How Interpersonal Communication has Evolved in the era of Technology.
What is Interpersonal Communication ?
Interpersonal communication is the verbal and nonverbal interaction between two or more interdependent people.
In the 1950s, William Schutz, came up with the ‘Three Dimensional Theory’ of interpersonal behavior which helped in laying the foundation for interpersonal communication.
The theory presented by Schutz, resembles Maslow’s Hierarchy in some ways.
The Three Dimensional Theory
- The need for inclusion which relates to a person’s desire to be recognized by others through human interactions and to feel like an active participant in these relations.
- The need for control relates to a person’s desire to feel like they are impacting their social sphere.
- The need for openness or affection, which is the desire to be liked or loved by others.
Keeping in mind the meaning of interpersonal communication and the three dimensional theory by William Schutz, a common pattern can be observed.
Being connected to other people is a human craving and it is important for interpersonal communication to happen.
Internet and The Human Race.
When scholars such as Schutz and many others were developing these theories, they had no idea that in just fifty years’ time people would be connected 24X7.
The 90’s was the time when the internet exploded, the technological advances changed interpersonal communication forever.
E-mail became a godsend for reconnecting with old friends. It became an invaluable tool for finding old classmates, military buddies, or even childhood playmates.
These days people can connect instantly through social media. Family, friends, co-workers, teachers and even random strangers, we can communicate with anyone.
Internet’s effect on Interpersonal Communication
The convenience of Internet has made it possible to interact with people from across the globe.
It is interesting to see that the tech companies of today are still working on their platforms to make them seem as natural as possible by implementing ways to include the components of the ‘Three Dimensional Theory’
- The need for inclusion
- The need for control
- The need for openness or affection
The Internet and the Three Dimensional Theory
Inclusion
Technology has made it much easier to discover people with similar interests, and social media has enabled humans to form digital communities to connect with each other. The pandemic of Covid-19, felt like a pause button, but thanks to technology, interpersonal communication was still possible. Allowing humans to stay connected even in isolation
Control
Twitter, a platform that gives voice to people’s opinions. As much as we want to say, that twitter is all about fights and abuse and mean tweets and propaganda. The role of Social Media, especially Twitter, in politics cannot be neglected. By giving people a voice, on a platform where they can be heard, Twitter satiates a person’s desire to feel like they are impacting their social sphere.
Openness and Affection
Interpersonal communication got revolutionized when Emojis were first introduced. Adding an emoji, gave a deeper meaning to a sentence. As we all know that, not everything can be expressed in words. Our body language and facial expressions also play an important part. Emojis became expression for online communication which was otherwise just plain text.
Conclusion.
Technology has revolutionized the way we communicate. The pandemic taught us that we cannot function without technology. It is also observed that interpersonal communication need not take place in real time because of technology. Interpersonal communication is at our fingertips 24X7.
Whether it’s good or bad is a separate discussion.
