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Generally speaking. I believe that these new technological communication methods lead to the deterioration of the new digital generation’s basic skills to carry out basic face to face skills, such as the use of eye contact, a confident tone of voice, active listening, realization of the appropriate amount of personal space and knowing not to ask personal questions, etc. Now-a days, texting, rolling your eyes, playing with your fingernails, wearing headphones, having your mouth full with food while talking to your instructor, mom or colleagues has become the norm.
I don’t know if the lack of being outdoors and sitting with, meeting, and talking face to face with people, or the distraction and the extreme use of electronics, or the schools are not doing their job in teaching the student how to communicate in a respectful manner, but this is a serious issue. Whatever the reason, I believe it is also impacting how we communicate over the Internet. Some routine web sites and social media that I check every now and then, like CNN, BBC, YouTube, Facebook, etc., have begun to expose very impolite comments posted under some of the videos and posts. It was shocking for me! It seems like being rude and using profane words when commenting on some digital posts has become okay on the web.
Where are we heading? Is being polite something from the past? I don’t know why, but sometimes I get the feeling that there are people who look at a person who is polite and view the individual as a weak person, or even an easy target to take advantage of. Sometimes I get the feeling that those who post their impolite comments might think that the meaner their message is, and the crueler their words are, the better his/her message will be conveyed and understood.
Are using respectful words like, thank you, please, appreciate, good morning, nice meeting you, good to hear from you, great, etc. considered old fashioned? Or is it just out of the new digital generation dictionary? Or is it just because some are hiding behind usernames and screen names, but otherwise, when meeting them face-to-face, they are polite?
As sad as it sounds, we are doomed. It's 2011 who needs manners, no one ever got anywhere in life being nice anyways? It seems as if digital distractions are diminishing the value of life!
ReplyDeleteyes it is a problem, however, it does give those of us that can actually speak face to face with someone a edge in life and the job market. to be honest i think that if we took a survey of people who are "down on their luck" and those who are successful, i think we would find that those who have poor communication skills would be the ones down on their luck.
ReplyDeleteas for the rude comments on posts from social websites, this problem first developed through gaming as a sort of game itself called trolling. thinking of a fishing boat trolling for fish, these rude people are simply trolling for a reaction from people. they are the boat, their words are the net, and the people helpless to want to voice their opinion about the rude comment are sadly the fish. but yes i do believe this to be attributed to the fact that they are in the mind set that since they can hid behind a screen name that it wont cause any problem for them. what these people don't think about is the effect it has on others. these idiots cant seem to remember that words can sometimes carry a weight heavy enough to crush a fragile heart.
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ReplyDeleteI've noticed in years the majority of people online are still just children, most of which feel the anonymity of the internet gives them carte blanche to do whatever they please. While this can lead to some severe problems, theres really no way outside of martial law to regulate their actions. All you can really do is hope the authority behind wherever hurtful information is posted to be willing to handle the matter. In my opinion the internet is just a giant school lunchroom, and everyones going to say whatever they want about whoever they want in their own areas, but if they get to public or vulgar a supervisor needs to step in. Sometimes its hard to tell on the internet when that time is, but its getting handled better in recent years as opposed to how it was, say, in the 90s.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that technology is threatening to redefine the definition of "being social". But it does give those of us that can be social an edge in life. Being able to look someone in the eye is a good trait to have since employers look for the quality in their employees.
ReplyDeleteAs for the posting on public web pages like youtube and such. For the most part this is a type of game that started in video games that allow chat and its called "Trolling". People say something just to see what kind of reaction they can get from others. i personally think that its a game for immature bullies. Most people that write those kinds of posts dont usually mean what they say, but they need to understand that words carry weight that can crush those with frail personalities. I'm sure that these people wouldn't feel to great if they found out someone took the comments on their post to heart and they hurt themselves.
I can see how spending too much time using a MP3 player, or a gaming console of some kind can have a negative effect on our abilities to communicate when we are face to face with someone. Even when we are using social equipment and technologies such as the internet and online gaming worlds we do not have the practice of trying to avoid conflicts. Many people let the privacy the internet provides cause them to lower their guard in regards to how they treat others. This does not mean I think these things need to be done away with. I feel that simply balancing it with face to face social situations will keep us from really losing the ability to communicate face to face.
ReplyDeleteI think the people who post profanity or otherwise mean comments on blogs are people who cannot communicate in the real world. They hide behind a screen name to say things that they probably not would never say in a live conversation.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the social networking sites have made everyone take a step back in how to speak to each other. All the text and chat lingo has made it so some people forgot how to actually spell the real word
ReplyDeleteI believe that people do take advantage of the ability to use screen names to hide behind. There are forums that I no longer visit because of the disrespect between users that use abusive or inappropriate language. There have been times where I could depict that it was a child that was behind the screen name or atleast a very immature adult. I feel that we have transitioned from the industrial age to this digital/virtural society, which I personally call "the push button age". This plays a significant impact on how we have the unconscious urge to have things done in an instant. From wireless devices to as simple as the microwave, our expectations of short time span of getting things done mirrors the interaction with people also. We are often short with how we express ourselves as a result. In addition, its a trickle down affect when we pass these traits to children indirectly. This ultimately becomes a depreciation of good family culture ethics. I do agree that electronic devices and virtural social circles are destractions to the family. Family should talk in the evenings after work/school on downtime without the television going or any other thing. They should eat together and converse. This helps nuture the ability to increase social skills, interpersonal skills, confidence, and self esteem.
ReplyDeleteI think its sad to see some people define their status in life and compare their selves to others by the type of phone they have in their pocket. It gets to the point where phones and technology is owning the consumer rather than vice versa. I'm just afraid that further generations will be too crippled by laziness, technology, and lack of proper communication, that it will cause a weaker, less efficient, depressing way of life.
ReplyDelete-Ron Keller
We have come to a time that digital is the way to go. If we can't text it or email it then we have no idea what to do. To have a conversation, an actual conversation on the phone or in person is just not heard of anymore.
ReplyDeletePeople absolutely hid behind screen names and say things that are completely rude. It is also becoming more apparent in face to face conversations that people act like they are still talking to a screen. There isn't a lot of please and thank you anymore.
No one seems to care about anyone but themselves anymore either. It's all ME ME ME.
What happened to being polite? Introducing yourself to someone on a shared space like at work or in a class.
I really can't stand how rude people are now a days. It is depressing but what I try to do is kill people like that with kindness.
Always try to be the bigger person because I know that we were all taught better then all this.
S.Duncan
i agree, most of the time i see everyone texting or on a social networking site, talking and talking and talking, but when they finally meet face to face, its like theres nothing to be said. The digital technology is and is making it a Big difference in the world, for myself i feel i still can talk to people face to face but its like now most people would rather do conversation through text messaging or social site.
ReplyDeleteThanks Shawn A.
This is sad but very true. This world has become so very revolved and dependent around technology and because of this, face to face communication has become almost extinct--everyone is texting! It's hard to believe because that just 10 years ago we thought pagers were so cool and "in"; little did we know it would evolve into what we were are experiencing today: technological communication.
ReplyDeleteA. Brown