Page 275 - Keys To Community College Success

Electronic communication has positive and
KEY 9.4 negative effects.

Advantages of electronic Disadvantages of electronic
communication communication

Easy to reveal information that is
Able to communicate inappropriate or too personal,
faster potentially having a negative
impact on jobs or careers

Without hearing a voice or seeing
Able to communicate with many facial expression, easy to
people at one time misunderstand or
misinterpret messages

Can be addictive, encouraging
Messages can be revised before
sending and can be forwarded procrastination during study time
easily to others and making it tough to sustain
focus on important tasks

Can limit interpersonal abilities and
Can build confidence for those who face-to-face interaction skills
struggle in face-to-face situations such as the ability to read
nonverbal cues

Enables communication anytime Being reachable at all times
and makes near-instant can increase stress and anxiety
responses possible

frequently, and with more people than ever before, it has its drawbacks. Key 9.4 shows
some positive and negative aspects of communication technology.
As freeing and convenient as it may be to communicate electronically in a faceless
environment, its low-risk feeling matches its limited potential for reward. Real life demands
that people effectively interact face-to-face. It’s important to keep up your interpersonal
communication skills and fine-tune your ability to read nonverbal cues. It’s also crucial to
make sure that you don’t prioritize electronic communication over in-person, real-time
interaction (think about how you feel when a friend you are with spends half your time
together texting). In addition, electronic communication can compromise your privacy.
See Key 9.5 for seven strategies for safeguarding your privacy and personal information.
Aim for electronic communication to enhance real-time interaction rather than replace
it. Ask questions to develop your own personal communication “recipe”: How do you
prefer to communicate with others? What forms of communication do you use, and what
are the effects? Consider keeping a time journal. Whenever you use an electronic device, log
the time you start and the time you stop. Review the log after a week, think about the
results, and consider whether you need to make changes to improve the balance in your life. Diversity and Communication
Whether online or in person, conflict occurs within nearly every relationship, and
it can cause anger. With effort, you can manage both conflict and anger (and stay away
from those who cannot).

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