How do you think the internet affects interpersonal communication skills?
I am writing a paper about how people create a counterfeit self online and therefore this affects offline communication between people and also their maintenance of relationships. Any thoughts?
my partner and i communicate through facebook. She texts me when she wants coffee though.
Some people will act differently when speaking to someone they know in real life, online, than they speak with the same person face-to-face.
What you are typing also can come across in one of a wide variety of different attitudes to the person you are typing to.
Communication via the internet can be very confusing and cause misunderstandings. For example, one who usually relies on intuition based on body language to interpret the person they are talking to likely can’t do this as accurately online as in real life.
I think that the internet stops people from thinking before speaking, because in face to face communications, there’s no back space key
I reject that everyone “creates a counterfeit self online”…I never have…I am who I am.
I do, however, believe that interpersonal skills have suffered a serious setback because of technology…too many people are uncomfortable with face to face interaction now because too many prefer to interface online. Society in general can’t spell to save their lives anymore…spell check is too convenient, but texting in general has butchered the English language and young people think there’s something wrong with the rest of us to notice or take offense rather than realize how stupid they appear and learn how to communicate correctly.
In the opposite direction, however, I believe for some it is easier to be honest in their relationships in type since you’re not face to face, and problems might be flushed out more quickly than avoided because of ones discomfort with face to face confrontation. It also provides a increase in the ease of keeping relationships healthy through distance or business lapses.
There are pros and cons…depends entirely on the people involved.