Today, as long as you own a computer, a webcam and have an opinion about any issue, you can freely air and publish your opinions on the web, expressing yourself unreservedly and with no qualms. The post would be easily accessible to everyone around the globe, gaining you unlimited potential readers. This is the wonders of the World-Web Web (WWW). This whole new medium of Internet communications has brought us to a whole new level, different from the times of pre-internet age, where print and television publications were high in demand and exclusive. With the use of internet, even misinformation could be easily corrected within a few seconds.
The downside of the use of cyberspace is that people tend to lean towards the most mental, absurd, ridiculous and inhuman spectacles - as it often gain the most attention amongst people. In retrospect, a speech by some politician or philanthropist may be considered boring and gain near-to zero audience with zero comments. Yet celebrities who slipped and fell, accidentally exposing themselves or making a ridicule of themselves in public or even scolding profanities at some random guy will gain much more publicity and participation amongst people in discussion.
Moving on, how often do you hear the word 'lol' (laugh out loud) or 'j/k' (joking) or 'ttly' (talk to you later)? All this jargon seem vaguely familiar to all of us because we use this to communicate electronically in cyberspace, discussion forums, and even text messenging. Teenagers nowadays even use this to communicate interpersonally and this poses a question for us as to whether this affects inidvidual language skills and impede in student's learning process.
Furthermore, internet communication is a delicate issue when it comes to human relationships over the web. Due to the absence of the non-verbal communication, one cannot see the other party's actions or feel the full intent behind every remark. This is especially true between arguments on the web, where human elements like compromising and politeness may be missing and it comes off as a full-blown attack on each other. Therefore, it is imperative that people should be more sensitive and aware of what they type and send. Indeed, some major organizations also monitor their employees' emails, ensuring that every typed email is written professionally to their clients.
Indeed, with the help of the internet, communications has become easier, yet it also means that the electronic age has worsened our social skills. Our 'communications' through the internet seems to lack human connectedness which might cause lack of confidence and also the lack of confidants. With such rampant use of instant text messenging, emails etc, we are losing the personal touch of connecting and keeping in touch with close ones. An interesting news story by MSNBC.com states that "an authoritative study in the American Sociological Review found that the average American had only two close friends in whom they would confide on important matters, down from an average of three in 1985. The number of people who said they had no such confidant soared from 10 percent in 1985 to nearly 25 percent in 2004; an additional 19 percent said they had only one confidant — often their spouse." Shocking, isn't it?
The downside of the use of cyberspace is that people tend to lean towards the most mental, absurd, ridiculous and inhuman spectacles - as it often gain the most attention amongst people. In retrospect, a speech by some politician or philanthropist may be considered boring and gain near-to zero audience with zero comments. Yet celebrities who slipped and fell, accidentally exposing themselves or making a ridicule of themselves in public or even scolding profanities at some random guy will gain much more publicity and participation amongst people in discussion.
Moving on, how often do you hear the word 'lol' (laugh out loud) or 'j/k' (joking) or 'ttly' (talk to you later)? All this jargon seem vaguely familiar to all of us because we use this to communicate electronically in cyberspace, discussion forums, and even text messenging. Teenagers nowadays even use this to communicate interpersonally and this poses a question for us as to whether this affects inidvidual language skills and impede in student's learning process.
Furthermore, internet communication is a delicate issue when it comes to human relationships over the web. Due to the absence of the non-verbal communication, one cannot see the other party's actions or feel the full intent behind every remark. This is especially true between arguments on the web, where human elements like compromising and politeness may be missing and it comes off as a full-blown attack on each other. Therefore, it is imperative that people should be more sensitive and aware of what they type and send. Indeed, some major organizations also monitor their employees' emails, ensuring that every typed email is written professionally to their clients.
Indeed, with the help of the internet, communications has become easier, yet it also means that the electronic age has worsened our social skills. Our 'communications' through the internet seems to lack human connectedness which might cause lack of confidence and also the lack of confidants. With such rampant use of instant text messenging, emails etc, we are losing the personal touch of connecting and keeping in touch with close ones. An interesting news story by MSNBC.com states that "an authoritative study in the American Sociological Review found that the average American had only two close friends in whom they would confide on important matters, down from an average of three in 1985. The number of people who said they had no such confidant soared from 10 percent in 1985 to nearly 25 percent in 2004; an additional 19 percent said they had only one confidant — often their spouse." Shocking, isn't it?
4 comments:
Sometimes I really, really hate the internet. Because of the perceived anonmity of the internet, lots of people tend to start flame wars online, not caring about other people's feelings. I have been in this LJ community for a time, and the people in there annoys me. They have those people who think that their opinions are so great, everyone should bow down to them. They go on to insult other people and their opinions in an attempt to sound "smart" and "witty" and "cool" and gain ~*~*~internet fame~*~*~. The most incredulous thing is they did gain their one minute of fame! Can you imagine what kind of people they are in real life? In real life, they probably do the same too, since they are so used to trampling on people's feelings. They have no idea how to treat another fellow human being properly and with respect.
Plus, things like facebook do not help. Your best friend could be someone you have never met before in your life. You could stay at home all day in front of the computer. People has forgotten how to communicate to each other.
Im not surprised at the survey findings at all.
This is a very interesting post and very strong observations on your part. Indeed the internet has revolutionised communications overnight. In the business world before this internet age, working from home probably means one is doing some form of hard labour work like washing clothes or outsourced factory work such as packaging products, today a professional can actually work from the comfort of his home and all he needs is a PC; the email connects him with the entire world on realtime. On the social front, gone are the old days of penpals where teenagers would be writing letters to friends whose contacts are published in print. In fact I recall there was an international company providing a popular service in the 80's where you can purchase international penpal addresses for a small fee, though you would need to fill in a form then send it with payment and wait for 2 weeks before receiving your new penpal's contact address; all of which sounds incredulous to the new internet generation who may have taken for granted the convenience and accessibility that the internet has brought us. The very existance of this blog is testament that we are truly living in and are witnesses to the birth of a new great era in the history of man where communications would never be the same again.
Yes, i agree that internet communication has worsen our social skills. People should draw the line as of the language to use when they are online and offline.
hmm.. true true.
this technology has become into a powerful tool that it seems quite uncontrollable.
however, internet has helped communication between some people as well. eg, i now of a girl who doesn't really open up to her family members since young. Through msn chats, it did helped on improving their relationships. it is where they can open up more to each other without having to face any unnecessary embarassment and pressure. it's almost like you do not have to see that person for just that couple of minutes or so and one may just feel so relieved after what has been said.
Post a Comment