Interpersonal relationships and the IT revolution

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In this age where everyone is connected to each other through the internet via mobile phones, computers, tablets and the likes, one would want to believe that communication between people who are close by way of friendship or family ties would be strengthened. From my personal observations, this is not so.

Before the advent of the World Wide Web, communication was either through physical contact between two parties or through media that have to be carried around and delivered physically to the recipient of a message.
Distance was a huge barrier at that time as it was very hard to get messages across to certain parts of the world. Also there was neither guarantee for the security of a message nor was there enough assurance that the message would be delivered unaltered.

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Then came the internet. The World Wide Web became the link between so many families and friends who had been separated from each other by distance. It became possible for people to send and receive messages in a matter of seconds.

The craze for this instant means of communication became so high that many companies came up with different ideas to ease communication between people. Then came internet enabled mobile phones, computers and others with instant messengers, video call features, multimedia messengers, e-mail clients and others.

At the moment, communication across the globe between individuals and groups has gotten so easy that one begins to wonder if there can actually be any new innovation in that sector. The world has become one big global village.

In the midst of all this, we have all failed to realize that nothing can replace direct physical communication between two individuals. The invention of different media for easy and seamless transfer of information from one person to another was not supposed to replace physical contact, it was supposed to supplement it especially in cases where it is impossible to meet physically. Thus, the backup plan became the main plan.

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Today, we live in a world where rather than find time to seek advice and talk about whatever it is that's bothering them with parents, guardians and friends on a personal level, teens would prefer to post their personal issues on the internet and seek advice from total strangers. Some people even find it so hard to talk with people they see everyday. They would prefer to chat on the go. Husband's don't make time to have some alone talking time with their wifes. The belief is that it is always easier and quicker over the phone. There are even instances in which people meet and court on the internet and they simply meet up later to get married.

I must admit that there is nothing wrong with the use of the internet as a means of communication. Of course, this write-up itself is being broadcast over the internet. My point is, the internet can never replace the experience of personal contact. It is meant to be a supplementary communication tool, it certainly wasn't designed to be the number one choice when it comes to inter-personal communication especially in intimate one-to-one situations.

Advantages of the use of the internet as a means of communication

1. Ease of use
2. Speed of delivery
3. Easy to reference
4. Instant worldwide connectivity
5. Instant Mass connectivity
6. Ability to multi-task
7. Ability to save message for later retrieval

Disadvantages of the use of the internet as a means of communication

1. Dependency even when there is no necessity
2. Easy to mislead the audience
3. Prone to message distortion by third parties
4. Emotions are not easy to show (emojis are available but then they can never convey emotions as much as we want them to)
5. It is harder to communicate through "tone-of-voice"
6. There is no physical contact.

Conclusion
Physical contact is one of the most important parts of communication. Some human responses are beyond words and can be shown only through physical contact. Don't sacrifice physical contact for anything. It strengthens bonds.