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Amy Mendoza
Cynthia Hamlett
English 102
13 October 2015
Talking with an Eye on the Screen
Technology has come such a long way in the past decade. Before cell phones it was
harder to get a hold of a person. If you had to meet with someone and they were going to be late,
you would have no idea because there was no quick method of communication. Pagers then
came along in the sixties, which was still a limited way of communicating with a person. Push
forward thirty years and cell phones took over the communication world. Cell phones were the
new it thing and every one had to have one. Very pricey at first, but once they became more
available new ideas and better prices were formed. The cell phone gave the opportunity to
become available at any given time in any place. As time went on cell phones became upgraded
with cameras, data storage and the most important item yet; the internet. The internet gave rise to
many things and different forms in which to talk. This method of communication has allowed
people in modernized societies to pass borders and speak to strangers through a miniature
computer. Although many can agree that the invention of internet has allowed us to communicate
easier and faster than ever before, it is also effecting communication between the younger
generations (also known as millennials) in family dynamics, social relationships and even the
way we learn.
Communication is one of the main components humans and living organisms need in
order to survive. Without communication who knows what the world would have been like

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today. Before portable devices were made such as phones, computers, tablets etc. younger
generations that are being born into the technological era are probably going to be mind-blown
as to how people communicated pre-internet. Communication can vary by age. For example if an
older adult is asked about communication he or she might think face-to-face contact and other
interpersonal skills. As compared to a millennial (someone who is born from mid 1980's to
2000's) will probably think texting and social media. This big difference is due to the internet.
The internet has opened so many doors in ways never imagined. Never in history have
we been this advanced with technology, the possibilities are endless. With the click of a button, a
person can communicate with someone in a different part of the world in just a matter of
seconds. One can surf on the internet and learn about anything that comes to mind. We don't even
have to leave our homes to go to stores any more; we can conveniently buy most items online.
The internet led to new ways to communicate in forms such as blogs, social media and emails.
The purpose of the phone is still the same; to talk. But nowadays it's much more than just a
simple call. The days of having meaningful conversations on the phone are gone and replaced by
texting or emailing. This has become the new social norm, so don't expect long voicemails any
time soon. Language and communication have developed drastically due to the accelerated
change in technology. Author of "Language Awareness" Paul Eschholz states, "After all we all
know what cell phones and texting are doing for us. What they are doing to us still needs to be
examined"(357).
Imagine. It is Friday evening and it's been a long week. So you and the family decide to
go out and have a nice dinner at a nearby restaurant. There are all kinds of people there from
families just like yours to young couples, maybe even the local high school team after a game.
You look around and notice that the family next to you each has a bright light glowing across

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their face. The mother and father both have their fingers glued to the phones. The children each
one playing a game or texting on their tablets and phones. You start to notice that they aren't the
only ones. Others may not be looking at their device at the time but nevertheless it is sitting on
top of the table right next to their plate of food. The restaurant seems to be very loud, yet no one
seems to be talking.
This is so common today, yet people don't seem realize it. They think updating their
status or replying to a text isn't harming anyone or disrespectful in any way; it's normal. Think
about it. When was the last time you sat down and had a full family meal with your family with
no interruptions from a technological device? And if so, how often does this occur? In "The
Multitasking Generation" an article in Time Magazine Claudia Wallis and her fellow authors
incorporated a study led by Elinor Ochs anthropologist and director of UCLA's Center on
Everyday Lives of Families. She made a relevant observation, "I'm not certain how the children
can monitor all those things at the same time, but I think it is pretty consequential for the
structure of the family relationship," says Ochs. She revealed how it was one of the most drastic
changes in her research in the last twenty years. Another thing that Och focuses on is the way the
family reacted to the arrival of another. For example,
We saw that when the working parent comes through the door, the other spouse
and the kids are so absorbed by what they're doing that they don't give the arriving parent
the time of day," says Ochs. The returning parent, generally the father, was greeted only
about a third of the time, usually with a perfunctory "Hi." "About half the time the kids
ignored him or didn't stop what they were doing, multitasking and monitoring their
various electronic gadgets," she says. "We also saw how difficult it was for parents to
penetrate the child's universe. We have so many videotapes of parents actually backing
away, retreating from kids who are absorbed by whatever they're doing" (Och).
This proves that the advancement in technology is taking a toll on family dynamics. We are no
longer sharing meals and communicating about how the day went. Times have changed and the
only way to keep up is through being engaged with your phone. Cooking dinner every night for

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the whole family is a thing of the past. Many of us eat in front of a T.V. casually scrolling
through our phones every so often.
The use of technology and the internet and the way it affects our communication
goes beyond our families. It also disturbs communication in social relationships. Just like the
family before that went out to dinner but all remained on their devices. Millennials tend to do the
same as well when out with their friends. Instead of talking to each other, they are worried about
what others are doing. In Joseph P. Kahn's article "What Does 'Friend' Mean Now?" he adds a
statement said by Lera Boroditsky a psychology professor at Stanford University and language
expert confirming, "Before online interaction became a routine part of daily life.... you saw
friends in person or spoke to them on the phone. Today there's a real change in how we interact,
and our language is struggling to keep up" (380). At the rate that technology is advancing it is
only obvious that language is going to change as well. The way we are communicating through a
screen is neglecting other factors of communication such as tone of voice, eye contact, and facial
expressions. This consequently can lead to a misunderstanding or conflict or even both. Kahn
highlights, "Experts who track the changing meaning of language agree that our common
reference points are becoming less fixed as the lines blur between the virtual and the real, the
face-to-face and facebooked"(380). Instead of living in the moment like previous generations
without cell phones and internet did, millennials are much more worried about takings pictures
and uploading them to social media via the internet. Another author in Kahn's essay is MIT
sociologist Sherry Turkle, she proposes that it is challenging to avoid becoming confused by real
and virtual relationships. She states, "Friendship is about letting something happen between two
people that's surprising and new... whereas social networking gives the illusion of companionship
without the demands of intimacy" (380). As much fun as it is to share every single moment of

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your life with family friends and strangers through the internet, in the end memories last longer
than photos.
Technology has also affected student learning and communication with the use of
the internet. A straight lecture can seem awfully boring and long, but with portable devices a
student can change that in any given moment. Much of the younger generation has grown to
become so comfortable with pulling their device in any setting at any time, disregarding what is
currently happening. Turkle affirms, "In lecture halls with wireless Internet access--now more
than 40% of college classrooms, according to the Campus Computing Project--the compulsion to
multitask can get out of hand. People are going to lectures by some of the greatest minds, and
they are doing their mail" (Wallis). Consequently this has led to many zero tolerance against
phones in schools. Particularly in junior high and high school, phones are taken away if seen in
the classroom. Many college professors do not allow phones in their classrooms as well. They
believe it is disrupting yourself as well as others. The prime focus of coming to class is to
maintain your full attention on what's going on and communicate with others as well as the
professor. Wallis presents," Such concerns have, in fact, led a number of schools, including the
M.B.A. programs at UCLA and the University of Virginia, to look into blocking Internet access
during lectures" (Wallis). Aaron Brower, a professor at the University of Wisconsin explains, "I
tell my students not to treat me like TV... They have to think of me like a real person talking. I
want to have them thinking about things we're talking about." By pulling out the portable device
in class, a student can be tuned out, focusing more on what's in the palm of their hands and
missing out on valuable information. Older generations may consider this rude and disrespectful
because they weren't raised with such convenient technology, but millennials were born and

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raised into this so they've grown immune to the idea that it may even be considered to be
insulting.
Although the advancement in technology gave us the power of the internet, it is
slowly but surely destroying our communication skills. Family dynamics have changed
drastically in the past decade and continue to change, as well as social relationships. Students are
now more dependent on the internet, then on their own knowledge. Authors Michael Massimini
and Michael Peterson acknowledged, ICT (information and communication technology) can be
very convenient and it can provide the opportunity to keep in contact with a large network of
people, however, it can also become the preferred form of communication for some. This
preference for non-personal communication may contribute to a deficiency in personal
communication skills (Massimini, Peterson).

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Works Cited
Carr, David. "Keep Your Thumbs Still When I'm Talking to You." Language Awareness:
Readings for College Writers. 11th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2013. 384-88.
Print.
Kahn, Joseph P. "What Does "Friend" Mean Now?" Language Awareness: Readings for College
Writers. 11th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2013. 379-82. Print.
Massimini, Michael, and Michael Peterson. "Information And Communication Technology:
Effects On U.S. College Students." Cyberpsychology 3.1 (2009): 1-12. Academic
Search

Complete. Web. 9 Oct. 2015.

Wallis, Claudia, et al. "The Multitasking Generation. (Cover Story)." Time 167.13 (2006): 48-55.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Oct. 2015.
Wellner, Alison Stein. "Lost in Translation." Language Awareness: Readings for College
Writers. 11th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2013. 374-77. Print.