Blog #2 William Brady

William Brady

Blog #2

            Over the last few weeks we have talked a lot about communicating online and hyperpersonal communication. These two topics are constantly changing our society. Communicating online gives people a more satisfying feeling then communicating face-to-face. The reason is because they have some sort of technology to hide behind (Computer, Cell Phone, Tablet). Online communication gives people a chance to describe themselves to others without the fear of embarrassment or rejection that one could experience in a face-to-face conversation.

            Sending a text, instant message, or email allows one to write, edit, and then send what they really want to say. It gives a person the opportunity to make sure they know exactly what they are going to say. Online communication allows others to see you the way you want to be seen.

            This is both good and bad. The good part is you get to be who you want to be. The bad part is that the person you are communicating with may not be who they really say they are.

            I think online communication is a great thing that our society has adopted. It allows one to be more social and interactive with the rest of society. What I mean by this is that everyone is constantly busy; no one has the time for face-to-face conversations at every moment. Through online communication we are now able to multitask throughout the day. We can get to know someone extremely well even if we cannot be with them all the time.

            Online communication and hyperpersonal communication do have many positive attributes, but they also come with tons of negative ones. The use of online communication is taking over, and I think that it is causing more harm then good.

            Always talking to someone through a device is destroying ones ability to communicate in a face-to-face setting. Like I said before, you have the ability to rewrite a message before you send it. But in a face-to-face conversation you cannot take back what just came out of your mouth with a rewind button. Face-to-face conversation allows you to really understand the personality of the person you are talking too.

            Online communication and hyperpersonal communication is more socially desirable than face-to-face communication. But without face-to-face communication on a daily basis one will forget how to engage in conversation completely. This is a major concern of mine for the younger generations to come. My biggest fear for the generation below mine is that they will not be prepared for job interviews. You only get one chance when it comes to a job interview and communication is key. You need to understand how to talk without using fillers, such as ‘ugh’ and ‘like’. The only way to get better is through face-to-face interactions on a daily basis. The solution to this problem is the parents. They need to make sure that their children are not always on the phone. They can do this by making some rooms in the house a ‘technology free zone’. Not only will this allow the younger generations to practice face-to-face communication, it will also bring the family closer to one another.

            Finally, online and hyperpersonal communication are extremely important to our society’s growth. But we must make sure that we do not take advantage of it. Humans need to have face-to-face interactions in order to survive. We need to feel the warmth of another person’s body, it’s just the way we are. If face-to-face communication disappears (although I don’t ever think it will), our society will crumble.