Instant Messaging and College Students
In the past few years, technology has taken over our world. Our lives are flowing rapidly into a technology-based planet; can you remember a time when people did not walk around with a cell phone attached to their heads? Do you recall a time when you had to pull out the map book to find directions instead of heading over to www.mapquest.com? One of the newer technological devices to make its way into the United States, and especially into the lives of college students, is instant messenger. The question we must ask ourselves about instant messenger, a question we must ask about any new piece of technology is, does this creation benefit us or harm us? Instant messenger has many positive
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First, I will look the positive qualities of instant messaging. One good thing about instant messaging is that it is quick and easy to use. At Calvin College, as most other colleges, students have direct access to the internet, and therefore instant messaging, right in their dorm rooms. In fact its access is so convenient that Ethan Fry says, “You would really have to be living under a rock to be in college and not know what AOL Instant Messenger is” (“AOL Instant Messenger a College Must”). Because of its easy access, many students use this program. For example, my “buddy list” has increased by twenty-eight since my arrival at school. Since so many students use instant messenger, it becomes a key way for scholars to communicate. It is much easier to quickly instant message five people and ask, “Do you want to go eat dinner?” than look up their phone numbers, and call each one, one at a time.
Instant messaging does more than create easy communication; it is a social experience as well. As many will attest, it is much easier and less stressful to talk online than on the phone or in person. It has a certain impersonal aspect to it, which one can hide behind when communicating. No one has to see if one is angry or upset if he or she does not want him or her to. It is an especially helpful device for shy people. They can start a relationship online, and eventually build it up to one where they can meet in
Instant messaging allows several employees to communicate by having live conversations and private chats online. Instant messaging offers voice, video chat or written instant messages. The employees have the option of making a list of people to chat with. Whenever someone on the list logs into chat a ring tone goes off to let everyone on the list know someone on their list has logged online. Dirt Bikes can use instant message to draw business, it helps with customer service because the customer can chat with
Using texting as a quicker and more efficient form of communication takes the emotional connection out of the equation. It allows us to not be physically near the recipient or to take responsibility for miscommunications that lead to hurt feelings. While texting, students do not need to make eye contact with their recipient or learn to read their body language. In addition, there is no need to learn the art of persuasive argument or exchanging and building on ideas. This is not only harming students in the classroom, but can have negative effects when entering the workforce. After leaving college, students hope to land a job in their field of expertise. In the workforce, teams are a diverse collection of persons – all ages and different cultures. Texting may be acceptable in some situations, but there is still a great need for face to face interactions. We learn how to become more comfortable meeting new people and interviewing for jobs. There is nothing wrong the light banter between friends that texting can provide, but the conversation is not necessarily deep.
It is everywhere around us in our cars,schools,even on our city streets. All of it is connected by the internet as we are to our social media sites. Unable to be away from long periods of time with outstanding anxiety to the user, we are so needy of the tool that you would think you’re life depended on it. As this explains today’s teenagers typically send or receive a message every few minutes throughout their waking hours. As the psychotherapist Michael Hausauer notes, teens and other young adults have a “terrific interest in knowing what’s going on in the lives of their peers, coupled with a terrific anxiety about being out of the loop.” If they stop sending messages, they risk becoming invisible.
This good for keeping friendships active and also for business and planning. More than two people can communicate synchronously. If this is done by phone, it is called a teleconference, and is used for business meetings and lectures, when people are in all sorts of different locations. This can also be done with videoconferencing or Skype. Instant messaging can also be done with groups, so that quite a number of people can all communicate together at the same time.
Being published in a newspaper column, Wortham writes in a less formal language to explain her thoughts on communication through smartphone applications. By including personal stories behind her usage of technology, she is able to reflect on those and validate her opinion of messaging apps. She is able to connect with their reader on a more personal level because the reader can relate to her experiences. Due an excessive amount of technology use from people of all ages, Wortham’s article can reach anyone that uses messaging applications including couples of all ages. She does not single out long distance couples because she also includes the benefits of having these applications with family, friends, and coworkers. In her essay, Wortham straightforwardly states her thoughts on apps such as Facebook messenger, Snapchat, and even Tinder, leaving no room for the reader to become confused. In addition to her own opinions and statistics from Pew Research Center, she uses Sherry Turkle, who disagrees with messaging applications, to acknowledge that both sides understand that there is not an application on our smartphone that can replace a face-to-face
Social media is defined as websites and applications used for social networking, in other words it is a way for people to interact and express themselves without being face to face. Social media has become a large part of the life of teenagers, who make up most of the population of people who are subjected to using social media in their daily lives. Many college students are faced with balancing their social lives with school and even athletics making priorities a big dilemma for them. College students in America are affected in many ways by social media whether it be their social life, their happiness, or their grades.
In today’s society, texting is an incredibly significant part of life. People crave rapid responses and are eager to see messages immediately. It is rather difficult to imagine life without instant messaging. Texting is so prominent that individuals are risking lives by reading messages while driving. It is absolutely ridiculous and must be stopped. The time taken to write a simple message such as “OK” or “LOL” can cause severe injuries and death. A multitude of individuals believe that nothing will happen to them and that they are immune. Despite so, that is most definitely not the case. Life is precious and can be taken away in an instant. I urge everyone, especially my friends and family, to not text and drive . I beg everyone to
Today, anyone can rekindle old flames with social media or update their status to keep distant friends close at heart. Somehow, Maggie Jackson sees facilitated communication as “clashing streams of rapid-fire imagery, floating in limitless cyber-worlds” that loosen any grip on intimacy (546). It’s understandable that face to face moments are deemed an essential aspect of connectivity. Still, a digital barrier seems minute in many circumstances. Every year college students drift far from home in the pursuit of higher education. For most, leaving family behind is extremely difficult and can even hinder the way a student manages emotions. With powerful tools like Skype and instant messaging, communication isn’t so difficult. Although looking at a screen isn’t “the real thing”, it allows people to feel closer and connected. A few glances at funny pics of mom or a second to see what a friend posted about their life back home can give a feeling of comfort to those that need it. This is progress. This is proof of successful innovation. Yes, focus is briefly split into “alternative virtual universes” but the benefits of cyber-mingling far outweigh the small cost of attention (Jackson 547). Focus dispersed between real and computerized life should be seen as a positive symbol of cultural
The receiver would get it three days later and their response time would be the same. In comparison, technology has come an extremely long ways, and it has many benefits for nurses, doctors, and even teachers. For example, the option to take an online class is convenient for the general public who work full time, and have a full time family to care for is an enormous detriment. Furthermore, technology has scores of benefits, which astray society’s cognizant of its negative effects on humanity. In addition to communication being affected, think about the rise in bullying, exclusively “cyber bullying;” the unlimited access to substantially any information you can think of; and of course the absence of face-to-face communication. Many young girls are beating themselves up about being too fat or too skinny, not having the right color of hair, or the right clothes. To be friends with someone and to honestly get a grasp on their true character cannot be done without face-to-face verbal
More often than not, I’ve heard some refer to communications as a “lazy major”. Many people have a misconception about the Communications discipline, and assume that it is an easy major because it just simply consists of learning how to talk. This flawed idea however; could not be any farther from the truth. The Communication discipline heavily relies on reading comprehension, effective writing skills, and active listening skills. In a world where technology and electronics have dominated almost every aspect of American culture, the ability to communicate with others has become a dying art.
In such that situation, messaging applications may be preferred because it allows you to plan out and revise messages; whereas for a face-to-face often demands an immediate response in which without a suitable answer, may lead to awkwardness.Ann Friedman, an audience interviewed for this article states, "Tech entrepreneurs, long obsessed with making apps to help you find a relationship, have now begun trying to solve the problem staying happy in one,"(Wortham 394).Another person in this article also says, ''We've given ourselves something so gratifying that we can forget other ways we can communicate."(Wortham 395).These two interviewers have shown us the importance that social media and technology bring in a new way of communication, but also affect our ability to interact outside of
Why was the message that was sent to me in all caps? Is that a way of showing anger? Many get emails or texts or any forms of messages through electronic communication and have no idea what the message is saying or how their tone of voice is. Many have kids who just started using communication or haven’t started at all, and are wondering what to teach their kids about communication. The best solution to this problem is to teach using face to face communication. In the old days, talking face to face was the way to go. They would walk or drive somewhere and meet up just to have a conversation. Now a day we rely on electronics. Even though sending emails is easy, talking face to face helps understand people in a more formal manner. Are these
Face to face relationships are very important because through contact we are getting live interaction, trust, honesty, and integrity. Face to face conversations are more positive and more reliable than friendships online. In cyber space you convers ate with friends but some will not acknowledge the friendship in public. Social media is slowly taking away from face to face relationships, because we contact our family and friends on the computer screen. We are typing while looking at the screen instead of seeing facial expressions. Therefore, we aren’t sure if they are interpreting what we are saying in a negative or positive way.
In the world we live in today, people have the opportunity to interact with one another due to the advancement in technology. For many years people relied on the traditional ways of communications, for example pay phones, send letters, a house phone, in person and they even used web cam’s. Presently, people rely on modern day methods of communication such as sending text messages, emails or even messaging via social. The development of the internet has made it so much easier for people to communicate that Social Media has become the place where people interact more than ever in a mere second.
Many people use technology extensively as a way to communicate today. It is estimated that 91% of the human population owns a cell phone of some sort. The fast paced world of the 21st century requires almost constant communication. Most people achieve this through texting. 68% of teenagers are reported to text their friends daily (Dockterman). This contrasts strongly with the 35% who have physical contact with these friends