A great number of people believe that phones, computers, and the internet have connected humans more while others say it has furthered the divide between us. These technologies make previously impossible communication an ease but also dilute the value of connections we make. We shall look at both sides of the coin.
Modern communication links have helped to bridge the physical distance between people. Modern technology has allowed us to connect across multiple continents in a matter of milli-seconds. For example, a mother in Japan can call and check-in on her son who is visiting France. Because of this, more people are able to reach out in situations where it might have not been possible in the past. Furthermore, this facilitates reconnecting with old or lost friends much easier than sending a letter to an old address of your childhood friend for example.
On the contrary, digital conversations have made communication feel less “real”. Before social media, talking to people in-person or over the phone were the most common means of communication. However, in the modern day, text or email is the default conversation medium which is primarily made up of common standards. As a result, we lose personal touch or the personality of a voice we feel in a conversation in-person or over voice. The messages from different people become almost identical and feel like spam. This discourages real connections from being formed and leads to more superficial or meaningless connections.
In conclusion, modern technology can be an aid or be a deterrent to communication. It provides us with communication links that weren’t possible before but also does not drive real connections. In my opinion, if one can overcome the hurdle of adding some personality to text-based communication, there are a lot more doors modern technologies open for connections.