Technology and Human Communication

A Synergy?

Technology and Human Communication have a synergistic relationship.

When people embrace a technology, they provide the fuel needed for the technology to evolve in useful ways. Without people, the technology wouldn’t evolve.

As an example, social networks exist in their current level of sophistication because people use them in unexpected ways. The social network software is a foundation that people built upon. In turn, technology developers built on that foundation and on what people have added on.

The following is a list of the ways in which technology and human communication work hand in hand by technology enabling people to communicate better with each other.

Technology as an enabler of communication:

Connecting with people across the distance We can keep in touch with practically anyone without having to leave our home.We can join groups of people with similar interest and interact with them over the internet. These are people that may not ever meet in person, but we get to know through their digital personae; and they get to know us the same way.

Reconnecting with lost friends The internet has allowed people to find others with whom they had lost all contact and resume ancient relationships if they so chose.

More photos and recordings of people’s lives Digital photography and recording has made it extremely easy for people to keep digital records of any moment in their lives. Built in cameras in phones and other portable devices allow people to capture even the most trivial moments of their lives for posterity.

More Self-Expression and Acknowledgment More and more people disclose information about themselves. They do this by blogging or writing in social networking websites. People also post information about others they know.

Increased awareness of relevant news You can find out about important and unimportant news about people and events you care about just by checking your email account, or your social network accounts.

Conversely, you can notify others of anything happening to you just by posting on your social networks or sending an email to your contacts. Instant notification.

More access to information We now can read about events taking place anywhere in the world, from the trivial to the transcending.

We can view videos of friends, strangers, celebrities, and anything in between. We can view videos of concerts we missed either recently or in our youth, we can view clips of movies, we can view pictures of art in museums that we may never visit. We can read books from nearby and remote libraries.

Technology will continue to evolve as people continue to embrace it. At times, the evolution will be driven by technology and at times, by the innovative ways in which people use the technology.

Inasmuch as technology and human communication are synergistic, technology can also act as a barrier to communication. Nothing is ever black or white.