Does the media we use to communicate depend on our relationship with the person?
Paragraph 1 – Text (use Brett as an example)
Paragraph 2 – Voice calls (Dad)
Paragraph 3 – FaceTime (Jennifer)
Introduction
The first telephone call was made in March of 1876, by Alexander Graham Bell, who was transmitting a call to his assistant. Since then the world of technology has exploded into a frenzy, discovering new ways to communicate with others at a shocking rate. Telephone calls developed into FaceTime. Text became Snapchat. Humans no longer needed to use the same type of media to speak to each other. But since then, the media we use has been determined by the relationship with the person we want to talk to. Text, voice calls, and FaceTime are all common ways of communication, but I believe that we use each one for a different type of person.
Text messaging is used on a global scale, by almost everyone, no matter what type of phone you have. It is an easy, fast way to communicate with others. It is also the least confronting form of communication on your phone. Text messaging gives you time to craft what you want to say, unlike a phone call or a FaceTime where everything is instant. Text also doesn’t show your facial expressions while you are talking, which leaves a text looking very neutral compared to a video call. This leaves text a lot less authentic than other types of talking. All of these reasons factor into why I believe we tend to use text for the people we are not super close to, or not fully comfortable around. I know in my personal life, I am far more common to use text with my boss than a phone call. I use text because I do not know him well, and text gives me a barrier to hide behind while I talk to him. Our relationship is not a developed one, a reason why I use text.
Voice calls are the second type of communication commonly used today. Calling gives us the power to change the meaning of words by how we say them, unlike text where no actual voice is ever involved. Voice calls are therefore much more powerful than text because of this reason – words change due to how we say them. Calls also are a lot quicker than other forms of communication, as everything is instant. I believe that voice calling is a middle ground type of communication, because its a lot quicker than text but less effort than FaceTime. I tend to use voice calling for people I am close to, Individually, I tend to use calling for my Dad for example, as I need quick replies from him normally. I think calling is commonly used for people you are close to, but need the conversation to be quick.
FaceTiming is the third type of communication commonly used today, even though it has been alive the shortest compared to text and calls. FaceTime takes calls a step further to where you can actually see the person. This makes it one of the most authentic ways to communicate as you can see facial gestures as well as hear the way words are said, like a call. I believe because of this we tend to use FaceTiming as a way to communicate with people we have close relationships with, because we have less to hide on FaceTime. For example, I use FaceTime for people like my best friend, or my older sister who I don’t live with. FaceTime allows me to imitate a real life conversation with the people I miss, which is why I think we use FaceTime for people we are close to and are comfortable with. We wish we could be with them, and FaceTiming feels like that.
In conclusion, there are many ways to communicate in technology, but we tend to use different media based on our relationship with the person. I think that the closer we are to the person, we tend to use methods of communication with less to hide behind, and visa versa. Texting is commonly used with people we aren’t close to, because it gives you time to think about the message you are sending, and no face to face or voice action is involved. Voice calls are used for quick communication – people we like but need instant responses from. Lastly is FaceTime, the form of communication that hides the least and imitates a real life conversation, which is why we use it for people we are closest to in life. Maybe the next time you want to talk to someone, think about what media you are using to communicate with them, and I bet that will probably reflect on your relationship.
Recent Comments