Introduction
Communication is an important aspect of the world today. It promotes successive trade and support among nations. In the past, people used to communicate through letters, messengers, and telephone booths which were located in public places. These methods of communication have many challenges; some of them have delays and at times the messages do not get to the recipient. The challenges triggered the need for better communication in the world. Technologists finally came up with very effective methods of communication which include mobile phones and the internet. In addition, the efficiency of these modes of communication has made people prefer using them at the expense of personal contact. This discussion shows the importance of technology in communication over personal contact communication.
Definitions
Communication is the act of passing information through the exchanging of ideas, emotions, attitudes, and expectations. Communication is done through media, which includes writing, gestures, and other channels such as physics, chemicals, and electronics. Technology is the modification of existing tools by using knowledge, machines, and techniques. It has been used to transform existing tools; an example is the modification of the old mobile phone that could only be left in the house, to the manufacturing of a mobile phone that can fit in a person’s pocket.
Benefits of Technology in Communication
The use of technology in documentation has made communication easy. The use of databases to store information is very easy and effective (Pikas 15). Comparing it with personal contact where information exchanged is stored in the brain; the brain is not effective because one can forget all the information given. Documentation is also done by using emails which are easy to communicate compared to traveling over a long distance to make a one-on-one conversation.
In the old days, people used to travel abroad to conduct board room meetings. This mode of communication was ineffective because it consumed a lot of time and money. However, this way of holding conferences and meetings has changed with the development of the internet. Currently, people are holding virtual meetings with the use of cameras and big screens. These meetings can be held by parties seated far away from each other. In addition, organizations use technology to communicate among employees. Managers use mobile phones and emails to send messages to employees. However, this has its disadvantage because employees lose touch with their employers. Through technology, they lose the social touch and it is difficult to tell the attitude of fellow colleagues.
Technology increases the time people use in communication but reduces the time spent communicating. Through technology, people can communicate through short messages for a very long time compared to personal communication (Pikas 9). The effectiveness of technology leads to more communication that is cheap and confidential. In addition, technology has made communication interesting. One-on-one conversation is monotonous because there is nothing to spice it up. However, the use of new channels has enabled people to share photographs, videos, and other educative materials (Morley 122). Some of the images and videos are funny and educative which creates humor and enlightens people.
Conclusion
The use of technology has definitely been of great help to people. Despite the few disadvantages it has brought the world together and people are communicating more effectively than ever before.
Works Cited
Morley, Deborah. Understanding Computers in a Changing Society. Massachusetts: Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.
Pikas, Christina. “The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies On Informal Scholarly Scientific Communication: A Literature Review.” Informal Scholarly Scientific Communications. (2006):7-20. Print.