Comparison essay 1 - Face-to-face Conversations vs. Social Media

​Since the invention of the Internet and social medias, they have produced enormous influence on on how we communicate.

No matter what kind of conversation are the crucial part in lives of all creatures. Among all species, human beings use the most ways to communicate. With the help of the Internet and social medias, our communication is evolving as time goes by.

Do you know that almost half of the population in the world uses social media? Also, do you know that over 60 billion messages are sent per day just on Facebook and WhatsApp? The invention of social media and the Internet have generated immense impact on the way we use to communicate. When mentioning the effects of social media, people usually put it into comparison with face-to-face conversations. There are three differences between these two communication modes, efficient communication, authenticity of information, and interpersonal interaction.

The first and also the most significant aspect is the long-distance communication. In the past, people are required to visit others and find all meeting members in person to discuss things. Take the “Petition” for instance. (Picture 1).

Petition is the behavior that people leave their home to the upper or the top government for clarifying their questions and grievance. The process of traditional face-to-face communication is such a less-efficient work. From sending original letter messages to the receiving of the first reply or from the time people departure to the time they arrive, it usually took up hundreds of hours or even days. However, with the invention of the Internet and social media, we no longer have to endure the unpleasant waiting. The information flows more rapidly, and the discussion of things is unprecedentedly efficient. Meanwhile, social media facilitates the cultural interaction and international communication of business, politics, etc. The dream of instant and simultaneous long-distance communication has come true. With social media, the long-distance communication has never been so convenient until now.

Secondly, the authenticity of information is widely discussed in the digital age nowadays. We all realize that there are tons of fake news, fake photos, and exaggerated statistics on the Internet and social media. Sometimes it only takes us several hours to spread fake news to the entire society. It seems that social media spreads wrong information rapidly. Nevertheless, a face-to-face conversation is not that better either for the fact that people usually exaggerate their facial expressions and speaking tone to attract more attention. In addition, social media not merely spreads but also verifies fake information swiftly. When communicating in person, we have to spend lots of time knowing the truth. On the contrary, with the invention of a rumor verifying app called “美玉姨”, which allows us to verify information from the web, we can tell what is true and what is not in seconds. (Picture 2).

美玉姨is a famous, and free rumor verifying robot app invented by a Taiwanese computer engineer. What we need to do is only adding 美玉姨 as a member in your chat group on communication app. Once there’s news or some information pops up, it will tell whether and why it’s fake news or not. In terms of truth verification, social media is slightly better than a face-to-face conversation due to the invention of rumor verification apps.

The final aspect is the interpersonal interaction. According to several researchers, the invention of social media does not elevate people’s relationship and bounds but have negative effects instead. Even if we chat, interact and discuss delightfully on social media, we tend to meet each other face-to-face in the end. Since human beings are animals of emotions, what we need is the true emotion expressions, the genuine eye contact and the direct ideas interaction. (Picture 3). This can also prevent misunderstanding and have in-depth understanding to each other. Only face-to-face conversations can truly keep and improve people’s relationship no matter how we are involved on social media.

To summarize, it’s hard to tell which is better, face-to-face conversations or communication through social media. The three main aspects differ between these two communication modes. In terms of convenience for efficient communication and authenticity of information, social media wins. But in the interaction with people, face-to-face is better. So, it really depends on your personal needs or the situation, and we shall not abandon either one of them.

Pictures

Picture 3

References

Smith, K. (2015). 126 Amazing Social Media Statistics and Facts. Brandwatch (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/amazing-social-media-statistics-and-facts/#section-2

Smith, T. (2013). 8 Reasons to Have Face-To-Face Communication. Insights from Analytics (2015). Retrieved from: http://www.insightsfromanalytics.com/blog/bid/349553/8-Reasons-to-Have-Face-To-Face-Communication

賴若涵 (2019) 80後女生 一手催生LINE打假「美玉姨」。今周刊 (2013) Retrieved from: https://www.businesstoday.com.tw/article/category/154769/post/201901020016/80%E5%BE%8C%E5%A5%B3%E7%94%9F%20%20%E4%B8%80%E6%89%8B%E5%82%AC%E7%94%9FLINE%E6%89%93%E5%81%87%E3%80%8C%E7%BE%8E%E7%8E%89%E5%A7%A8%E3%80%8D