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Negative Effects of Technology on Communication

Technologies used for communication have changed the dynamics of human interaction. Communications technology such as the Internet, mobile phones and VoIP applications to make phone calls through the computer, have all ushered in a telecommunications revolution. While the modes of human communication have expanded, the use of such technology has also had negative effects on the nature of the communication itself, according to The Redoubt Reporter, an Arkansas newspaper.

  1. Quality of Communication

    • It is common to see someone multitasking while communicating with someone else. You could be talking on the phone while surfing the Internet; you could be checking e-mail and using your mobile phone simultaneously. Communications technologies have made all this possible. However, although you think that you are saving time by engaging in this sort of multitasking, the net effect is that the quality of the communication suffers if you can't give your undivided attention to the person you are communicating with, advises the paper.

    Reduction in Face-to-Face Interaction

    • The Internet has made it possible to keep in touch with people from anywhere in the world. And you can communicate on the go using text messaging and cell phones. This has led to some complaints that such technology has led to a decrease in face-to-face interactions. Communicating with someone face-to-face allows you to watch their nonverbal cues, such as a smile or a frown, and this is another layer of communication. Technology doesn't allow people to catch these sorts of nonverbal cues. As Dr. Pam Hayes, an Alaska psychologist, tells the paper, "I think there is the potential for greater richness in face-to-face interaction because you lose the body cues and facial expressions when you're doing work on the Internet. The subtle forms of communications are lost over the Internet."

    Social Isolation

    • Another downside to communication technology is that even as we communicate with more and more people using various technologies, some people feel more isolated than connected. The paper cites a study done in the 1990s on the effects of Internet use on social well-being. The study found that some people who used the Internet a lot for communication actually felt more isolated than before. However, the study was redone in 2002 and had different findings. The 2002 study found that the initial negative effects of Internet-use wore off for those who tended to be extroverts, while those who tended to be introverts continued to feel isolated even with the passage of time.

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