my audience. The pointregarding cochlea for old people who have lost their hearingfunction, was not by accident. I used this example to show that eventhe older generation can possibly benefit from technologicaladvancements in communication.
The disadvantage of this project is that it creates the assumptionthat all the older people hate technology in communication. However,from my researched I noted that the stereotype is an exaggeration. Aportion of the older generation appreciates the gains made bytechnology in communication. Some happily chat on WhatsApp with theirgrandchildren. It is therefore a fallacy to assume that every memberof my grandparents’ generation hates technology with a passion. Ialso noted that some old people wish they had communicationtechnology when they were young. A lot of romantic relationships andfamily ties were destroyed because of the poor communication devicesthat were in place during their youthful days.
I had one more chance to improve the project I would use morerhetorical skills including pathos, logos, and ethos. In appealing tologic, I would give statistics of the gains made by technology incommunication. For instance, I would mention that 67% of old peoplewho have lost their hearing function can now communicate with othersby using a technological invention called cochlea.
I would also seek to appeal to the emotions of my audience byreminding them how hard life would be if the current generation didnot have access to technology in communication. I would use examplesof sympathetic situations that have been salvaged by communicationtechnology. They include medical emergencies, criminal reports, andavailing evidence in court during murder proceedings. I believe thatthese techniques would have invited many people to my point of view.