Priestley's Paradox Analysis

1090 Words3 Pages

Priestley’s Paradox: Technological expansion
Priestley’s Paradox. 'The more we elaborate our means of communication, the less we actually communicate' (1957, cited in Eunson 2012, p. 7). Communication is a vital part of life. Priestley’s Paradox clearly defines a lack of interpersonal communication. There is a great deal of things which can effect communication and technology is having the largest effect. With the modern development of communication technology there has been a decrease in the quality of effective communication. Communication technology has also become so complex that it has become harder to regulate how criminal groups and organizations enact their illicit dealings, acts have also become easier due to the expansion of communication …show more content…

Interpersonal communication is a process which people exchange information, feeling and meaning through verbal and non-verbal messages (Skills You Need 2015). It is an interactive process which face-to-face contact is made. With the expansion of technology however this form of communication is devolving (Salem PJ, 1983) and rapidly becoming an after though in today’s technological society. Doctor Paul Booth of DePaul University of Chicago says “There has been a shift in the way we communicate; rather than face-to-face interaction, we are tending to prefer mediated communication” (cited in M Keller 2015, line 9) however Booth …show more content…

The means of communication in the modern era has drastically affected the public’s perception on how to effectively communicate. A popular form of communication is the smartphone. A study performed by Emily Drago (Drago 2015) showed the reliance on smartphones from 100 students attending Elon University. It was found that 100% of all students had a smartphone or a tablet. 66 students admitted to using their phone two to six hours per day and 89 students agree that there is noticeable effects in face-to-face interaction therefore reducing effective communication. The study also shows the dependency on technology and how it has effected the way students communicate, which can reflect on earlier generations. Zoe Fox (Fox, Infographic 2012) reported that American smartphone owners 50% likely to be 35 – 64 and also showed similar results among other categories such as; Tablets, television viewers and social network/blog visitors. Showing that technology can effect a broad range of ages. As mentioned in the first paragraph social network sites tend to create a weak tie between users, and unsurprisingly most users have an average age of 37 over the popular social networking sites such as; Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn (2012, Social network demographics in 2012).

Open Document