Technology Changed Communication

Technology has allowed various types of people to stay in contact with each other both quicker and over longer distances than before. Over the years an increased amount of different technological advancements has allowed us to be able to communicate without geographical boundaries, and almost instantly. All these different ways to communicate with others are not necessarily better than speaking face to face with someone. For my friend Allison, who did not purchase a cell phone until three years ago, getting a cell phone changed who she communicated with, and how she communicated. As someone who tries to avoid communicating with others, Allison finds that having other methods such as texting easier to deal with, and sometimes more effective. …show more content…
212) essentially describes that the new modes of communication have changed how humans interact. In the past, Allison would learn about what is happening in the world around her by reading her daily newspaper. This is vastly different as now she can just watch a YouTube video describing current events in a quick and easy to understand format. When her family would gather, they would all talk about what they had heard on the television and just share the stories they had learned about. Now everything is all on the internet so it is tougher to find someone that the family has not already seen. The introduction of the internet had led to a greater amount of messages to be sent and received by people that now we …show more content…
If Allison did not have the ability to Skype call her family in Canada, she would not be able to see them, except for a visit every once in a while. In the past, her family would just come by unannounced for the day saying “they were just in the neighborhood” and stay for the day and talk about various topics. Now she plans when to see her mother and other family members by scheduling in advance. Her parents and brother would always talk with her when she was home, and she would always end up doing family activities. Now she just has a quick phone call with her parents to see how her parents are doing, and rarely talks with her brother on the phone, but rather with instant messaging. The quote, “The relationship between mass media and family communication is highly interdependent and complex” is applicable to Allison’s family as they would watch television together and go watch movies together. These family events, then decreased as cell phones were becoming widespread as her family then went on to branch out and use different methods of communication. Allison’s communication quality with her family has decreased over time, while the quantity has stayed the same due to the different ways she can now stay in contact with them. Overall Allison had noticed a shift in her communication habits as she always disliked face to face conversations. Now that she has the ability to