Daily Archives: November 14, 2011

For Better or Worse: Communication Technologies and the Human Race

No one can deny that the constant evolution of communication technologies has made its mark on nearly every avenue of modern daily life. Technologies that used to be found only in sci-fi movies and TV shows are now a run-of-the mill reality. However, it’s not just the medium of how we communicate that changes; it also sends the evolution of communication itself in a new direction.

Aside from email and instant messaging, there are other computer-related communication technologies that allow individuals to communicate in real-time anywhere around the globe. Having become more connected has considerably broadened the prospects for businesses in nearly every industry. It has not only widened customer-bases but allowed businesses to stay available to their customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if they so choose.

Communication technologies have brought a whole new aspect to interpersonal communication and how people socially interact as well. Long distances between friends and relatives used to slow communication. Now, email, chat rooms, instant messaging, video chat,  social networking sites –and the smartphones that do it all– make this a non-issue. Nearly one in five couples attribute meeting their significant other to internet dating sites nowadays and text messaging is a significant means of communication between parents and children despite the fact that they live in the same home.

Not to be left out, communication technologies are also helping the deaf and those who are hard of hearing get through everyday life with the use of talk-to-text computers and videophones. This could probably be considered an area where the application of this type of technology has proven undeniably practical and positive in its use.

Though it has its pros and cons, with it being such an efficient way to send and receive information, the dependence on communication technologies is here to stay.