Pros and cons of internet communication. Will it replace real contacts

by Jack Johnson Designer

About ten years ago, communication via the Internet was mainly used for entertainment purposes: chats, social networks, ICQ and the like. But today, Internet communication is also a full-fledged work tool: webinars and consultations via Skype, solving group problems in a general conversation, discussing school problems by parents, clarifying information when working remotely, and even online training courses. Is this good or bad? Let's figure it out.

Features of Internet communication

Online communication is a special type of communication in which people interact through gadgets and the Internet. It is worth determining what exactly is meant by communication via the Internet: email, social networks, Skype and video chats, chats, online games, comments under videos or articles, forums - in general, almost everything that the Internet gives.

The features of Internet communication include:

●     Lack of non-verbal sources of information (wherever communication is not conducted through a camera).

●     Delay in time (the answer can be given much later than the received message).

●     Elimination of any barriers (local, temporary, linguistic).

●     A familiar and comfortable place for communication, which gives a person confidence and calmness.

●     High risk of misinformation and misconceptions, manipulations , deceptions.

●     The ability to talk on any topic and talk about yourself everything. Strange, but true: it is easier for people to tell something particularly shameful and tormenting their soul (and thereby free themselves) to a stranger on the network than to a close friend.

●     The ability to be yourself, or vice versa, to be in some other role, image.

●     Practicing writing if you consciously monitor your speech. Online communication can help improve literacy and communication. And, for example, keeping a diary is a popular method of psychotherapy.

●     Deterioration of oral speech. It is easier to express your thoughts on paper (keyboard, virtual sheet). And if you do not follow the letter, then gradually abbreviations and slang will enter the speech.

Interesting fact: on the Internet, people tend to exaggerate reality, embellish their life and their image, and also show their best side. Communicating on the Internet, we learn only 3% of information about a person.

Communication on Skype is close to real interaction, but still inferior to it. You can schedule the connection time, prepare for it and, if desired, embody some kind of image.

Pros of internet communication

The very fact of communicating with different people, the elimination of any barriers is a plus, especially when it comes to work. It is virtual communication that allows many people to work without leaving home. And for those who are energetically depleted by real contacts (more often people of the introverted type) this is a real find.

Everything related to work and the Internet is a plus. Apart from the lingering nuance in the form of a lack of non-verbal communication elements. This can sometimes provoke misunderstandings or misconceptions about the person. But it can be solved. Let's stop at that and talk about leisure time on the Internet.

Among the advantages are the following:

●     the opportunity for people suffering from shyness, complexes or fears to make acquaintances, find friends and life partners;

●     voluntariness of interaction;

●     the ability to control the semantic, content, grammatical and other aspects of information;

●     the ability to immediately find additional material and clarifying facts;

●     the ability to interrupt communication and send a person to the blacklist (plus, but controversial);

●     stimulating your own motivation, increasing self-esteem and giving self-confidence (for example, keeping a diary and communicating with “brothers in mind” while losing weight);

●     development of fine motor skills.

Cons of internet communication

Communication on the Internet for the sake of entertainment seems to me a flawed form of communication. Yes, sometimes this is the only opportunity (kilometers are separated), but in other cases I am for real contacts. And that's why:

●     In real communication, we see all the reactions of the interlocutor according to the principle "here and now": tone and speed of speech, gestures, facial expressions, and so on. This reduces the risk of misinterpretation or deception.

●     Real communication is live. It makes it impossible to remove the first thought. On the Internet, a person clearly filters what he writes.

●     On the Internet, we receive and see what they want to show us. While in life it is possible to discern much more, the secrets of the subconscious. You can store gigabytes of correspondence and, in fact, not learn anything about a person (and this is wasted time and effort), or you can get a full picture of the person in a half-hour meeting .

●     No matter how you decorate your online communication with emoticons, it remains dry and emotionless. This, as I said, is good for business relationships (although not 100% either), but bad for informal relationships.

●     As a rule, on the Internet, speech undergoes changes: abbreviations, mistakes, slang. Gradually this is assimilated and passes into real life (one virtual "SPS", which is also pronounced by some people in life, which is worth it). The quality of speech is an important element of personality. The Internet does not develop communication and public speaking skills.

●     Illusory perception, imaginary similarity of interests and views of the world, as a result - disappointment and a sense of wasted time. Especially relevant for dating on the Internet. What do we see if we are talking about the printed version of communication? Photos, pictures, smilies, signs and symbols are the information that they want to tell us.

●     Interaction via the Internet leaves only communication itself as an activity , although in life it is more often an element of other activity (work, study, play), and actions and actions are valued more than words.

●     Accidental sending of a letter to the wrong addressee, screenshots, notes and other "compromising materials".

●     As long as virtual communication remains virtual, you can create and maintain any of your images. This is what makes some people addicted to the Internet. Avoiding reality into a fictional world is an inadequate behavior strategy, not a solution to problems. No matter what tricks people do, they even came up with virtual sex. How can this process be virtual? Yes, there is no chance of getting pregnant or getting sick, but what is the real problem? Fear of intimacy, self-doubt, complexes, failure in life - these are the real problems.

●     Communication in virtual space changes a person's consciousness , speech and ways of interacting with the world. Overly "greenhouse" conditions are harmful to the individual in the same way as chronic stress. If on the Internet a person creates his own ideal and comfortable world, then gradually he completely weaned to adequately respond to external stimuli (and in the real world there are always enough of them). The more often the irritation, the higher the desire to finally get bogged down in virtual communication.

Let's not forget about the possibility of anonymous communication. Unfortunately, this often translates into a sense of impunity and permissiveness. Although it is sometimes easier to speak anonymously and feel more confident, you can exaggerate your capabilities.

By the way, the impact of anonymity and its use depends on the individual and personal characteristics of a person. For example, adolescents with age-related unstable psyche and individual psychological problems (insecurity, fears) are subject to the development of permissiveness, promiscuity on the Internet, which later turns into real life.

Internet communication as a way of self-expression

Of course, the entire Internet is a field for self-expression. This is what bloggers and video bloggers, magazine editors, authors of pages and groups in social networks use. These are all forms of online communication. Being able to express yourself is wonderful. The question is how exactly a person decides to express himself, what he wants to convey to people and what he takes himself. The main thing is that there is no "loneliness in the network": when there are a lot of viewers, and there are admirers, and virtual friends, and there are enough comments, but there is no happiness in life, and there is no one to turn to for help.

Epilogue

Summing up, I would like to say that I am for the totality of real and virtual communication. Technological progress should be used, but it should be done wisely. For example, you can discuss something with a friend in the evening at boards.

As is often the case, the problem of Internet communication has two sides. You cannot evaluate it according to the criteria "good / bad". It is not the fact of virtual communication itself that is important, but the essence of this communication and the parties involved. You can communicate with interesting people and self-actualize, or you can simply "kill time", run away from yourself, creating the illusion of life and communication.

Therefore, one cannot judge risks without knowing the specific context. In the article, I conditionally divided the facts about Internet communication into pros and cons, but, as you probably noticed, each of them has two extremes: the advantage and disadvantage of communication within the World Wide Web.

Will virtual communication replace real communication? Maybe. Is it good? No. Man is a social being, communication is an independent activity and an integral element of many types of activity. Without real emotionally colored communication, we cannot develop and become a person, a person, an individuality.

Virtual communication is, to a certain extent, deprivation. In the network, we communicate not with people, but with their images (composed by them or by us), a repeatedly reworked surrogate of personality. Real communication is more difficult, the risks of resentment and conflicts are highe, there is not always a chance for a mistake and the opportunity to be imperfect, oneself, but it is much more interesting and useful.

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Created on Nov 30th 2020 10:13. Viewed 209 times.

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