How Can New Technology Enhance or Inhibit Communication?

How Can New Technology Enhance or Inhibit Communication?

New technology has speeded up communication, accessibility to information and collaboration across long distances. Consequently, new technologies have enabled e-learning, work based learning, and teleconferencing and communication between individuals who are far apart from one another. Accordingly, new communication tools like text messaging systems and electronic mail speed up sending information. In addition to this, the use of decentralized computing systems facilitates sharing of information. New technologies have improved sharing of information. Through Facebook and Twitter among other technologies, people are able to share diverse information to a large audience. New technologies facilitate interaction between people (Torero, 2006). Thus, people are able to communicate and share on different platforms. They are able to share through different chat rooms. Moreover, new technologies support open discussions on different issues. For some people, face-to -face communication tends to be difficult. However, through new technologies, people are able to communicate without meeting eye to eye. Moreover, some people are not able to speak in groups, others are marginalized. Nevertheless, new technologies provide an avenue through which they can raise their voices (Torero, 2006).

Nevertheless, new communication technologies have resulted into a number of negative issues. These technologies are a poor substitute for face-to-face communication. When people use new technologies to communicate, they do not meet. Therefore, this is making face-to-face communication difficult for some people. This leads to an increase in poor relationships since people are turning into not being effective communicators. Communication is facilitated by body language and facial expression. New technologies deprive these of communication making it difficult for comprehension. In the same context, people who constantly use the technologies may have difficulty interpreting and using facial expressions and body language (Torero, 2006).

Reference

Torero, M. (2006). Information and communication technologies for development and poverty reduction: the potential of telecommunications. Baltimore, Md : Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.