Face-to-face communication in times of digital communication

Face-to-face communication in times of digital communication

Today, the Internet is a means of communication that can be the means of work, entertainment or shopping for all its users. Despite being very beneficial, this increases social isolation and sedentary lifestyle, since you can get everything through the screen. Likewise, it can generate addiction due to all the facilities offered by the Internet, some users develop dependency. If this means of communication is not used properly, it can isolate the user from the real context and from their close circle.

The empowerment of the Internet with its power of communication on a massive scale changed the course of history and, perhaps, of evolution. Yes, it is true that we are more connected than ever with each other, that today we are able to instantly know what is happening thousands of kilometers away from our location, told in the voice of the protagonists of the action. But between colleagues and friends, in the midst of family and lovers, we look at and touch our mobile devices more than ourselves.

These days we'd rather send a text, even a voice message, than commit to a face-to-face meeting or even a video call. We have given up on the development of our socialization skills, of conversation (face to face) in favor of greater "social contact" via of the modern digital age. Are we losing part of our humanization, of what makes or made us human and differentiated us from the rest of the species on the planet? History will give us the answer, although the quantum leap we are taking will not leave us in uncertainty for long.

The participatory web and the device that allows it to be taken everywhere have objectively changed the world. The population dedicates long hours a day to their telephone; most of the people tend to have difficulties to develop their life without the mobile.

We have accepted that the network has, if not more, the same value as reality. We have agreed that having virtual access to all knowledge and to all people is better than being able to know only a part but for real. The younger generations have moved half their lives online and the rest seem to have accepted it.

In today's digital society, face-to-face communication is being lost. For example, when people attend a party they tend to spend a longer time without interacting with anyone face to face, and the same is true in other types of spaces. Although it is impossible to deny the importance of technological innovation that has revolutionized communication, it is vital to balance our digital interaction with face-to-face communication. The latter sends a message even before we have uttered a single word. And when we say it, others won't just hear what we say. They will receive the information that our body language, our tone and our emotion send them.

Communication through writing, letters, emails or phone calls is still very

...