Apolon Alessandra-Maria

ACADEMIC WRITING
1st year, 2nd semester, American Studies
Academic year: 2021-2022

Texting Communication vs. Face-to-face interacting

Which is more effective and why?

Communication is by definition a process by which information is exchanged between

individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior. The transmission of the

message from the sender to the recipient can be affected by a huge range of things. It includes

the emotions of the people involved, the cultural situation, the environment used to

communicate, and even the location. The complexity of the entire process is why communication

skills are so valued: accurate, efficient and unambiguous information transfer is, in fact,

extremely difficult to achieve.

This means that the role of communication is more than simply transmitting information.

This art requires certain skills in transmitting or receiving a message, whether it's simple News,

ideas or emotions.

In relationships, communication allows you to explain to the other what you are

experiencing and what your needs are, being a very important element.

Communication is used daily in almost any environment. Whether you shake your head

or verbally present information to a large group, communication is absolutely necessary when

building relationships, sharing ideas, sharing responsibilities, managing a team.

 Learning and developing communication skills can help you succeed in your career, be

a competitive job candidate, and make friends. Perfection takes time and requires a lot of

practice so that communication and interpersonal skills are fully mastered.

While the elements of communication are: the sender, the receiver, the context, the

message and the interpretations that each participant gives, it is divided into four categories.

There are four types of communication that you use every day:

 Verbal / oral communication: language is used to transfer information through

speech/signs and is one of the most effective means of communication.

 Nonverbal communication: it involves the use of body language, gestures and facial

expressions to convey information. It can be used both intentionally and without

realizing it.

 Written communication: it is the act of writing, typing or printing symbols such as

letters and numbers, to send information. Emails, messages and chats are a common

form of written communication.

 Visual communication: uses photographs, drawings, sketches, graphs or diagrams to

exchange information. This type of communication is often used during presentations

to provide useful context alongside verbal communication.

The ability to communicate effectively with superiors, colleagues, and staff is essential, no

matter what industry you work in. Workers in the digital age must know how to effectively

convey and receive messages in person as well as via phone, email, and social media. We live in

a society where almost everything is at our fingertips, quite literally. The cellphone has made it
to where you can communicate quickly with almost anyone, but is faster necessarily better? The

use of cellphones as a form of communication has not only changed the way we communicate,

but even with who, where, and for how long. The days of letters and face-to-face communication

are quickly becoming part of our past, and phone calls are not too far behind. Instead of

communication in these ways, cellphones allow you to quick and easily send an email or a text

message to your family, friends, or coworkers. We may be communicating quicker, but what is

happening to the quality?

Currently, communication through written messages (SMS, messenger, chat) is used

excessively. This type of communication makes it easier for partners to relate, for example, when

they miss each other or when they need to quickly exchange useful information, such as the

meeting place. But the reality of today is different. Contradictory discussions or reproaches

through written messages, avoiding the direct expression of emotions, gradually turn a healthy

relationship into a shaky one.

However both have pro’s and con’s. By using online communication, I don’t have to dress

up to carry on a conversation and can end any conversation very quickly. By using face-to-face

communication, I have to dress up and have more difficulties ending a conversation. When using

both forms of communication, I must always be careful of how much personal information is

disclosed. By the use of web cams, I can monitor body language and tone of voice used, which is

the same as face-to-face communication.

Nonverbal information is missing in virtual communication, it is naturally present when

two people look at each other and talk face to face, through the characteristics of voice, body

posture and gestures. So distortions are much more common, and realism and responsibility are

much less. In addition, communication through short and fast messages is something still new,
without collective rules, known and accepted by most people. Is it okay to start the conversation

abruptly, without greeting, to go straight to serious topics, or to miss the conversation for an

hour? Where there are no clear rules, everyone draws their own conclusions, and it is not very

helpful. A lot of confusion arises, you get upset or disappointed when it's not the case. For

example, there is a tendency to regard the absence of a written response as a form of rejection.

Cellphones are more popular now than ever before. The average age of children getting

their first cell phones is 8-years-old and more than 35 percent of children in second and third

grade own cell phones according to Sean Boswell, author of a campus newsletter. He states that

“The irony is that these young kids are now becoming more versed in texting lingo than they are

in proper English and face-to-face conversation”. This isn’t a coincidence. Text messaging has

quickly risen to one of the most preferred methods of communication. It is quick and

convenient but it affects our ability to communicate.

Quick communication is a good thing but people who primarily text are pushing the

limits. According to Zawn Villines, a GoodTherapy.org Correspondent, text messaging is

affecting face-to-face, surface level, and written communication. The fast paced single thought

communication encouraged by text messaging simply does not line up with face-to-face

communication. Face-to-face communication is usually much slower in pace and deeper in

content. This demonstrates the breakdown of communication and the increase in loneliness

through the excessive use of types of communication such as text messaging vs. verbal face to

face and mobile voice calls. We are putting ourselves in this never ending cycle. It is easy to text

message to keep in touch, so we do, then we get lonely, and we text some more.

However, in my opinion, face-to-face communication is better than the above types of

communication. There are several advantages of this personal communication. When people
communicate to each other in person, they can have instant feedback. Thus, they do not have to

wait hours or days to get a reply. In the first place, communicating is based on not only language

but also some subtle non-language parts such as facial expression and body language. For

example, people may show their true feeling throw their pose of hands or legs unconsciously.

Although many good reasons are proposed for the convenience of communicating devices

like emails and phone calls, I still believe that face to face provide a better circumstance for

people to know each other’s true feelings and being able to respond more properly when they

want to achieve their goals.

If the misconception can be explained without delay, many quarrels could be prevented in

advance. You can easily make out whether the person is sincere through his manner or not. For

example when we receive an unexpected gift, our face expressions can tell if we are surprised,

disappointed, happy or angry. Therefore, in a face to face communication our interlocutor can

get more response and understand our feelings and emotions during the whole conversation. In

fact obviously we cannot analyze by receiving an email or a phone call.

In 2006, one of the research reported that face-to-face communication is faster, easier and

more convenient than other computer or telephone communication in the educational context.

Face-to-face communication represents a high social presence quality of a medium to convey the

presence of sender. Traditional way of communication is an efficient method of communicating

in business world as face-to-face communication has given better result in overall performance.

Face-to-face communication is best use for communicating ambiguous tasks, making decision

and completing complex tasks. Traditional communication ways are more effective in all time

and helpful in establishing the bonding and honesty with people.

 I came to know that face-to-face communication is helpful in creating positive image of

the person but also bonding an honest relationship. There could be many ways of computerized

ways of conveying messages but texting, emails, video calls and phone calls will never replace

the traditional communication way. I believe that not only in social life but also in corporate

world people should always prefer to have meetings and conversations face-to-face. By

practicing traditional way of communication we can save the delay in communication.

References:

Arleta, R. (2014). The influence of face-to-face communication: a principal-agent experiment.

Santoro, M. D., Stryker, J. B. (2012). Facilitating Face-To-Face Communication in High Tech

Team.

Tracy, K. (2013). Understanding Face-to-face Interaction: Issues Linking Goals and Discourse.

https://www.123helpme.com/essay/Face-to-Face-Communication-and-Cellphones-410020

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communication