Has The Internet Changed Written Communication?

Before the introduction of the World Wide Web, our means of communication is through writing letters, passing notes, and leaving post-its. Today, however, the internet age has dramatically changed written communication. Response to letters that used to take weeks or months to arrive can now be received within a few seconds.

Gone are the days of writing letters using the pen, in the modern era, people now use electronic mails to send messages to friends, clients and even to their loved ones. Technological advancement has successfully bridged communication gap.

Change For the Better

Indeed, written communication has come a long way since the advent of the internet. Who would have thought that writing messages would be this easy? Electronic mails made sending and receiving messages from people living around the world faster and more convenient. It is even possible for people to chat in real time at phlebotomy training schools even if they live in opposite parts of the world.

Electronic mail services, such as Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo Mail, allow people to write electronic messages and send them to multiple recipients. This means that it is possible for you to send the same message to more than one person. This is especially helpful for advertisers or marketers who want to disseminate information about a new product or service. Before, companies need to spend a hefty sum of money to publish brochures and pamphlets that they give away to prospect clients. Today, they can do the same without having to spend a fortune — through email marketing.

Instant Messaging

Sending someone a note can now be done in a matter of seconds. This can be done through instant messaging. Instant messengers, such as Windows Live, Skype, and Yahoo, allow us to chat to multiple people at a time, so long as they are in our contact list. Written communication online is not limited to the use of text alone. Instant messengers now feature a variety of emoticons that we can use to express how we feel at a particular moment. Emoticons are made for one to easily express an emotion through the use of small quirky graphics.

Conclusion

Changes in written communication, however, also come with their own set of disadvantages. For one, long, thoughtful messages are now being replaced by short and meaningless statements. People are now more concerned about quantity rather than quality especially when it comes to texting and twittering. Because of this, the quality of written communication has greatly depreciated over the years. Personal interactions through intimate written conversations have significantly lowered while impersonal updates have ascended dramatically.

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Bottom line, modern advancement is good when used in the right way but if we let technology to overload us with unnecessary written information and distracting messages, then it is very likely that we will fail to see what written messages really matter.