Introduction
Communication is an important part of the social, economic, and cultural aspects of human society. There is a need for a proper exchange of ideas, facts, and emotions between different parties for human development to existing. Communication is a great facilitator of collaboration in any community. The way people communicate has evolved over the years, and technology has marked a major revolution. Technological development has redefined communication over the years by early age designs such as blowing horns to modern internet communication. The milestones achieved through technological development has impacted contemporary communication widely.
Positive Impact of Technology on Communication
The integration of technology in communication has made it easier and simple to undertake communication. There are different information technology applications which are able to provide the ability to make instant communication. As a result, due to the use of telecommunication technology, people can communicate with those in remote areas in real-time. This is something that would not have been possible in the earlier years. By using the internet or a mobile phone, individuals can communicate with each other thereby saving the time it takes to move from one place to another trying to communicate (Neuman, 2016). This has helped to reduce the time to make decisions such as business deals can be made over the phone without the need to meet physically. Therefore, real-time communication has been made easier and cheaper through telecommunication technology.
The adoption of new media alongside existing traditional media has provided a social change impact in communication. social media is a powerful communication tool that has impacted every aspect of modern communication. while traditional media technology has provided impressive ways of communicating in the past, the adoption of new media has revolutionized the publishing and sharing of information between different parties (Pratt & Cakula, 2021). The use of social media has created new ways of communicating that would not be possible before. As a result of enabling real-time communication with each other, people can create and strengthen relationships in a way that would never have been possible.
The changing telecommunication and information technologies have provided better solutions to modern problems. As a result of the ability to undertake communication through technology, international collaboration has been made possible. For instance, the Coronavirus movement restrictions have been made better through videoconferencing applications such as Zoom and Google Meet. Through the adoption of these technologies, people have been able to recreate meetings and education environments in a virtual setup (Raja & Nagasubramani, 2018). The use of technology in eLearning has allowed remote and distant learning thereby helping the continuation of learning even when in-person class attendance is untenable.
Through social media and traditional media services such as television and radio, brands can communicate their products and services to the masses. This is a game-changer as it makes it possible to speak to larger audiences within a shorter time and at a fraction of the cost (Neuman, 2016). Furthermore, the adoption of machine learning and artificial intelligence in social media has allowed for personalized and automated communication between a brand and its customers (Pratt & Cakula, 2021). this allows a business to undertake personalized communications with each client automatically and easily. This has changed how companies run their marketing campaigns.
Negative Impact of Technology on Communication
The successful integration of telecommunication and information technologies has also had some negative effects on communication. In-person, communication allows for personal appeal and develops interpersonal relationships easier. However, the use of technology has stripped off the chance for proper personal appeal in communication as most communication in the modern era is done through different technological platforms. Although platforms such as videos conferencing try to replicate in-person meetings in virtual cyberspace, it is evident that the current generation has failed to gain interpersonal skills which can only be learnt through face-to-face communication scenarios. The use of technology in communication involves the use of text-based communications and other multimedia elements. However, this has led to an effect on non-verbal communication.
As a result of adoption and overreliance on technology for communication has led to reduced social interactions. For instance, instead of individuals taking time to undertake meetings and share ideas, people have resulted in sharing emails and messages which denies such communications the chance of social interactions. Social media is a big part of modern communication and poses the problem of addiction. Interment and mobile phone addiction are a major issue of concern, especially for millennials. As a result of the addiction to communication technologies, individuals have developed effects such as isolation and anxiety disorders. Furthermore, technological platforms have been used as a platform for harassment which has led to determinantal results including suicides. Many people undergo cyberbullying on social media which is regretful.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the milestones achieved through technological development has impacted contemporary communication widely. The adoption and integration of telecommunication and information technologies in modern commutation is a game-changer in human interactions. Many benefits come with the adoption of technology in communication such as removed barriers to remote communication, strengthened relationships, better solutions, social change, and the possibility of e-learning. However, there is a downside to the use of technology in communication such as cyberbullying, poor interpersonal communication skills, reduced social interactions, and social media addiction. From the discussion above it is apparent that technology has revolutionized modern communication and it is bound to grow exponentially. However, the negative impacts will also continue to be experienced. As a result, despite the negative impacts, technology has provided important milestones in modern communication and with proper measures, in place, the negative effects can be dealt with.
References
Neuman, W. R. (2016). The digital difference: Media technology and the theory of communication effects. Harvard University Press.
Pratt, M., & Cakula, S. (2021). Motivation in a Business Company Using Technology-Based Communication. In Artificial Intelligence in Industry 4.0: A Collection of Innovative Research Case-studies that are Reworking the Way We Look at Industry 4.0 Thanks to Artificial Intelligence (pp. 15-30).
Raja, R., & Nagasubramani, P. C. (2018). Impact of modern technology in education. Journal of Applied and Advanced Research, 3(1), 33-35.