Conversation Really Dying

Is the Art of Conversation Really Dying?

The Effects of Modern Communication

Here’s a scenario for you, two women meet at a café to catch up on each other’s lives and are having a good time on a beautiful day. Suddenly the conversation takes a turn for the worse when one woman passes an inappropriate comment (say about the other’s weight or outfit, something that need not be said) and ruins a perfectly pleasant conversation. This is what Dorothy Nevill’s quote; “The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.” Explains how the art of conversation runs deeper than just “saying the right thing” but also learning to hold your tongue and not say something

Since the rise of social media, email and texting, the way we communicate has changed drastically. People do not feel the need for human interaction anymore and can go months without it while still staying “connected”. They confuse connection for conversation. A recent study suggests, that “people ages 8 to 18 spent more time on media than on any other activity – at an average of 7.5 hours a day” (Drago, 2015). Most of the younger generations do not know of a life without the Internet and cannot imagine a world without it. Televisions commercials like the one from AT&T “Keep calm your Internet is on” [1] is an example of how important the Internet is to our lives and follows a family through the anxiety of losing their internet connection and the struggles of making a real face-to-face conversation. Today, kids do not know how to socialize without the help of social media and texting that they are lacking the skills needed to become contributing members of society. Despite the multiple advantages the Internet age has brought us, human interaction shouldn’t be replaced with technology. It is important that the younger generation learns the social skills of face-to-face conversation so that they no longer need to hide behind their

When online, people tend to say things they would normally never say in a face-to-face conversation as they use their screens as a shield. Unfortunately, it is believed if you can’t see the person they are not real so it is ok to be nasty. The definition of Cyber bullying is “is the act of harming or harassing via information technology networks in a repeated and deliberate manner.” (Wikipedia, Internet). Due to the lack of face-to-face interaction kids today are growing up to become bullies and posting hurtful and inappropriate comments online without any concern of the consequences. Many times individuals that feel powerless in the real world feel powerful when behind the screen and it’s the victim of cyber bullying that feels powerless. In a tradition bullying case, the victim can remove himself/herself from the situation and the bully can be shamed for his/hers behavior, but online the victim has no escape and the bully feels no