Internet Kills Communication

A famous quote by Peter Drucker, “the most important thing in communication is hearing

that which is not said”, remains a very relevant dictum in communication today. In the recent

times, the internet has become a very important communication tool. However, internet kills

communication since the young people are much involved in the social media where the

language used is largely informal and destructive.

Firstly, the internet hugely affects the young generation. Owing to the much exposure

that the young people have to technology, most of the young people spend their time online in

the social platforms that over virtual connections. As such, there is little of real connections that

happen in face to face communication that may reveal an individual’s expressions or body

language and even tone . The virtual communications deny individuals such fundamental aspects

of communication. Consequently, communications deteriorate and people get used to the social

media way where short languages, emojis which may never really communicate the actual

feelings that one would achieve with real communication. The texts written on the internet

messaging platforms lack inflection and are often susceptible to biased interpretation by the

reader. In the end, the social skills of the young people are affected which may include both

interpersonal and communication skills.

Secondly, owing to the virtual connections, people begin to lie when having

communications on the internet platforms. Similarly, the communications that occur on the

internet sites are susceptible to a lot of misinterpretations. A persons message may be taken out

of context and thus leading to miscommunication. In other instances, when individuals are in

conflict the internet platforms have offered avenues for pseudo accounts or anonymity that have

been used to attack others leading to cyber bullying . Moreover, in many cases, words have lost

their value in social media. They are mostly used to cause harm to individuals further creating

more conflict .
 Thirdly, with the advent of internet, individuals have created virtual worlds which makes

their lives largely depended on the technological devices . There is an increasing overreliance on

the electronic communication devices that further lead to addiction. Such addictions just like

other forms of addiction have adverse effects in individuals’ lives some of which include sleep

deprivation, antisocial behaviors among others . Today most individuals have their smart phones

in their hands most of the time. According to Lipsman, a study carried out by Cross-Platform

Future in Focus details that, on average, an individual American adult spends about 2 hours, 51

munities on their phones every single day. In fact, Cross-Platform Future in Focus estimates the

average total time to about 86 hours every month spent on a smart phone. Such amounts of time

spent in a virtual world of sort causes a significant reduction in personal communications that

individuals would have.

Although the internet has negative effects on individual’s personal communication, it has

also benefited personal communications through facilitating new connections and friendships .

Nonetheless, communication at personal level has been lost since people no longer have the

interactions they have always had before the advent of the internet. The virtual connections

offered by the internet can be largely falls and in some cases

put individuals at risk of harm. Needful to point out, the internet was an invention that was aimed

at enhancing communication, however, it has come with other communication challenges that

humanity has to deal with.

Owing to the above points, it is therefore prudent to understand that personal

communication is the best way that one could appreciate the details that one seeks to convey in

their message. Although there are other well documented research studies on skills for internet

communication the overall communication is reduced when it happens on the internet platform.