Do you think communication has improved due to technology? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Communication is certainly cheaper, more readily available, faster and more efficient, and more encompassing.

Cheaper- It may seem like cell phone costs are high today, but you have to consider that many years ago cell phones were not around, and before that neither were land lines. In terms of individual incomes, the costs of using communication technologies are certainly cheaper than they have ever been. Even people with a modest income use cell phones today. Companies are not burdened by high communication costs. For example, companies can rapidly transmit and receive vital information that would have been very costly to obtain using old-fashioned methods. Imagine a company wanting to obtain price quotes a few decades ago- it probably would have required a steep capital investment. Electronic communication is so cheap that you don't have to be a Fortune 500 company to obtain reliable and cheap data.

Readily available- Internet! This medium- Yahoo Answers- is a prime example of how data communication is now readily available for almost everyone. Imagine what this means for so many people. We not only directly communicate with each other through the Internet, but we find information that might have required us to go to a library or some other bricks-and-mortar source. I recall many years ago, for example, having to wait until the library close to home was open in order to finish a book report. Today, at any time of the day, a student can just turn on their computer and find fast (and usually accurate) information.
No need to wait until the library is open!

Fast and efficient- Technlogy today is entirely digital, and the improvement in database structures and communication interfaces means that this data is high fidelity (it is the same regardless of where it goes, and it stays the same- it doesn't degrade). With improved processor speeds, computers today have many times more processing power and speed, which allows them to handle multiple operations at the same time. Just to give an example: the very "high tech" computer used onboard the lunar module for the Apollo Program of the late 1960's and early 1970's was only 1/100th the speed of a typical desktop computer today, and it usually couldn't juggle too many tasks at the same time. By contrast, today's computers are able to run very complex software programs at high speeds (not just for gamers).

Encompassing- Finally, the technologies we have can't just be measured in a vacuum. Even if a computer is 100 times more powerful today than it was 40 years ago, society benefits by more than just that improvement. Every technology has positive externalities. That is, a fast computer enables different people and industries to do things that they never were able to do in the past. For example, today there is an entire industry built around digital music. Who could have imagined this just 10 years ago? In essence, technologies CREATE products, services, and even new industries, helping create a store of value that can't be measured just by human or physical capital. How does one measure the value of a computer, for example? In dollars? A computer can do things that brings value beyond what it costs to manufacture it, and many computers, and many technologies, working together create added value as well.

Answer 2

Communication has improved due to technology,but there are costs involved that are not initially obvious.For example,in the 70's and 80's I watched the Oscars to see who would win.With the advent of the internet, I know who has won before the program has even been televised that evening.So why should I tune in?I know what the stars are wearing,who is with who,or not with who,the bad and the great frocks;all thanks to the internet.

Answer 3

Yes but I'm not going to write the essay for you.

Answer 4

communication SKILLS -- nope

communication, yes.