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Scott King
Dr. Rybas
New Media and Writing
5 November 2015
The Evolution of Communication
As social media and online communication continues to change the way we interact with
each other, many people have conflicting views on how it is changing the world. Some view the
evolution of communication as a negative thing. Others view it as a positive change for the
better. As far as my thoughts are concerned, I find myself concerned but accepting that it will
progress effectively. The reason I am willing to let it take its course is due to the progression of
online communication, it will naturally receive resistance because it is a different way of
communication. The modern reliance on online communication can certainly be negative as it
omits the ability for the recipient to read voice inflection or tones of the speaker. However, out of
that negative aspect of the progression of communication to online also comes the introduction
of the emoji or emoticon which can serve, in a different way, as a replacement for tone or
voice inflection. Ultimately, as communication evolves to rely more with online forums as
opposed to personal face-to-face interactions, we must be patient as online communication
continues to develop to become more interactive.
First, I would like to discuss the negative aspects of communication as society is
becoming more reliant on online media. It certainly is a problem to be addressed, as everywhere
around us, we can see people walking to destinations with their heads down and eyes glued to
their smart phone. On public modes of transportation such as a bus or train, instead of simple
conversations with other passengers we prefer to spend time on our online profiles. It can be
frustrating, as one walks to class and friends walk by without a Hello, because they were on
their phones and didnt see you. Another frustrating factor of modern communication is that it is

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difficult to convey meanings to messages without a voice inflection or tone. Stacey Koosel writes
of the repercussions that can come from this, Miscommunication can be an outcome of the
missing information, as without visual or verbal feedback the detection of nuances is much more
difficult (Page 5). Koosel is right as this factor can lead to text messages or social media
comments being misread or misinterpreted. The misunderstanding that can come from this can
lead to indirect interpersonal conflicts until the two individuals can directly communicate and
clarify the original intended interpretation.
That being said, it is not entirely a bad thing that communication has gone viral. Online
communication, in order to deal with the absence of multimodal communication has adopted
symbols within text. These symbols are recognized as emojis or emoticons, and simply are faces
that express the intended emotion of the text. The emojis have become popular, This has
resulted in a convergence of spoken and written communication, on mobile phones with text
messaging, instant messaging as well as other communication platforms where typographic
symbols are used in new ways to express emotion within the text (5-6). In this way, emojis are
used to influence a texts tone, and so in some way they address the issue of miscommunication
that can occur through text. However, it wont ultimately fill the void the absence tone of voice
can have; it helps serve the same purpose.
Ultimately, communication is inevitably transitioning to an online forum. This can be
concerning in a social sense due to the growing absence of face-to-face interaction. However, as
online communication continues to evolve, new ways to filling the voids online communication
can leave behind are slowly being developed. In this way the concerns, although they ought to be
heeded, should not cause panic because online communication will continue to develop properly.
Works Cited

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Koosel, Stacey. "Digital Identity Narratives." MiT7 Unstable Platforms: The Promise and Peril
of Transition Panel 6 Narratives in Transition: Digital Life Writing, Digital Lives (2011):
n. pag. Web. 5 Nov. 2015.