The movie Elephant was inspired by the Columbine school shooting. Looking at the interactions the two shooters have with other humans is interesting. Technology is constantly advancing and changing the way people communicate and stay connected with friends, colleagues, and family. Staying in-touch with acquaintances started with letters, advanced to Morse code, and finally progressed to voice calls. Eventually technology progressed to where it is today with communicating through forms such as text messaging, instant messaging, and social media websites.
The recent changes in technology have created a world where everyone is connected all the time no matter how far away they are from each other; however, staying constantly connected is not always beneficial. Communicating through technology is an efficient and effective way to stay connected; however, if not used properly and within certain bounds, can prove to be harmful to a person’s communication skills and relationships. For example, bad events that happen, some family members find out through social media before they even get a call from their families. School shootings, or any shooting the media is involved as soon as they can and some people find out that way which I personally believe isn’t right and is very sad that it’s becoming this way.
Conversing with other people and having important conversations face to face are extremely important human interactions. Texting and communicating online ruins a person’s social skills and inhibits them from continuing or starting an in person conversation. Face to face conversations often times lead to off topic conversations that consumes more time than originally expected. For this reason, people choose to initiate conversations over text messaging or online chat such as Facebook, which makes it easy to ask a question or share information without having to worry about wasting time in a conversation. According to Patricia Greenfield and Kaveri Subrahmanyam’s article titled “Online Communication and Adolescent Relationships,” “…nine of ten teens with cell phones have text messaging capability…” and “…two-thirds use text messaging daily” (Greenfield 122). Many text messages teens send serve a useful purpose, such as making plans for the weekend, but some text messages are used as a scapegoat to avoid talking to people they would rather not waste their time talking to, and instead text a friend who may have more in common with themselves.
Electronic communication is a harmful tool that hinders social interactions by avoiding conversations with people or by texting instead of talking face to face. According to an article published on USA Today online, there is a “growing obsession among people who would much rather interact with their smartphones than with other human beings” (Gibson para. 2). There are even situations where two people sitting next to each other will text back and forth to have a conversation even though the other person is an arm’s length away. A common excuse to text a nearby person is that the subject matter is private. If the subject matter truly is private and you are not in a situation where you want to talk out loud, then you should wait for a more appropriate time and bring up the conversation later. There are times when a pressing matter must be discussed immediately, but texting is not the right way to go about handling the issue. At a minimum, the person needing to be informed of an issue should be asked to meet in a more private area where the issue can be adequately discussed. Socializing and meeting new people are important for a person to branch out their personal connections and to make new friends and acquaintances. If not you may be more likely to not be happy and want to think of doing a shooting.
It is possible to conduct certain conversations successfully over a text message or email. For example, a simple question as to what a person should do when faced with a small dilemma where they must make a decision is most effectively answered by a short response that could come instantly from a text message. However, conversations involving strong emotions should always be conducted in person, or at least over a phone call. Conversation is extremely important, especially in relationships when sharing feelings and important thoughts. In-person conversation is powerful not because of the words that are spoken, but because of the person’s tone of voice, body language, and facial expressions. Emoji’s, smiley face expressions that can be sent in a text message, are used in an attempt to display human emotion; however, the emotion an emoji produces is not always taken seriously. For example, the ‘angry’ emoji is almost never taken seriously because it is used to display the even the slightest bit of anger. It is impossible to tell the degree of seriousness meant by an emoji; therefore, they are not adequate representations of true human emotion.
A lot of context behind a conversation is lost when human emotion is not present, like in a text or online chat. According to Kim Schneiderman’s article titled “The Trouble with Texting” published by Psychology Today, “UCLA professor Albert Mehrabian found that fifty-eight percent of communication is through body language, thirty-five percent through vocal tone, pitch, and emphasis, and a mere seven percent through content of the message” (Schneiderman para. 2). The loss of meaning behind a message when only the message text is available to the reader causes a misinterpretation of information and is actually harmful in relationships. Many relationships among younger generations rely on texting as the main form of communication. With all relationships come disagreements and quarrels, but an argument over a medium other than face to face conversation can become escalated as serious messages are misinterpreted.
When conversations are not held face-to-face, people may gain a false sense of courage and say something they would have never said if the other person was standing right in front of them. This can happen in relationships, in the working environment, or even during every day life. Margie Warrell, in her article “Hiding Behind Email? Four Times You Should Never Use Email” states that, “Hiding behind a computer screen can also give a false sense of bravado as we bravely hurl rebukes and criticism we would never have the courage to deliver in person” (Warrell para. 7). A person’s conscience determines word choice and content of what to say so it is easy to make outlandish statements or remarks through a quickly sent text message because your conscience is clear when typing text. People also often forget the consequences of how they phrase sentences over an email because there is no immediate recognition of authority in their presence. For example, on Facebook, people post about how much they hate their job or how bad their day was forgetting that their boss or supervisor is actually one of their online friends.
Facebook is not only used to post about horrible incidents at work, but also to share every moment of a person’s life. People are becoming addicted to posting on Facebook. The reason people post on Facebook is to create an online version of their life that they are able to control. Right after the shootings happen, media gets involved and is posted everywhere. Some people choose to use Facebook to post all of their life problems, while others choose to use Facebook as a place to create an ideal life for themselves. According to research accumulated on Facebook, about twelve percent of posts on Facebook deal with identity (Gosling 206). The research conducted also concluded that most of the profiles investigated were not completely accurate of the person (Gosling 210). People like the online world because they can add a lot of friends and update their profile and feel like people actually care about their life. A small sense of confidence can come to a person whose post receives over twenty likes by different friends, although in reality nobody cares about that post. The concept of natural human emotion is missing in the virtual world of Facebook. A simple ‘like’ on Facebook does not equate to an ‘oh I like that’ in an actual conversations.
Different uses for cell phones and mobile devices are constantly being explored. Usability and features for staying connected are almost limitless. Mobile devices can keep a person connected with all of their friends. The current trend and usage of electronic communication is detrimental for human interactions and personal relationships, but the uses of staying connected through technology are extremely beneficial to society when used to enhance communication and not replace it. Changing the circumstances and reasons for which we use text messaging and social media will ultimately make the negative effects of electronic communication obsolete.