Have you considered the risks of communicating through technology?

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Permalink Reply by Mark Robinson on July 8, 2009 at 9:52am

Thanks for this posting Stephen! It was a very thought provoking article. It did make me think, and even moved to action to go back and read over a few emails I have received and sent recently. Of course it also shows how wide we have opened up communication possibilities with this technology. The fact is that Susan might live in Indonesia, Ghana, Greece or Switzerland (like my niece). In the case of my niece, we communicate 10 times more frequently through facebook and email these days than we ever did when she was in DC, and she is simultaneously communicating with 100 other people as well. The messages come fast and furious and it seems without much filtering. I actually am not saying that is necessarily a good thing that we send messages through that medium when we did not call each other on the phone nearly as frequently, just saying that it is what it is, but by taking time to think of the perils of this type of communication we can maybe mitigage some of the misunderstandings that are bound to crop up.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Knutson on July 8, 2009 at 9:41pm

It is great advice, but two thoughts come to mind. First, I use Facebook to talk to my nephew who lives on the West Coast. What I’ve discovered is he’s a heck of a lot more chatty (and interesting) using the FB chat tool than he is on the phone or in person. It makes me wonder if he (and other young people) will ever learn face-to-face communication. But there’s no doubt he communicates better than I do using FB.

Second, visual clues are only helpful when participants recognize those clues. Some people are not gifted at recognizing those clues, and that process is complicated by cultural differences. Personally, I want those visual clues, but one again, I bet young people are learning the nuances of communications without them.

Thanks for sharing. It’s a great resource that I intend to share with others.

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Permalink Reply by Stephen Frenkel on July 9, 2009 at 10:27am

Mark and Mike,

Thanks for taking the time to read and comment.

There seems to be somewhat of a generational gap in use of FB and other technologies. Certainly, these are tools that we MUST take advantage of if we want to be sure to engage younger generations - either for familial/social purposes or for business.

My hope with the article is to make sure people understand that these tools have a time and place. My concern is that the more these tools become standard, the less users (especially those who grow up with access to these services) will realize how much they are actually missing!

I have heard that younger generations can pick up nuances of language and style in email and draw conclusions about the people who wrote them from the words they've typed. I have no doubt this is possible and evolving - certainly they'll be better at it than we are. I agree with you (Mike) that visual clues are only helpful if recognized, but I also think we pick up more than we know - even if it's subconscious.

Of course, the whole point as I'm sure you picked up on, is to be aware of the benefits of these tools as well as the drawbacks. We should be strategic in what we communicate to whom and how.

Stephen

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Permalink Reply by Vikki Baptiste on August 23, 2009 at 2:03am

What a thought-provoking article!

Being the argumentatitive type, I'll argue that in the past, it was still not always possible to "guess" the undertones of a written, or typed letter, just as it is hard to interpret the tone of an email. Emphasis is not always possible to convey - especially for those who are vocabulary-challenged - and there will always be people who misinterpret even the most succinct of messages. The “I didn’t tell Sarah you were being difficult” scenario is one that could have been avoided by choosing the correct words in the first place.

The idea of sleeping on an emotionally charged email reply before sending it is a wonderful suggestion. I remember receiving the same advice about writing letters (on paper) as I was going through college. Write your emotionally charged reply and put it in an envelope. Look at it again in the morning and, if you still feel it is relevant, then send it. Otherwise, just trash it and forget about it.

As for the permanency, if you live your life transparently, then there should be no regrets. Personally, in my position as Development Specialist, I see myself as one of the faces of my organization. I realize that people have to have a social life, yet for me, I draw no barrier between my personal life and my job. I am a 24/7 walking advertisement for the organization I work for. People know I work for MCCA and recognize me as a representative of that organization whether I'm behind my desk or at my local supermarket. It is up to me to uphold my agency's image in the community - whether that community is online or on the street.

As social media evolves, the transparency issue will become bigger and bigger. We have college-aged kids now who are not being considered for jobs because of what they have posted on their social networking pages, this is only going to become worse as time goes on and the online world grows!

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Permalink Reply by Stephen Frenkel on August 26, 2009 at 10:54am

Thanks Vikki!

Of course, you're correct that the challenges of communication existed in the past as well through written or typed letters. The pressing issue, for me, is how much easier it is to respond quickly, especially while emotional, through technology than it ever was before. In addition, it's much more acceptable these days to respond to someone with one-word or one-sentence (or at least substantially abbreviated) messages - which was rarely the case in a mailed letter. The result, especially for those who don't recognize these challenges, is often limited information/context and poor choice of words.

You clearly have a grasp on how your personal life bleeds into and impacts your professional life and vice-versa. This is such a small world we live in with even smaller communities. Those we pass by at the local book store could be in our offices looking for help that afternoon. Unfortunately, many do not see this connection and I agree with you about the challenges of managing the personal-/professional-self balance in a virtual world - particularly for younger generations. Hopefully, this will change in one way or another (i.e. people will become more aware of the long-term implications of their online choices and/or those evaluating will become a little more understanding).

Only time will tell....

Thanks again for engaging!
Stephen

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