Priestley's Paradox Analysis

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

mediums. It can be said that as a whole society has developed a dependency on technology adding more space between each other. Verbal and non-verbal communication has devolved in by result that many have lost their sociable skills due to long periods of time when there would be no interaction between other people.

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

claims studies have shown that people are being more social but the style of communication has changed. Though, interactions on social media are seen to be weak bonds, as there is no real personal connection whilst face-to-face communication creates these bonds. Booth says “So while we are communicating more, we may not necessarily be building relationships as strongly,” (cited in M Keller 2015, line 17). This can leave severe effects on society for example Brian Jung (Jung) wrote that; false sense of connection, cyber-bullying, decreased productivity and privacy are all downsides social media can have on society and individuals. Cyber-bullying is commonly found in schools and workplace environments and involves the act of defaming someone, generally unprovoked. Study shows (Harris 2007) that 380 students between ages 13 and 17 had experienced cyber-bullying. It can be said that due to this technology giving anonymity to someone who can show aggressive tendencies, can communicate with others acting immorally and offensive without receiving consequences or punishment.

Communication technology has become so easy that anonymity has become a serious issue in the online community. Infamously known as the “Deep Web” a wide range of criminals sell their drugs, weapons, child exploitation material and other illicit dealings (Paganini P, 2015). The deep web is also easy to access but extremely difficult to regulate. As there are many programs created to block governments from policing these operations and the prominent currency, Bitcoin, used to purchase services and items does not have a standalone bank but is run independently, even the true creators are unknown as they go under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin does not even require a real name making it prime choice for illicit activities (Tellin T, What is Bitcoin?). This allows the communication between a criminal and another criminal to become easier allowing for more illegal activities to flourish in this technological era.. It is also valid that a lot of illicit operations would not be possible without communication technologies developing to the point that they have. For example; as previously mentioned online drug, terror, hate groups and child exploitation rings would not be possible without the anonymity this digital era provide. These illegal activities are being attempted to be control as the FBI among other organisations have begun to attempt at regulate this uncharted section of the internet. This shows that the development of more complex forms of technology not only affect interpersonal communication but also affects criminal activities which can just as easily cause severe repercussions

Effective communication refers to the understanding that when people communicate with others that all parties understand what is being said and all get the response/feedback that is desired or expected (Costigan 2012).

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).

Thus showing that modern technology affects all ages. Although older users have smaller percentage of their lives exposed to modern technology therefore retain better interpersonal skills.

In today’s society where human expansion is now creating brand new technologies and causing the loss of a strong bond that was once shared by all. JB Priestley said 'The more we elaborate our means of communication, the less we actually communicate' and it is extremely difficult to refute this. Looking at the year it was, 1957, when he said his reputable quote Priestley would not have given a second thought to the extent technology would reach. Suffice to say, based on the evidence presented the world is the more connected than it has ever been but that doesn’t mean that interpersonal communication has not changed drastically. It is plain to see that JB Priestley was correct about the way complexity of the way we communicate will impact the physical and emotional communication that the human species requires. Interpersonal communication will never become unnecessary, as long as people exist so does the ideals effective communication bring.