Electronic Forms of Communication
Communication is good for developing and maintaining personal associations because it allows you to have a larger foundation for meeting people. Through the use of chatrooms, email, and Instant Message, you can meet people that you would not necessarily come in contact with on a daily basis. Many people believe that communication liberates interpersonal associations from the confines of physical locality, and thus creates opportunities for new and genuine, personal associations and communities. Instead of being forced to associate with the people that are in close distances with you, email, instant messenging and chatrooms allow you to interact with a wide variety of individuals. This increases your chances of finding someone that shares the same interests as you. Friendship and romance is now even easier to achiever because of the extensive use of communication. With the help of the internet you can meet people of different races, religions, and cultures. Communication can also benefit friendships and associations when distance is a problem. For example, parents can take to children that are far away and friends can stay in touch even if they are in different states. Instant Messenger and chatrooms are good ways to maintain friendships and associations because they are quick. The sender can talk to someone just like they are having a telephone conversation. A sender can communicate a message, and the receiver can receive it instantaneously. Another advantage to communication through computers is the idea of escape. Through not coming face to face with the person you are talking to, some people find that they can express themselves better. This provides for less problems with interpreting and comprehending the message, and thus the feedback will not be misinterpreted.
There have been many technological advances to communication. Though sometimes expensive, these new devices add to successfulness of internet associations. People can now use computerized voices on Instant Messenger and new technology with video transmission for videoconferencing. There are also cameras that individuals can set up to allow the source and the receiver to see each other while communicating on the internet.
Many people argue that emails, Instant Messenger, and chatrooms are impersonal and not effective in developing and maintaining friendships and associations. However, I believe that the internet provides people with extensive opportunities to communicate with an array of individuals, which allows a person to develop a special closeness and companionship with another internet user.