The Negatives of Online Communication

For the campaign project and term paper to conclude the semester in Persuasion, I have chose to focus on the negatives of online communication.  This topic intertwines with my first presentation on the negatives of social media networks like Facebook.  I wanted to tackle this subject in attempt to become more specific and concentrated on a communication commidity that is very important in this technological era.  For this presentation I plan on painting a communicative picture on how different age groups of people act and feel differently when conversing online with others.  Previously, I have done a countless amount of research on adolescent friendships and romantic relationships online so I thought it would be interesting to expand my initial research, and not only focus on adolescents but also college students and elderly people.  The information I collect will determine how these three different types of people interact, socialize, and react when communicating online, whether it be through social media, email, memos, etc.  The audience I plan to focus on is still up in the air since I am doing research on a varierty of age groups.  Realistically, I would like my target audience to be college students like myself because they will be able to better visualize and understand the points I am making from a college students prospective.  There is a ton of evidence I have yet to discover about the negatives of online communication.  To gather this information I will use scholarly articles from an online database that will provide information and statistics about different age groups and the ways they communicate online.  I believe the best way to collect this information is to locate a survey of some sort and derive information from that, and of course the information will be cited.  This topic clears a beaten path to the public controversy associated with online communcation.  It is already known that online commuication can be detremental to a persons interpersonal communication skills, but many will argue that online communcation is just another way to converse with friends, family, and loved ones online.  Additionally, there is no hiding the possibility of online predators, but many parents are clueness to the potential threat online thus allowing their child to browse online freely which is dangerous.  There are positives and negatives to every situation, but from a child's perspective the positives of online communication drown out the negatives.  This campaign is intended to get the word out about the negatives of online communication so people of all ages can be safe and "sane" when communicating online.  As I grew, I noticed online communication become more popular by the year.  I have witnessed first hand how important online communication has become which makes me think, when will technology become more obsolete than human?  The publics view of online communication has altered ever since the beginning of social media.  I remember way back when to a social media network called MySpace.  Ever since that network became popular, society starting using online communication as a primary means of communication.  Personally, I think society would be a lot more safe and personable without the means of online communication as peoples initial way to talk.

Don't Dismiss, Dissoi Logoi!!

            There is much to debate on the topic of social media networks and how they can affect relationships.  The points I have made in my persuasive speech are valid and honest, but there is always a devil’s advocate in any persuasive situation.  In persuasive communication we like to call an opposing side of an agreement the “Dissoi Logoi”.  In Greek this term literally means different words.  Without this rebuttal of ideas, there would be no two sides of the story, which in turn makes no reason to debate. Many people have different views about social media.  I’m sure I could find a bunch of people who would love to debate my topic on how social media is negative.  People of all ages use social media networks like Facebook and Twitter on a habitual base and most likely cannot live without it.  A good argument would be that social media keeps people connected in a positive way.  I cannot assert a comeback for that response because it is true…but my point is there’s always two sides of the story, with the good comes the bad.  Social media is nothing but an overrated fade that starts rumors and lies for people to converse and complain about, in my own personal opinion.  But I’m sure someone could dig up a ton of artifacts and evidence as to why I am mistaken.  I’ll give you an example; social media is excellent in the workplace.  Corporate systems use these networks as the new means of communication inside and outside of the workplace, both internally and internationally.  And I agree that this online communication benefits companies, but it’s using social media for recreation that gets you in trouble.  This describes how different audiences could be affected differently by social media.  Like I stated before, companies benefit off of this way to communication because it’s simple and everyone knows how to use it.  On the other hand, what is the point of allowing a ten year old child to use social media?  When I was that age I had no clue how to navigate my way around the internet.  By doing this, it’s only more likely for adolescents to become online prey.  Children of that age should be riding bike and joining the soccer team, not seating on a couch with a microphone around their head suffocating their brain!!!  Everyone is under the assumption that social media is the next hip thing, and that might be the case.  I believe eventually everyone will have a social media account of some sort.  You can call me a hypocrite if you’d like, since I will admit I use social media SOMETIMES, but my views are probably different than most.  I am on the other side of the spectrum when trusting social media sites.  If these networks are so overpopulated and misconceiving now, what are we looking at in the next 21 years of my live?  I don’t know what it is but something’s fishy in the waters of social media, and I’m staying dry on land.