Communication is one of the things that people are always involved in. No matter where you travel, where you live or what you do, communication is the one constant in life.

There are many ways that communication occurs. The main form of communication is face-to-face; however, with social media only gaining relevance as the years go on, online communication is picking up just as fast.

Now, don’t get me wrong, social media and online communication have a ton of perks: reaching people across the country, out of the country and even meeting new people.

However, online communication has become such a necessity these days that face-to-face communication seems to be disappearing. 

Rather than talking to professors directly, students email to avoid confrontation. If someone is facing hard issues, they just text to avoid any fallout instead of meeting in person. Even breakups are happening on social media now.

Losing face-to-face communication is detrimental to society. I know sometimes I fall for online communication, but I also keep in touch face-to-face. As a society, we need to continue speaking to each other outside of the realm of social media and online communication. 

Of course, we can fall back on social media every once in a while, but depending on it as a source of communication can be detrimental to not only our ability to communicate, but our people skills and social ability as well. 

“I used to use social media as a means of communicating so I could avoid confrontational conversations or even just avoid talking to people in general because of my social anxiety,” freshman Mackenzie Moody said. 

“I realize now that depending on online communication will not help me with my social anxiety if I just constantly communicate through a screen,” Moody said. “I’ve been working on communicating more in person and I have been seeing a difference in how people respond to me.”

In an article posted by CBC Radio in 2020, online communication can truly lack the opportunity for non-verbal communication. 

Through the screen, you cannot comprehend someone’s facial expressions, whether they are sad, mad or even just expressive. This is a critical part of communication; facial expressions can change the entire outlook of the conversation.

While social media and online communication can be helpful in certain situations, it is probably best to keep incorporating in-person communication in our daily lives more than online.