Impact of Technology on Communication

Critical Reflection: An understanding of how changes in technology impact on the way humans communicate, and the ethical issues that surround these changes.

(http://anthillonline.com/3-reasons-why-your-business-is-suffering-at-the-hands-of-technology/)

“Changes in man’s ability to communicate over time and space result from innovations in both technology and methods of using technology.” (Katzman, 1973) Technology has always been used as a method of communication. It has been a useful tool in helping individuals keep in touch, especially those from different geographical locations. Most people communicate using a variety of multimedia types and gain a sense of purpose through these interactions. This ultimately mean that we all to some degree are digital native.

In saying this, there are many issues associated with the ever evolving technology. There is now a heavy reliance on technology based interaction, some would agree that it is more commonly used then face to face communication.

With a digital profile also comes a digital footprint. A digital footprint is basically a record or trail of your online interactions. This can be used by employers as a background check or even viewed by anyone that can gain access to your profile.

Ethically their a number of issues and barriers associated with to the use of technology. Alan Rusbridger editor of ‘The Guard’ leaked Wiki information that contained information about the war in Afghanistan and how it was conducted. After deciding to expose this information Rusbridger became concerned about the unethical implications his decision might of had. (Muller, 2014) This reflects how there are numerous ethical considerations that should be considered when using technology to communicate.

Ethical Barriers:

Technical-e.g. energy

Economic- e.g. money/cost

Cultural- e.g. language

ICT has made radical changes to private and public institutions (liabilities, digital commerce, participation, diffusion of knowledge) “New communication technologies do not automatically solve- may aggravate- social problem.” (Katzman, 1973) Implications of technology impact both interpersonal and professional communication.

Knowing all this are we truly better off communicating through technology?

References

Katzman, N. (1974). The impact of communication technology: Promises and prospects. Journal of Communication, 24(4), 47–58.

Muller, D. (2014). WikiLeaks, journalism ethics and the digital age: what did we learn?. The Conversation. Retrieved 5 September 2016, from http://theconversation.com/wikileaks-journalism-ethics-and-the-digital-age-what-did-we-learn-28262