No one sees his nonverbal reaction to the email.
Communication is one of the many areas of human life affected by technological advancements. Devices are continually developed which serve to enhance the way humans interact with each other. A specific subset of communication is that of the nonverbal variety, and this, too, has been affected in various ways by technology.
Technology and Communication
Technology plays a major function in the world of communication. Through cell phones, email and Internet chat, technology continues to revolutionize the way humans connect. These technologies, as convenient as they might be, are impacted by the role of nonverbal communication in human interaction. At the same time, there are advantages to the use of technology in using and developing the way people use nonverbal communication.
Nonverbal Communication
The nonverbal component of communication includes gestures, posture, speed and tone of voice, personal space and eye contact. These physical actions can be used to show something to the listener beyond what is merely being said with words. A person's nonverbal communication may either affirm or contradict a message. Sometimes nonverbal communication is used to accent what is being said, for instance, when someone makes an angry exclamation and pounds the table with his fist.
Advantages
An advantage technology plays is the ability to use recording devices, such as video cameras or audio recorders, to evaluate nonverbal communication skills. Being able to record facial movement has been instrumental in the academic study of nonverbal communication. Beyond academic purposes, recording devices can help an individual become more cognizant of his nonverbal communication. Helpguide.org suggests using recording devices to help personally understand where there is room for improvement in this area. The website recommends using a video camera to record a conversation and then viewing it later to actually see the nonverbal back-and-forth which happens during conversation.
Disadvantages
One major disadvantage with technology and nonverbal communication is not being able to convey tone or physical mannerisms via email or text messages. When a listener is able to actually see the face of the person talking to him, he is able to pick up on physical clues and understand meaning and intentions more deeply. An example of this is sarcasm. A person is capable of identifying sarcastic remarks based on body language. With technological methods of communication like email, a person cannot hear the tone to be conveyed with a message, and this can lead to misunderstanding.
Emoticons
Emoticons are characters used in email or instant messaging to convey various emotions. The initial form of emoticon was the use of a colon and closing parenthesis to indicate a smiling face. If someone used this at the end of a thought or sentence, it was a nonverbal way to express happiness. Conversely, if someone used an open parenthesis, it indicated sadness or negative emotion. As technology further developed, emoticons became enhanced. There are a multitude of emoticons available used to convey everything from sleeping to anger to eye rolling.
Communication Technology for Non-vocal Quadriplegics
As technology continues to advance, humans are finding new ways of being able to help those who are disabled. One new technology helps non-vocal quadriplegics to be able to communicate with others. According to the National Institute for Rehabilitation Engineering, there is even technology which uses eye movement sensing kits. This allows quadriplegics to be able to communicate via computers.
