When talking about online-interactive platforms, people tend to start by thinking that those platforms are harmful in such a way as wasting time with meaningless things. But do they realize how much they rely on online communications? “95% of young American adults (18-24 years old) own a cell phone and 97% of these cell owners use text messaging: sending and receiving an average of 109.5 text messages per day. Overall, 73% of adult cell owners use the text messaging function on their phones. 92% of teens go online daily – including 24% who go online almost constantly” (Abatayo 3). As these trends increase continuously, people know how fast technology dominates people’s daily lives. Over the last twenty years, technology, especially online communication, has revolutionized globalization — dissemination of knowledge, movement of people, and international transactions — which has also transitioned the way people normally do things from a manual mode to a computer-based mode.
Because of that, the demand for using online communication is strongly growing day by day, leading to the advancement of a community throughout the world. However, the peak of how online communication was required to function optimally was during the global health crisis of the past two years due to social distancing and government recommendations. With the growing prevalence of online channels, schools can use video conferencing to maintain lines of communication while distance learning or employees can work remotely with greater efficiency. Yet, this pandemic only raises parts of the advantages of substituting the traditional mode of communication with the computer-mediated mode. Online communication is considered more helpful than harmful because it facilitates connecting people quickly in different places, makes people’s lives more accessible, and promotes things that would generally be impossible to publish to ordinary people.
During the early 1990s, nobody knew what the Internet was or how it could affect human beings. However, as people entered the mid-1990s, they witnessed the Internet having a tremendous impact on communication, including the rise of instantaneous communication services such as electronic mail, telephone calls, and video calls. And with the introduction of the first modern smartphone by Apple in 2007, smartphones and the Internet have been becoming an unbeatable technology pair that everyone dreams of owning to catch up with the trend. The new wave of many digital communication channels has been leading to many curious questions wonder whether it will change the way people interact in the near future, or will online communication positively or negatively affect consumers?
The chief advantage of online communication is the possibility of communicating with people who locate in different parts of the world in a short amount of time. Think about two or three decades ago in many developing countries, when technology was not widely used in public, and communication with family or friends in the other half of the world was a hassle. Without instant messages or calls, there were only two solutions to keep in touch back at that time: either save up money to buy an expensive flight ticket or wait for a while to receive an old-fashioned letter that people would probably forget about. International students or exchange students are good examples to provide a direct perception of the necessity for digital-communication applications. Is it not horrible to think they would not be able to call home or see each other for a year or even longer? With the pressure of living alone in a place further from home, studying abroad is already hard enough for them not to have a method of calling home. Sometimes, they need instant gratification from their people to explicitly express feelings or notify important news.
Even more than that, businesses were moved slowly through physical meetings and transportation relatively due to the fact that they were limited by geographical areas. “While catalog shopping was possible, it was expensive to mail catalogs and was only feasible for larger companies. And for B2B organizations, sending salespeople to each customer was expensive and limiting.” (“How the Internet”) Running a business is not easy when an owner has to manage all the costs of employees, products, profits, etc. However, online communication could reduce the cost of marketing by featuring products on a website or e-commerce. Digital channels allow customers to access everywhere without limitation as long as those businesses are available in e-commerce fields. Some companies have also had to significantly redesign their sales strategies because of this new approach method. Despite this, these digital techniques make it possible for unique businesses to grow from more negligible influences, like those from smaller countries, where it is difficult to find resources to reach out to grow their businesses. Even though those mass companies might cause competition in the business industry in terms of price and quality, they can still benefit greatly by approaching more sales and customers.
Furthermore, it is unfair not to mention how video conferencing, one of the types of online communication, connects people while maintaining social distancing during the global pandemic. The observed trend indicates that video conferencing significantly enhances communication in real-time face-to-face meetings when people cannot see each other in a normal work environment. These online services also enable people to see the body language and facial expressions of the participants, making collaboration in teaching and company meetings faster and more effective. Additionally, video chats do not focus exclusively on the young population, but they can also ease social isolation for older adults who were the most vulnerable during the pandemic. “Older adults who used video chat technology such as Skype had significantly lower risks of depression than those who did not like video chat… Video calls keep older adults engaged and a part of their loved ones’ lives.” (the conversation) This can be explained by creating a sense of connection and preserving existing relationships: Older people can facetime with grandparents and friends, or they can virtually attend memorable events. Utilizing online communication allows people to remain physically separated but emotionally attached. As a result, online communication is more beneficial than harmful since it keeps everyone safe at a distance.
Another argument in favor of online communication is that this phenomenon makes life more accessible for individuals, which allows them to utilize many benefits of everyday life. According to an article by Uhls, a significant number of adolescents deal with online communication because it provides for “sharing information, interacting with peers, and developing a coherent identity” (Uhls S67). This information demonstrates that technology provides individuals with an opportunity to be fully-fledged society members without the necessity to leave their homes. “Nearly two-thirds of teenagers report that they make new friends through social media, and >90% use social media to connect with existing off-line friends every day” (Perdue). This state of affairs is in line with the world trend toward digitalization and globalization, denoting that more people’s activities go online. Thus, if an individual faces difficulties leaving their home, it does not mean that everyday services and opportunities are not accessible for them.
Furthermore, online communication makes life more accessible because it can help people learn and develop. In particular, various online courses are requested today since people enjoy learning at loose hours. The COVID-19 pandemic has made this activity even more requested since individuals had more spare time. As a result, a scholarly article by Wong et al. demonstrates that online communication is helpful since it made healthcare education possible against the COVID-19 background since it helped “disseminate consensus and expert opinion” (256). The scientists reveal that the phenomenon under consideration is beneficial because it is “a common channel for healthcare professionals, patients, and the public to communicate regarding health issues” (Wong et al. 259). Consequently, online communication makes life more accessible because technology allows people to become more educated.
One can also mention that online communication implies some economic benefits that make life more accessible. When it comes to digital technologies, people only need to pay Internet fees to have access to this service. Approximately $60 is an average monthly payment in the United States for using the Internet. Since the health crisis has contributed to the increased use of online communication, it is reasonable to identify what financial expenses are associated with this situation. According to Owl Labs, people “are saving almost $500 per month” by working from home (2). This finding demonstrates that digital technologies result in the fact that people have more economic resources to access various services and resources.
It is also worth admitting that online communication is helpful because it contributes to the fact that ordinary people have access to information that they did not previously know. This positive outcome is possible because technology results in the fact that more and more research findings are published online. For example, the early 21st century marked the “growth in open access publishing” (Pradhan and van Teijlingen 43). This strategy resulted in the fact that average individuals obtained an opportunity to get acquainted with the most recent scientific findings without enormous effort. To access new knowledge, people only need to find interesting research article online and read it. Today, the situation is not much different because it is possible to find many open-access journals that disseminate high-quality research findings.
In addition to that, online communication has also participated to enriching the research field. This statement refers to the fact that digital technology made it easier for scientists to generate research data since this phenomenon made “research more responsive to the wishes of the scientist” (Mirowski 193). Scholars can create, edit, and send their research articles for publication sitting in front of their computers. There is no doubt that this fact leads to a higher number of scientific papers being published. Consequently, ordinary citizens again receive better access to unique and scientific findings.
It is also worth admitting that a higher volume of research data is the case for various knowledge areas. For example, it is possible to find medical, engineering, marketing, management, social sciences, and other journals that offer relevant, timely, and open-access studies. Google Scholar is a helpful and free tool that interested individuals can use to find scientific data about various topics. This instrument offers scholarly articles from multiple journals and databases, meaning that people can easily find the required answers. That is why one can conclude that online communication has contributed to the fact that science occupies a more significant role in modern life. It is challenging to deny that this fact is positive because more straightforward access to published scholarly materials denotes that individuals become more educated, which leads to benefits for the entire society.
Irrespective of the information above, it is impossible to ignore the fact that online communication can imply some drawbacks. The possible disadvantages include the “lack of security, Internet addiction, information overload, and loss of social contacts” (Drahošová and Balco 1009). Even though these phenomena are negative, it is possible to state that their effects can be mitigated. On the one hand, adequate education on how to behave in the online environment can be an effective intervention to manage security, information overload, and addiction threats. Users, especially novice ones, should understand what threats are possible and how to minimize them. On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that online communication can help preserve social contacts when it is impossible to meet personally because social media allows for “interacting with peers” (Uhls et al. S67). That is why it is necessary to mention that logical reasoning and scientific findings allow for refuting the counterarguments that emphasize the possible disadvantages of online communication.
Additionally, it is important to realize that the extent of usefulness or potential harm of an online technology depends mostly on the manner in which it is utilized. Specifically, when intended to serve a positive purpose and used with proper prowess and knowledge of its functions, digital technology can assist in advancing communication extensively. For instance, a recent article has shown that a significant range of people has shown the propensity to deviate from the expected and intended use of online applications with flexible functions, which allows embracing their true potential, “making the app more effective by, in a certain sense, misusing it” (“Don’t Worry About Screen Time – Focus on How You Use Technology”). Thus, the failure to acknowledge the opportunities that online applications provide and the propensity to neglect the differences that a conversation in the digital context has from the offline one will lead to an inevitable problem. Therefore, when using technologies for online communication mindlessly and failing to embrace the specifics of the context in which they are utilized, one is likely to find online communication harmful.
At the same time, having a clear understanding of the options that digital tools provide and the characteristics that make line communication different from offline one, users of digital tools are likely to find online communication quite helpful. Specifically, the opportunities to remain in touch for a prolonged period of time despite the presence of a physical distance, as well as the chance to exchange massive amounts of data, store it, and share knowledge uninhibitedly, remain some of the major benefits that online communication can provide. Therefore, neglecting the tremendous opportunities for connectivity and learning, which make online communication extraordinarily helpful, is not only impossible but also unreasonable.
However, when considering the essence of the communication process and the goals that it is set to meet, one will have to agree that online and offline communication share quite a range of similarities and imply very few differences. Specifically, the study by Abatayo et al. comparing “face-to-face (FTF) communication” and conversation on Facebook declares that there are virtually no differences between the two (1). Specifically, the study indicates that most target audiences utilizing the tested Facebook tool for online communication do not register any differences between the specified app and offline dialogue, claiming that “all lead to full and sustained contributions” (Abatayo et al. 18). Therefore, there are no substantial reasons for defining online communication as harmful; on the contrary, the opportunities that it provides for connecting people can only represent it as extremely helpful.
Although there is virtually no difference between online and direct communication in terms of quality or fulfillment, the efficacy of online communication as the tool for maintaining the dialogue consistent and offering the participants an opportunity to communicate at any point in time despite the presence of geographical boundaries must be recognized as a massive advantage, which makes it undoubtedly helpful. Taking retrospect on the past decade of social and professional interactions will prove that technology has had a massive and undeniable influence on communication. It is important because, percolating into every area, from learning environments to workplace settings to social contexts, online communication has shaped the lives of countless people in a very meaningful way, removing geographic boundaries completely. However, examining the outcomes of the observed change will lead to noticing not only massive improvements and numerous opportunities but also certain adverse outcomes in the quality and efficacy of communication. Therefore, while online communication can lead to certain harmful outcomes, it also offers countless opportunities for connection and collaboration, which is why its positive potential supersedes the few negative effects by a large margin.
Work Cited
Abatayo, Anna Lou, et al. “Facebook-to-Facebook: Online Communication and Economic Cooperation.” Applied Economics Letters, vol. 25, no. 11, 2018, pp. 762–767. EBSCOhost, Web.
“Don’t Worry about Screen Time – Focus on How You Use Technology.”The Conversation, 2018, Web.
Drahošová, Martina, and Peter Balco. The Analysis of Advantages and Disadvantages of Use of Social Media in European Union, 2017, Web.
How the Internet Changed Communication in Business, Vonage, Web.
Mirowski, Philip. The future(s) of open science, SAGE Journals, 2018, Web.
​​Owl Labs. “State of Remote Work.” 2020, Web.
Perdue, Chloe. “High School Journalists Examine How Social Media Contributes to Anxiety in Teens.”WMKY.org, 2019, Web.
Pradhan, Arun K., and Edwin R. Teijlingen. Predatory Publishing: A Great Concern for Authors, 2017, Web.
Uhls, Yalda T., et al. Benefits and Costs of Social Media in Adolescence, National Library Of Medicine, 2017, Web.
Wong, Adrian, et al.The use of social media and online communications in times of pandemic COVID-19, SAGE Journals, 2020, Web.