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Essay on Internet Communication

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Since the invention and popularization of the internet, computer mediated communication has become an increasingly common mode of socialization. Many people have voiced the concern that the move away from physical communication might have negative repercussions for society; however, socialization on the internet has a number of advantages over traditional socialization. The internet provides a larger pool of potential social contacts compared to physically seeking people, creates means for people to easily communicate when spatially or temporally disconnected and allows a comfortable atmosphere for communication. At any given moment there are more people available for socialization on the internet then there are people with which one …show more content…

When communicating through an instant messenger, one can send messages while conversational partners are away from their computers and the partners will still see the messages when they return. Not only do they not need to be physically present, they do not even need to be participating in the conversation at the exact same time. This makes computer mediated communication one of the easiest means of transmitting information. Physical communication is more intimidating them communicating through typing. Typing allows one more time to think and reword one's thoughts before communicating them. Further, the fact that people cannot see the physical reaction of their conversational partners makes it easier to communicate about difficult topics. This is especially helpful shy people. Shy individuals who do not use the internet for communication have less social contacts then shy people who do socialize on the internet3. Most people have some degree of shyness; communicating through the internet helps alleviate the negative effects of shyness and makes socializing more comfortable. Some would argue that the above benefits are irrelevant because online social encounters rarely result in a social relationship. Although it is true that many encounters on the internet do not lead to meaningful social relationships, the same can be said about physical social encounters. For example, two people who meet while riding a bus might speak during the

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