The Effects of Written Communication by Yichen Ma

Yichen Ma

Essay #1

09/22/2013

Pro: Vickie Mellos

The Effects of Written Communication

     Sep 10th 2013, the new iPhone - iPhone 5s/5c came out. Sep 20th 2013, iPhone 5s went on sale. An extremely long line for the new product reflects iPhone always be the great leader of smart phones. Smart phones support the written communication, such as email, instant messaging, or phone text messages, which has increased incredibly in recent years. Written communication brings about several kinds of effects including money decrease, radiation problems and mental harm.

     Written communication contributes to decrease in money spent. Compared with international calls, messages and emails are economical without a doubt. Calling someone in the US from China costs 1.86 yuan per minute, but every message only costs 0.86 yuan. Moreover, texting by iMessage can be free. Emails can be sent when the phone is connected to internet, and there’s no extra fee if it’s connected to WIFI.

     Although written communication gives rise to saving money, its radiation could be a big problem. Especially for flights, phone radiation can distract the signals. That’s why flight attendants always ask people to shut down their phones when the plane is taking off. Radiation also causes eyes injuries. Commonly eyes feel hurt when staring at screen for a long time. Many students need to increase their prescription of glasses after summer vacation because they spent much longer time on texting. 

     Written communication is not only directly bad for the health but also harmful mentally. It keeps people away from their family and friends. As messaging becomes the mainly way to communicate, people spend time with phones more than family. They would rather stay in rooms alone texting others than go shopping with their mothers or talk to their fathers about the last soccer game. Not to mention enjoying a family party. Sometimes they go out for dinner with friends, they will text instead of having a chat when they finish the food. The worse result of texting is that they will miss the facial expressions. Facial expressions are a significant part of communication. They may misunderstand each other since they are not face to face. Same words may have different meanings with different facial expressions. When missing countenance expressions, a joke can be taken seriously. This can explain why people use messages to end a relationship as well. Without seeing the pain in the eyes, words they type could be heartless. It’s no exaggeration to say written communication set the foundation for loneliness.

     Written communication leads to desired effect and modest effects at the same time. Though It helps saving money, it causes serious problem by radiation and hurt people mentally. Considering all the effects, we may need to reduce written communication for good and participate to social activities.