How have changes in technology impacted on the ways human communicate?

Throughout history there have been several developments and improvements in technology and access to digital sources such as the internet and mobile phones have become a necessity in people’s everyday lives. Using technology to communicate with others on a daily basis has definitely impacted on social interaction. Nowadays, rather than meeting up with friends or family to have a conversation, the use of digital forms such as social media and texting have limited real life human interaction. The newest generation will suffer the most with the influx of technology now, as with less human interaction comes less social skills and world experience. Humans are becoming too comfortable depending on technology as a way of communicating, this allows some people to say or share things they generally wouldn’t do or say in person, however the fact that they are being able to hide behind a screen doesn’t stop them. This is how issues such as bullying have become so increasingly popular, particularly online.

On the other hand, technology can be extremely beneficial when trying to communicate with people that may be overseas, or having to speak to a large group of people at once. Although the larger majority of people worldwide all have access to technology, there is still a minority who may not be as economically fortunate as others to have this right of use. Potentially, this could mean that they are missing out on communicating with others around the world, therefore disadvantaging them from the rest of society (Capurro, 2001).

As a future educator, it is important to keep up to date with this new technological age as it can be beneficial in an attempt to communicate with other educators and peers. However, when using the internet as a form of communication , this may include sharing ideas and concepts, one must take into consideration copyright and copyright laws. It is important to be aware of this to avoid copying or taking someone else’s idea but rather making it your own work.

So I’ll leave you with this question, is this new way that humans are communicating with each other good or bad?

Capurro, R. (2001). Ethics and Information in the Digital Age. Retreived from http://www.capurro.de/lida.htm