How Technology Changed the way we Communicate

Once upon a time, people had limited options for exchanging information with one another. It’s probably hard for younger students today to imagine a world where you could only communicate by actually talking directly to another person, face to face or via telephone. Now we have what can feel like limitless options to transfer information from one person to another. With this in mind, let’s take a look at what constitutes communication in the modern age, and explore the ways that technology continues to alter how we communicate.

 

We can communicate faster and more cost-effectively

If you’re in the same room with someone, there’s certainly nothing faster than just opening your mouth and talking. But in our global economy, many of the people we need to communicate with are in different locations. Technology allows us to easily connect with people worldwide using our choice of channels. We don’t have to wait for a letter to make its way across the world or rack up a sizable long-distance phone bill. Instead, we can instantly reach almost anyone whether through email, instant message, social media, or countless apps. As the speed of communicating has ramped up, costs have been dramatically reduced.

 

 

We have access to more information

Information overload has become a reality, with the Internet providing much more knowledge at the click of a mouse than could even be imagined in the past. This means there is much more data that can be communicated about any topic than was previously possible, limited only by our own ability to find it. As a result, savvy communicators have learned to turn toward specific technology solutions to help them harness, organize, and manage the data deluge. The amount of information out there is beyond useful and most of us would be lost without it. Imagine not being able to Google where the nearest takeaway is. Not even worth contemplating is it.

 

 

We have more choices of how to communicate

The amount of choices that we have to communicate nowadays is beyond most of our imaginations. From communicating with our loved ones to working on a subject with work colleagues. There is something out there for every aspect of communication. While technology is often seen as the culprit behind a decline in face-to-face encounters, we have to give credit to technology for opening up many new avenues for expanding the limited communication options we had available in the past. We can still talk to each other in person but we can also be thankful for the ability to choose our own channel when communicating today. Technology doesn’t look like slowing down anytime soon either. This means that the amount of ways which we are able to communicate will only grow and expand to an unprecedented level.