How technology has affected conversations
| Subject: | 💭 Psychology |
| Type: | Exploratory Essay |
| Pages: | 5 |
| Word count: | 1282 |
| Topics: | Communication, Innovation, Internet, Nonverbal Communication, Social Networking, 🤳 Social Media |
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Table of Contents
Description
How people conduct conversations has changed these days due to advancements in technology. In a recent workshop that I attended, people were using their phones as the speaker was addressing his speech. I became bored in the middle of the talk, and, also found myself using Facebook and Twitter to keep myself busy. My actions, however, turned the entire meeting less beneficial to me as I was distracted by my phone all the time, in the name of killing boredom. While in meetings, people are often multitasking, using their phones, and at the same time listening to the speakers, which make them lose the attention of the main activity. One of the factors that have contributed mainly to this behavior is our parents. Parents, most of the times, use their phones, texting and having fun, leaving us with no choice than to use the phones. Many parents have little time to talk to children, and many things they need to tell the children is done through social media platforms. It is hard to convince children not to post while doing their homework, when their role models, who are the parents, post while doing other chores, such as cooking. People are never experiencing solitude as they have social media platforms to entertain them. The art of face to face conversation is dying fast, as people find better conversations on online platforms.
Feelings
When the speaker was still addressing us, I thought how such workshops have become of less importance to the current generation. The matter became worse on realizing that I was not the only one. It is difficult for someone to listen to matters addressed in seminars and workshops, while we can access social media on phones, which is more fun. I thought how the internet conversations had changed the physical conversations these days. Young adults are not taught how to interact with each other physically. They cannot learn the art of making friends and interacting with people in the physical, social world. That can become a problem in places, such as schools and workplaces. I thought how parents had created a distance with their children. Some years ago, parents were committed to guiding and talking to their children (Drago, 2017). Parents always had time for their children, which made the children feel the care. Monitoring children’s activities on social media is difficult. The only way that their behavior can be watched is by parents taking the role of advisers and the need to maintain good morals. It is complicated to talk to children about the negative effects of social media when the parents themselves are social media enthusiasts.
Evaluation
What makes the use of online conversation enjoyable is their diversity. One can talk to multiple people at the same time and instantly. Social media platforms have brought people across the world together. Sharing of information has become easy and fast with the emerging technology. In the past, a message could take longer to reach the target people. Use of letters was slow and inconvenient and marred by lost emails along the way. People receive real-time information as technology helps people get current news as soon as they happen. The use of technology is entertaining and contains many innovations one can use to have quality time (Elsobeihi and Naser, 2017). On the other hand, there is a high possibility that technology has affected our social lives negatively. People have become socially enslaved by social media, which has led to negative results in different spheres, such as in workplaces. Many companies are enforcing rules to control social media use in the workplaces to foster increased focus and productivity.
Sometimes, information shared on the internet is not controlled and can erode the moral behaviors of individuals, especially young adults, such as teenagers. Giving an example of the workshop that I had attended, the speaker’s message was not useful to many. Some seminars have educative goals, which may not be entertaining, but helpful in one’s life. I think the problem is becoming dominant and need to be addressed to resolve it.
Analysis
The event of the workshop could be successful if the speaker ordered all the phones to be switched off or when there was an overall rule that necessitated everyone to switch off their phones. It is difficult for people, especially, the young generation to concentrate on a boring seminar, while they are receiving messages on social media, pictures or videos from their peers on their phones. Instead, people are expected to exercise individual moral control in line with societal or organizational rules and regulations
Parents need to be the role models for their children. It can be hard to tell a child to stop a behavior, which the parent is addicted to. Parents should learn how to establish real conversations with their children and limit the use of social media (Finn and Ledbetter, 2013). They should use their phones and laptops to conduct important businesses, which would have a positive impact on their children’s actions. They can also set limits in their homesteads on the timeframe, which social media and other platforms enhanced by technology should be used. That can help both parents and children to remain focused on the essential things that can build and help them.
Conclusion
To ensure that the experiences of distraction by social media do not happen next time during a seminar or similar event, I will make sure that I exercise moral authority and control to switch off my phone. To avoid distractions, I will carry a notebook and a pen to take a note of the important things in the meeting. That would help me to stay focused and determined for the meeting to turn up helpful to me. In the case of parents, it is important to challenge them by making sure that I do not use my phone during important tasks, such as doing my assignments. The incidences have helped me realize the importance of regulating the use of social media, a significant innovation of technology. Technological advancements are good, but they have some negative impacts, which need to be addressed immediately.
Action plan
In the future, I will make sure to reduce the use of online conversations and increase real conversations. That would help me increase my communication skills, which can help me in improving my social life around the people I live with. Messages, which are not urgent, I will prefer communicating them face to face, rather than, over social media platforms. I have already enrolled in educative programs with my teachers and fellow students, on how social media usage can be regulated, and the need for increasing face to face conversations. Parents need to be advised on how to increase the physical conversations in their families. People have become adversely attached to their phones, that they cannot share experiences of their personal lives. People have opted to stay alone since their phones and laptops can give them “company.” It is true that technology, including phones and laptops, can eliminate boredom, but life is not made up of online life merely. Face to face conversations can also be integrated into real life activities to avoid achieving the negative outcomes of technology.
- Drago, E. (2017). The Effect of Technology on Face-to-Face Communication. The Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, 6(1), pp. 1-19.
- Elsobeihi, M., S, S. and Naser, A. (2017). Effects of Mobile Technology on Human Relationships. International Journal of Engineering and Information Systems, 1(5), pp.110-125.
- Finn, A. and Ledbetter, A. (2013). Teacher Power Mediates the Effects of Technology Policies on Teacher Credibility. Communication Education, 62(1), pp. 26-47.
Offered for reference purposes only.