Digital Communication and Young People

Digital Communication and Young People

A common phenomenon of our time is that young people speak with each other daily using the modern electronic means of communication, such as the mobile phone and computer. According to a research of the Greek Institute of Communication, the Greeks – mainly young people – come first in chatting, as 44.6% “speak” more than eight hours a day, using means of digital communication.

There are many examples of this phenomenon, that is to say the increase of digital communication between mainly the young people of our age. At first, it is obvious that if we find ourselves in places where young meet, we will realise immediately that most of them spend their time together using their mobile telephones, ignoring the value of personal contact. Moreover, according to research done by various organisations, almost all young people use at least one of the modern electronic means to communicate, such as mobile phones or computers. Also, most of them have personal accounts in popular social networks, such as Facebook, where they can communicate with other people at any time of day. All these examples prove that extensive use of digital means of communication has become a big part of our everyday life.

This extensive use of electronic means has also created serious repercussions in the way that young people in Greece write and speak in their mother tongue. Initially, with regard to the written word, young people and mainly school children seem to have serious problem in this. Research has shown that most young people cannot use elementary grammatical rules correctly, because of the continuous use of computers and the predominance of “shortened” forms of language (e.g. acronyms). Moreover, there has been concern about the decline in the quality of communication in general, because of some negative influence from the language of computers, where people make systematic use of slang, acronyms, words and expressions from the foreign languages – particularly English – which invade national languages and affect them. As a result, not only is the mother tongue of every country affected but there are also some communication gaps between people, especially of different ages. What is most important, however, is the danger of losing the substance of communication, which has to do with personal contact.

In a few words, the extensive use of digital communication has changed the way modern people communicate, offering many advantages in the everyday routine of people but also creating some problems, which should be dealt with as soon as possible (“asap”, as we should say in computer dialect). There are many ways that can improve the oral and written expression of young people. Of course, nobody can suggest that they should stop using modern electronic means, as long as they do it moderately. To do away with negative effects of technology, we can look for help to our familial environment. Specifically, parents should become communication models for their children, teaching them how to develop healthy interpersonal relations. Apart from that, they should urge their children to read literature, so that they can improve the way they express themselves orally and in writing. Finally, another factor that should help children improve their oral and written expression is school. Formal education should not be focused only in examinations and professional specialization, but also in the development of human values and right attitudes toward all aspects of reality, including technology. So, it should use technology in a creative way to help young students develop their language skills, in order to communicate properly and efficiently, as well as to appreciate the value of personal communication.

To conclude, there are numerous examples of the extensive use of digital communication around us. We should try our best to make good use of the possibilities technology has to offer without letting it dominate our life and distort our language and human contact.

Maria Chalkioti, Greece.