PeopleCommunicate With Each Other Even When They Are Next To Each Other
Technologicaladvancements have eased and developed global relations andcommunications. The advancements have allowed interpersonalrelationships to progress in two different ways, as face-to-facerelationships have become hard to construe while virtualrelationships have become the novel and most comprehensive relationsfor people. One of the most pressing contemporary issues affectingmodern day societies revolve around the fact that rapid technologicaldevelopments have eroded the basic interaction methods for humancommunication (Turkle).The issue is so dire that people often fail to engage in physicalcommunications or activities as they converse with friends on socialmedia. As such, some media reports point out that some of theseso-called friends are people never seen before, at least in thephysical form. This short essay seeks to present a satiricalstandpoint of the fact that people tend to use technology to communewith one another even in instances where they are literally next toeach other.
Communicationshould encompass extensive and diverse aspects such as speaking andlistening, commitment, ease, and understanding. Moreover, peopleengaged in a communication should be cognizant of each other needs.Today’s communication facets have become estranged and constructivebecause people can communicate at ease and extensively and at thesame time, they can become disinterested in real and face-to-facecommunication. It has become easier to communicate with a person whois far than with a person who is near. It has also become easier tocommunicate with different and numerous people without mindinginhibitors such as distance, time, and cost. Social media has becomethe new frontier for communications while physical communicationshave disintegrated. However, communication has become easier and abit altered to suit people’s needs. In fact, it has become amulti-fold aspect where people can communicate with each other evenwhen they are next to each other.
Theadvent of portable technologies and their penetration in virtuallyall markets have ensured great advancements in different aspects ofhuman development (Turkle).For example, it is now possible for students to easily sourceacademic literature on their field of choice with ease translating toa highly knowledgeable society shortly. Unfortunately, there arealways two sides to a coin the use of these technologies has taken arather unforeseen turn. One may be traveling in a car with a brotheror parent yet opt to take his or her eyes off the road only to replyto a chat from the person next to him or her. They risk death bydoing so, but the machismo associated with communication via virtualplatforms has led to the development of a degree of impunity in theway social amenities are used placing other users at considerablerisk.
Accordingto Turkle, communication can be perceived as a transactional tool.Therefore, communication between two individuals has to be novel andmore so, compelling. Communication as the transactional tool for mostpeople seeks to offer novel information or accomplish a certain goal.Such modern day societal values have led most people to shuntraditional communication channels which are not only psychologicallysatisfying and healthy but also inexpensive. The consumerismwitnessed in the US society indicates that most people oftencommunicate their issues via handheld digital devices (Turkle).As shocking as it may sound, this is actually the case.
Friendshipsare not as close as they were a few years back. For instance, it iscommon to find young people below the age of 35 disregarding speechas a means for communication (Turkle).In group conversations and even in television interviews involvingprominent personalities, it is easy to note just how disruptivehandheld gadgets have come to be. When one feels that physicalconversation is not helpful, the most probable action taken by such aperson is to take out a smartphone and quickly look for the more newand interesting stories posted on YouTube (Turkle).The society will have to come to terms with the fact that studentswill prefer to commune with professors via email rather than meetafter classes. Similarly, easily avoidable accidents will continue tobe given priority in the media simply due to more attention beinggiven to smartphones and other portable technologies. One cantherefore justifiably conclude that technology has served to createsocial barriers to real, face-to-face conversations.
Itis essential to note that face-to-face relationships have somehowbecome hard to construe since people prefer to communicate onlinesometimes to people they have never met physically. In fact, it iscommon to find people engaged in a face-to-face communication withother people, taking their phone and starting a chat with otherpeople who are not nearby. Technological advancements have allowedpeople to construct relationships within and far, which usually leadto the breakdown of face-to-face relationships. It is common to findpeople engaged in a serious face-to-face relationship startingvirtual communications with people who are very far and who theymight not have met. Thus, communication has become multi-fold, andpeople have become attuned to the construction of interpersonalrelationships based on technology.
WorkCited
Turkle,Sherry. Talk to Each Other, Not Your Phone. The New York Times. 2015.Web. 18 May 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/01/opinion/talk-to-each-other-not-your-phone.html?_r=0>.