The relevance of connecting to people digitally can be seen in all aspect of our lives in this technological era. There have been divergent views on the effect of this phenomenon. Some assert that has had adverse impact on how the younger generations exchange words and ideas effectively of which; I belong to this school of taught as I believe that it has distorted face-to-face communication and inter-personal relationship.
Firstly, communication involves not just exchange of words, but also through gestures or actions through body language. This is achieved when there is a face-to-face communication between two people. However, social media has interrupted this as many people has to send information via the internet through digital tools such as smart phones and computers with the face-to-face form of communication.
Secondly, communication is not just sending words but also connecting to the heart and mind of people-interpersonal relationship for effective communication. For example, a recent study on communication by John Gig, suggest that people tend to understand the words of others when there is an inter-personal bond between them.However,Social media has ‘broken’ this bond between people which has in turn affected the communication skills of the younger generation.
In conclusion,Social media is essential in lives of people in this 21st century communication, however, it has negatively affected the communication skills by reducing the face-to-face communication and interpersonal relationships for effective communication.