Comparison/Contrast
This is the comparison/contrast paper written by myself (as apposed to the one done with a group). Nearly everything written here is personal speculation. Actual results may vary between people. Best if you take this with a grain of salt.
Communication: Verbal vs. Internet
Communication is a vital part of human society, and it comes through many methods. Methods range from the spoken word to the written letter. Advancements in technology in the past years have made even more varied methods of communication, such as e-mail and instant messengers. Electronic methods of communication are used just as commonly now as verbal conversation. The changes in technology bring changes in the way people communicate, and the way people express themselves can vary greatly between verbally spoken and internet based communications.
One large difference between spoken and internet communications is the usage of body language and voice tones, or the lack thereof. Body language in verbal conversation is used for a large part of word emphasis and emotional expression. For example, people making a point will often hold their hands forward as if physically offering their point to the listener. Such motions may also keep listeners interested in the speaker. Walking up and down an aisle during a speech will also retain this effect. People can also make their feelings clear by the tone in their voice. Voice emphasis is often used in verbal arguments where people are trying to defend their points. People will often raise their voices and change their tone to catch the attention of a crowd. Most important is the mood set by the combined efforts of the two factors, voice and body language, and the facial expressions that come with it. People will often react angrily or give a distasteful expression to a topic or item they disagree with. With mood and facial expression, people do not even need to say much to make their opinions and feelings on a topic known. Body language and tone can be powerful speakers in verbal communication.
However, unlike verbal, internet communication is made up primarily of written words, and leaves little room for things like body language and vocal emotional hints. In that respect, the internet is very impersonal. The body of the writer is usually not visible, so conventional methods of emphasizing a word or phrase through body language are right out. Voices are also usually not available in internet conversations, and voices are often not very clear when they are. Thus, internet users have learned other methods of expression using simple fonts, phrases, and graphics. Internet users will often emphasize their points by using unique fonts and formats to make themselves stand out. Capitalized words especially are used to depict feelings of excitement or anger. Another common method of expression is to use abbreviations, such as the popular “lol” (laugh out loud), for phrases or actions. Probably the most common and universal method of expressing specific moods or actions is to use one of many icons known as “smileys” or “emoticons”. The little icons often depict yellow faces doing some sort of action, such as crying. Overall, internet users have come up with some pretty creative ways to make up for the lack of body language and voice tones.
Another major difference between verbal and internet conversation is the pace of the conversation itself. When speaking in person, the responder is often pressured to come up with a quick response because of the moods and expressions conveyed by the speaker. When a response doesn’t come quickly one or more of the party often feels awkward. Since no one wants to feel awkward, responding quickly has become a conditioned reflex, whether the responder has thought about what they are saying or not. However, responding quickly often leads to even more awkward responses. For example, while arguing angrily a person often says things they don’t really mean, only realizing afterwards what they had just said. Yet, the pace of the conversation hasn’t slowed down just for them. The next person responds in kind, and the high pace and tension (mood) of the conversation causes the first person to respond by defending things they don’t believe in. The pace of a conversation can also affect a people’s ability to remember what was said. In a fast paced conversation, ideas will pass back and forth so fast that some will get lost in the cracks. Similarly, a drawn on conversation may not even seem worth remembering. Some people could consider lectures to be the latter. Verbal conversations are easily affected by pace.
By contrast, the internet runs at a slightly different pace then verbal conversation. Because people on the internet are not in direct contact with their conversation partners the mood of each person does not have such a strong effect on the pace of the conversation. Since the waiting of the other person is not so clear there is not so much pressure to respond quickly, and so people can think through what they are going to say before saying it. Even after thinking for a moment or two, people can see exactly what they have written, and how clear it sounds, before letting everyone else see it. A unique result of this physical detachment from conversation partners is the ability to hold multiple conversations separately without confusing the details of each. To add to the convenience of this, most online chat methods have a way to look back on what was previously said, so that people don’t even have to be online at the same time in order to hold a conversation. The pace of internet communication tends to be slower, but it can be much clearer then verbal communication.
Most importantly, the biggest difference between verbal and internet communication is the way people convey themselves through posture or speech. In a verbal conversation there are certain topics people will choose not to talk about because the topics are either awkward or potentially rude, such as sex or flatulence. More personal topics aren’t talked about with people the speaker doesn’t know because the speaker may not feel comfortable talking about it. Place or present company could also have an effect on topics chosen. While crude topics may be applied to a more relaxed group, such as classmates or friends, the same topics wouldn’t be used in more formal settings. A likely reason people wouldn’t talk about crude things in polite company is the fact that people remember things. They may not remember a point someone said, or exact phrasing of something, but people will remember if someone was unusually insensitive or otherwise out of place in their topic. The person who said the insensitive thing will have to live with people remembering them as the insensitive person. Verbal conversation holds a certain amount of responsibility in regards to choosing the right topics.
Yet, on the internet people usually don’t care how others convey themselves as much as they would in person. People on the internet usually don’t know to whom they're talking to, what age they are, or even what gender they are, so it’s a little harder to filter out topics based on usual methods. There also seems to be no limit to the variety of topics. Anything that wants to be said, but is held back in person, is said on the internet. People seem to feel more comfortable not having to be actually seen until after the thing is said. The exchange of information is so much less personal, and so it feels like it has fewer consequences to speak one’s mind. On the internet, it’s so easy to release ones inner thoughts from the outer shell of life and physical form, as well as the preconceptions that come with vision and environment. Finally, people on the internet can be freed from the responsibilities of their past conversations. They could say whatever they like to whoever without worrying about seeing them again. People using the internet do not usually filter their conversations because they wish to truly express themselves without inhibitions.
In closing, technology has greatly affected our methods of communication. Recent advancements in things like cell phones have made things like instant messaging even easier to do. These changes have made communication suffer on the neighborhood level. People are often so busy talking to people halfway across the globe that they don’t even know the people living halfway down the block. Internet and other advancements have made communication very impersonal. Internet conversation is less personal than verbal conversation because it lacks body language and sound, which leads to less consideration for what is being said. Yet, internet conversation can have more clarity than verbal conversation. The way society handles communication is changing rapidly, and with it the way we view each other.
Communication: Verbal vs. Internet
Communication is a vital part of human society, and it comes through many methods. Methods range from the spoken word to the written letter. Advancements in technology in the past years have made even more varied methods of communication, such as e-mail and instant messengers. Electronic methods of communication are used just as commonly now as verbal conversation. The changes in technology bring changes in the way people communicate, and the way people express themselves can vary greatly between verbally spoken and internet based communications.
One large difference between spoken and internet communications is the usage of body language and voice tones, or the lack thereof. Body language in verbal conversation is used for a large part of word emphasis and emotional expression. For example, people making a point will often hold their hands forward as if physically offering their point to the listener. Such motions may also keep listeners interested in the speaker. Walking up and down an aisle during a speech will also retain this effect. People can also make their feelings clear by the tone in their voice. Voice emphasis is often used in verbal arguments where people are trying to defend their points. People will often raise their voices and change their tone to catch the attention of a crowd. Most important is the mood set by the combined efforts of the two factors, voice and body language, and the facial expressions that come with it. People will often react angrily or give a distasteful expression to a topic or item they disagree with. With mood and facial expression, people do not even need to say much to make their opinions and feelings on a topic known. Body language and tone can be powerful speakers in verbal communication.
However, unlike verbal, internet communication is made up primarily of written words, and leaves little room for things like body language and vocal emotional hints. In that respect, the internet is very impersonal. The body of the writer is usually not visible, so conventional methods of emphasizing a word or phrase through body language are right out. Voices are also usually not available in internet conversations, and voices are often not very clear when they are. Thus, internet users have learned other methods of expression using simple fonts, phrases, and graphics. Internet users will often emphasize their points by using unique fonts and formats to make themselves stand out. Capitalized words especially are used to depict feelings of excitement or anger. Another common method of expression is to use abbreviations, such as the popular “lol” (laugh out loud), for phrases or actions. Probably the most common and universal method of expressing specific moods or actions is to use one of many icons known as “smileys” or “emoticons”. The little icons often depict yellow faces doing some sort of action, such as crying. Overall, internet users have come up with some pretty creative ways to make up for the lack of body language and voice tones.
Another major difference between verbal and internet conversation is the pace of the conversation itself. When speaking in person, the responder is often pressured to come up with a quick response because of the moods and expressions conveyed by the speaker. When a response doesn’t come quickly one or more of the party often feels awkward. Since no one wants to feel awkward, responding quickly has become a conditioned reflex, whether the responder has thought about what they are saying or not. However, responding quickly often leads to even more awkward responses. For example, while arguing angrily a person often says things they don’t really mean, only realizing afterwards what they had just said. Yet, the pace of the conversation hasn’t slowed down just for them. The next person responds in kind, and the high pace and tension (mood) of the conversation causes the first person to respond by defending things they don’t believe in. The pace of a conversation can also affect a people’s ability to remember what was said. In a fast paced conversation, ideas will pass back and forth so fast that some will get lost in the cracks. Similarly, a drawn on conversation may not even seem worth remembering. Some people could consider lectures to be the latter. Verbal conversations are easily affected by pace.
By contrast, the internet runs at a slightly different pace then verbal conversation. Because people on the internet are not in direct contact with their conversation partners the mood of each person does not have such a strong effect on the pace of the conversation. Since the waiting of the other person is not so clear there is not so much pressure to respond quickly, and so people can think through what they are going to say before saying it. Even after thinking for a moment or two, people can see exactly what they have written, and how clear it sounds, before letting everyone else see it. A unique result of this physical detachment from conversation partners is the ability to hold multiple conversations separately without confusing the details of each. To add to the convenience of this, most online chat methods have a way to look back on what was previously said, so that people don’t even have to be online at the same time in order to hold a conversation. The pace of internet communication tends to be slower, but it can be much clearer then verbal communication.
Most importantly, the biggest difference between verbal and internet communication is the way people convey themselves through posture or speech. In a verbal conversation there are certain topics people will choose not to talk about because the topics are either awkward or potentially rude, such as sex or flatulence. More personal topics aren’t talked about with people the speaker doesn’t know because the speaker may not feel comfortable talking about it. Place or present company could also have an effect on topics chosen. While crude topics may be applied to a more relaxed group, such as classmates or friends, the same topics wouldn’t be used in more formal settings. A likely reason people wouldn’t talk about crude things in polite company is the fact that people remember things. They may not remember a point someone said, or exact phrasing of something, but people will remember if someone was unusually insensitive or otherwise out of place in their topic. The person who said the insensitive thing will have to live with people remembering them as the insensitive person. Verbal conversation holds a certain amount of responsibility in regards to choosing the right topics.
Yet, on the internet people usually don’t care how others convey themselves as much as they would in person. People on the internet usually don’t know to whom they're talking to, what age they are, or even what gender they are, so it’s a little harder to filter out topics based on usual methods. There also seems to be no limit to the variety of topics. Anything that wants to be said, but is held back in person, is said on the internet. People seem to feel more comfortable not having to be actually seen until after the thing is said. The exchange of information is so much less personal, and so it feels like it has fewer consequences to speak one’s mind. On the internet, it’s so easy to release ones inner thoughts from the outer shell of life and physical form, as well as the preconceptions that come with vision and environment. Finally, people on the internet can be freed from the responsibilities of their past conversations. They could say whatever they like to whoever without worrying about seeing them again. People using the internet do not usually filter their conversations because they wish to truly express themselves without inhibitions.
In closing, technology has greatly affected our methods of communication. Recent advancements in things like cell phones have made things like instant messaging even easier to do. These changes have made communication suffer on the neighborhood level. People are often so busy talking to people halfway across the globe that they don’t even know the people living halfway down the block. Internet and other advancements have made communication very impersonal. Internet conversation is less personal than verbal conversation because it lacks body language and sound, which leads to less consideration for what is being said. Yet, internet conversation can have more clarity than verbal conversation. The way society handles communication is changing rapidly, and with it the way we view each other.
posted by Me? | 2/28/2007 04:31:00 PM
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