Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how college students are hampered in their communication skills. Employers can see a negative result with the amount of communication skills younger people lack . Communication skills are important because humans use nonverbal keys to process information from others, but due to the excessive use of technology younger generations are losing the ability to communicate. This paper will discuss how social networking how students are hampered in communication along with how employers are affected by excessive use of technology by millennials.
Is Technology the End of Interpersonal Connection?
Kids are hampered in acquiring communication skills due to social networking, and employers notice the impact of new technology in younger generations. Social media contains outlets for young people to take advantage of, but social outlets are counter-productive. Social networking has caused a negative impact on younger and older generations, because students do not have good interpersonal communication skills and it affects employers who have to deal with kids who do not know how to communicate. .
Miscommunication
Younger generations are notorious for using their smart phones, laptops, and tablets for social media, and technology can be a major distraction when it comes to school and work. Puglisi (2010). High schoolers and college students have been hindered by overuse social media. McKay (2005) stated. “… many graduating college students get bad grades from employers for their communications skills.” Students are hampered in their communication skills development due to the lack of face-to-face time they spend communicating. According to Northern Michigan University, college students who used Facebook while studying earned grades twenty percent lower than non-users in 2010. (Puglisi, 2010). People who refrain from excessive use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter are proven to receive higher grades than those who attempt to complete work at the same time they use social media. Today’s high school and college students are hindered in their communication skills because although they are more educated about technology, they do not use technology to increase knowledge and get work done faster.
Students are hampered in acquiring communication skills because they would rather stare at a computer screen than have face-to-face interactions.Megan Puglisi wrote in her article, ‘Social Networking Hurts the Communication Skills of College Students’ that college-aged users are aware that the opportunities to communicate using social networking is counter-productive. Puglisi expressed her concern for the number of informal and improper communication errors that have begun to increase and threaten the intelligence of future generations. (Puglisi, 2010). Employers, professors, and other superiors are also affected by the use of technology. Informal grammar and impersonal communication falters the relationship between teacher and student roles. Kids are becoming incapable of genuine communication because they would rather use technology than have face-to-face interactions.
How Employers Are Affected
Employers find a problem with younger people using social media because it can cause communication errors and poor grades. Communication skills are vital, but future generations are losing touch with proper social etiquette.
Employers are affected by employees poor communication skills, and the inability to have a genuine face-to-face conversation can cause a myriad of obstacles for superiors. Jim McKay (2005) wrote, “When the National Association of Colleges and Employers recently asked employers what skill was most lacking in college job candidates, good communication skills was first.” (McKay).
Employees and students show signs that they lack important communication skills that are vital in a workplace environment. Puglisi stated in her social networking article that, “Face-to-face communication and phone conversations have become foreign to the millions of users who rely on social media and networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.” (Puglisi, 2010). There is a huge difference between the way most students communicate via social networking sites and how they should communicate with professors, employers and other elder generations.
Young people use technology for all of the wrong reasons, and the manner in which they utilize social networking is counter-productive to its original purpose. In M.T Anderson’s novel, Feed, Violet explains to Titus that, “He says the language is dying. He thinks words are being debased…” (Anderson, 2002, pg. 137). Language is dying because younger generations have become wrapped up in the technology they use. Younger generations have a reliance on social media, which has decreased the relationships formed between students and their professor due to the detachment of e-mail, hiding the face linked to your voice. (Puglisi, 2010). Employers and professors find emotional damage of technology to affect their own lives because the amount younger generations use technology affects their quality of work and alertness.
Conclusion
Literature such as Feed, and articles about the diminishment of communication skills provide proof that younger generations are losing touch with those who surround them. Social networking and smart devices may cause communication errors, poor grades, and lack of social skills. The ability to understand how to communicate is important, however, many younger generations are hindered in communication skills due to the fact that they are accustomed to a social media platform as opposed to face-to-face discussions. College students are hampered with interpersonal communication, which has a negative impact on employers, respected elders, and professors. Not only are students affected by social networking and technology, but employers are influenced as well.
