How Texting Changes Communication, Essay Example

Question 1

(i) In my academic and personal life, I use many different forms of technology that enable me to conduct many different activities. For example, in my academic life, I use email very frequently, in addition to the Internet and web browsing capabilities, Google Scholar and other academic search engines, books online, and other types of information that is required to conduct my studies and complete my assignments.

In my personal life, I use a variety of technologies, including my iPhone, iPad, personal computer, and iPod, among others. I also use applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Skype, Face Time, and other resources that enable me to communicate with other people on many different levels. In addition, I use applications such as iTunes to purchase music for my iPod and download apps for my iPhone and iPad. In addition, these technologies enable me to store information across different platforms that support my needs. With these technologies, I am able to play games, to text friends and family members, to take pictures, to surf the web, and to perform a host of other activities.

(ii)The technologies and applications mentioned above are important in my life for many different reasons. I use these technologies for a variety of purposes, including school and home-based activities. For example, I use a personal computer, Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, and other software programs in order to perform my school-related activities. In addition, I use the Internet almost daily to identify research articles for papers that I am required to write and to find other types of information that will enable me to complete my studies successfully.

A number of online search engines are available to conduct research, such as Google Scholar, PubMed, and EbscoHost, among others. I use each of these sites regularly so that I am able to identify articles, books, and other information that will enable me to complete my assignments thoroughly and in a timely manner. It is also evident that many types of technology-based applications overlap in both my personal and academic lives, such as the Internet, which I use for many different reasons that go beyond school-based requirements. These activities require the use of these different tools, often concurrently, as a means of obtaining information and deciphering it for future use.

(iii) In almost every aspect of my life, I use technology in one form or another on a daily and even hourly basis. This is the new world that we live in, whereby we depend on our phones, iPads and other devices to get us through the day and as a means of survival. Although such reliance on technology may be harmful in some ways, it is difficult to get around in today’s technology-driven society. It is virtually impossible to perform school-based activities and personal activities without these tools, as they are a significant part of daily living. Therefore, it is important to identify how these resources play a role in shaping the activities that take place in my life and why they are so relevant.

In my own life, technology promotes greater efficiency and my ability to find information quickly in order to answer questions that I might have, in addition to finding directions, performing simple math, finding a restaurant for dinner, booking a flight, and also finding a place to go on vacation. In addition, I am able to communicate with other people without delays, particularly through text messaging, Skype, Face Time, Twitter, Facebook, and other applications.

I am often amazed that I am able to almost instantly discover breaking news as it occurs in real-time as a result of Twitter, and see a story play out as it is happening almost anywhere in the world, or that I am able to communicate with friends and family members, share pictures, stories, and other insights, and post videos to Facebook as a platform for keeping in touch with these individuals on a regular basis. This is a highly relevant opportunity to share information with my “friends” and to obtain information about them without delays in transmission, rather than speaking to them on the telephone and in other ways. I depend on these applications throughout my life in order to enhance my communication and to support my busy, on-the-go lifestyle.

(iv) I believe that there is a significant risk associated with a dependence on technology as part of daily living and normal function. These activities pose a real threat on many levels. For example, in-person and verbal communication are severely limited in today’s society because texting or other forms of social media are the preferred methods of communication.

A few years ago, expressing one’s thoughts in 140 words or less on a social media website was an unfathomable concept. However, times have changed significantly and now represent a serious risk to individuals, as technology has taken over our lives in many ways. This is a difficult set of circumstances, yet it plays a significant role in our lives. With this type of dependence on technology, it becomes increasingly difficult to get to know people on a personal level, as people, particularly children and adolescents, primarily communicate via text message or by using Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. These options pose a serious challenge to the younger generation, and there appears to be no end in sight to this dependency.

In order for younger people to be active and contributing members of society, they must learn how to let go of technology and their devices from time to time. For a few minutes each day, putting down the cell phone and having a conversation with a friend or a family member in a face-to-face situation will go a long way in developing relationships with other people that do not rely on text messaging or Instagram. In many ways, avoiding technology altogether for periods of time may be very difficult, but it provides many benefits because it requires individuals, especially young people, to communicate with other people the old fashioned way, i.e. in person. This is an important reminder to all of us that in many ways, technology has taken over our lives and is an addiction in many ways.

Due to the grasp that technology has on our lives, research in this area has generated much interest in recent years. For example, a study by Divan, Kheifets, Obel, & Olsen (2010) addresses the importance of cell phone use in children and how this impacts their lives from a health-based perspective: “EMF from cellular communications has come along in the last quarter of the previous century, and in just the past few years, sources of EMF from Wi-Fi, RFID and other novel technologies have come into existence…If cell phones lead to adverse health effects associated with their use, then the potential rise in health burden could be significant” (P. 1). Under these conditions, therefore, it is important to identify the challenges that are associated with the use of cell phones and how they impact the health of children (Divan et.al, 2010). This poses a serious risk to children and how they function, in addition to the impact of cell phones and other technologies on communication patterns. Therefore, technology is a high-risk enterprise that must continue to be explored in greater detail in order to determine its overall impact on children and on adults.

Question 2

(i)In the 1970s, technology did not exist in any form even close to that which exists today. Under these conditions, communication was achieved by writing a letter and sending it by mail, using a manual typewriter, using a handheld calculator for simple math, and talking on a telephone that was plugged into the wall and which had a long cord. During this era, technology was highly primitive and remained amateur in many ways until video games came into the picture in the early 1980s. These games provided hours of entertainment to children and adults and used new platforms, such as Atari or Nintendo, to accomplish these goals. At around the same time, early computers were introduced to market that could be purchased by the consumer population. At the time, these tools were amazing because nothing like them had ever been introduced before. As a result, they were largely popular with many people in the early days. This was a significant change for many people, as suddenly, they were able to play video games by connecting a console to their television sets. Although the graphics were minimal in comparison to today’s standards, they were groundbreaking during this era in the early 1980s.

Nonetheless, technology changes rapidly, as new discoveries continued to evolve regularly and expand their scope in the consumer marketplace. As technology grew in its significance, it gradually became one of the most important components of human existence, as children and adults began to rely on technology as a key part of their livelihood. This has continued to be the case and is more prominent than ever before. Since the most groundbreaking technologies emerged in the early 1980s, there has been a swift yet steady introduction of technology to the marketplace that now dominates our lifestyles and way of living.

(ii) In many ways, technology provides substantial benefits to human beings because it supports the continued growth and expansion of new discoveries that make our lives more efficient and effective on many levels. In this context, technology has opened many new doors to new ideas that did not seem to be even remotely possible, even one or two decades ago. Therefore, technology continues to be a rapidly-growing industry with constant change in focus and direction in order to gain brand and name recognition. At the same time, technology is difficult to accept in many ways from a philosophical perspective because it limits our focus and our reliance on traditional methods of communication and in doing business.

In our lives, we depend on technology to do our homework and to perform our work. Many jobs cannot exist in the same form without the use of a computer. If the computer was removed from the premises, many jobs would cease to exist in their current form. From this perspective, therefore, technology poses a serious threat to the integrity of modern society and the people who exist in the 21^st Century. From this perspective, we are worse off because we no longer communicate face to face; rather, we communicate via text message or by typing a message of 140 characters or less on Twitter.

These conveniences, in many ways, are also distractions that pose a serious threat to the integrity of organizations and their impact on the life span. These factors are highly risky because they remove the human elements of communication that make it so critical throughout our lives, and they also demonstrate a limited focus on the ability of individuals to be effective communicators when they are required to speak to other people in person. This is a serious concern, particularly for the younger generation, as they frequently depend on technology rather than speaking to other people face to face. Therefore, these communications, when necessary, may be very awkward and forced.

For many younger people, texting has forever changed the way in which they communicate with other people, and this poses a serious risk to their human capabilities and strengths (Kluger, 2012). For example, “Consequently, people who text a lot may be more uncomfortable with in-person communication and may even use their cell phones to communicate with people who are in their presence. Parents often report that their teens text during dinner, and the friend who texts during a group night out is a common phenomenon. The reality may be not that these people are being rude but that they are uncomfortable with slow-paced, in-person communication” (Villnes, 2012). As a result, there are critical gaps in communication that pose a serious threat to the integrity of the communication process and limit the ability of many people to have a conversation in person that could enable them to improve their skills in this manner. IT is difficult to accept this style for many older people and parents, who have watched their children grow up with technology in their homes and in the mobile environment.

(iii) Technology in today’s society is a highly risky endeavor because it takes away from the ability of individuals to effectively communicate with each other regarding issues of importance. When it does not involve texting, tweeting, or posting pictures on Instagram, many people are unwilling to use other platforms to communicate and to achieve their desired goals. This is a highly disturbing approach to communication that requires further investigation and evaluation in order to achieve the desired outcomes. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be any real means of escape from this type of behavior, as human beings, particularly the younger generation, are likely to remain dependent on these technologies for the foreseeable future.

The lack of human elements in technology is perhaps the most devastating blow to the younger generation. In this context, many people do not realize the impact of these technologies in a larger framework and might not observe the same issues as mentioned in this discussion. These concerns are valid and challenging on many levels, as they also eliminate existing boundaries that have existed for centuries regarding the appropriateness of communication and when to communicate with other people, as noted in the following: “Unlike phone calls, there are no clear rules about when it’s acceptable to text. And because texting doesn’t result in an angry person answering on the other end, many people feel more comfortable texting at any time and in any circumstance. The result is a decrease in privacy and social boundaries. People may text in the middle of the night or while someone is on vacation and expect an immediate response, because of the impatience texting encourages. The result is a blurring of the lines between public and private” (Villnes, 2012). This way of living is particularly challenging because it threatens these boundaries on a continuous basis and does not provide a positive impact for the younger generation. This problem is very serious and continues to impact society in many important ways that are very difficult to overcome.

From the perspective of the young person living in a modern mobile society, technology is perhaps as important as food, as it is relied upon as a source of survival and sustenance in their daily lives. This image is disconcerting in many ways, yet it is the reality of the situation and does not provide any real benefits to users other than to change their way of living and their thought processes to new levels. This is disheartening because it causes harm to the communication structure, while also limiting the important human elements of interaction that take place throughout the life span (debate.org, 2013).

With the use of technology, there are considerable circumstances in place that may cause irreversible harm to those in society who depend on it as a part of daily living. If for one day technology were to disappear, people would cease to exist and some might even resort to desperate behaviors in order to overcome these circumstances. This is an important reminder that technology has put our lives in danger to some degree because we cannot imagine how to live life and to conduct our business without it. These factors impact millions if not billions of people, yet it does not take away from the fact that technology, in many ways, is the cause of the problem rather than the solution. As a result, serious thought regarding technology and its impact must be taken into consideration as a means of overcoming difficulties and other factors that pose a risk to the integrity of the human condition in its current state, including the lives of young people who rely on technology as their only means of communication and a primary means of survival.

References

Debate.org (2013). Does texting have adverse effects on a person’s ability to communicate in other manners? Retrieved from http://www.debate.org/opinions/does-texting-have-adverse-effects-on-a-persons-ability-to-communicate-in-other-manners

Divan, H. A., Kheifets, L., Obel, C., & Olsen, J. (2012). Cell phone use and behavioural problems in young children. Journal of epidemiology and community health, 66(6), 524-529.

Kluger, J. (2012). We never talk anymore: the problem with text messaging. Time, retrieved from http://techland.time.com/2012/08/16/we-never-talk-anymore-the-problem-with-text-messaging/

Villnes, D. (2012). How texting changes communication. Retrieved from http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/texting-teens-adults-communication-0726126