As an employee of Apple, I spend 40 hours a week completely surrounded and engrossed in technology. I am constantly interacting with people who want to understand their iPhones, iPads and computers better, both in a technical sense and in a personal sense. Although I am surrounded by technology all day, I have never really taken the time to analyze what exactly all of these new advancements mean for the communication and social lives of people. This class has really given me a new perspective on how and why people are using the internet.

One of the most surprising things that I learned this semester was that internet communication is actually having a positive effect on human communication. I definitely hear people’s fears about the internet on a regular basis, so it was nice to read so many studies that focused on the more positive aspects. One of my favorite readings from this semester was the story about Trudy Johnson-Lenz and the outpouring of support she received from online supporters. It was such a testament to the benefit of being connected so intimately with such a large group of people. So frequently people discuss how the internet is “ruining face to face interaction” or making people less sociable. However, the results of many of these studies seemed to indicate that the internet is actually helping people build and maintain relationships. One study that we read, by Rainie and Wellman, summed up the unnecessary fear of new technology brilliantly. They stated that “technological changes before the Internet – planes, trains, telephones, telegraphs and cars – neither destroyed relationships or communities nor left them alone.” I really loved this quote. In fact, I have used it in a previous blog. I think it emphasizes the fact that humans, in general, are afraid of all new technologies. We are quick to assume the worst of something, before we give it a chance to prove if it is positive or negative. I definitely saw a pattern in the readings this semester of the internet benefiting communication, instead of destroying it. Computer mediated communication is definitely having a large effect on people, but it certainly isn’t ruining anything.

I also feel like I have a much better idea of the impact online communication is having on both interpersonal and group dynamics. On a strictly interpersonal level, the internet can allow people to create new friendships or make it easier for them to maintain already existing friendships. I do not personally enjoy Facebook, and I have never seen much benefit to the site. However, after reading my classmates blogs this semester, I realized that Facebook was a way for people to connect to others in a multitude of different ways and to stay connected to friends or family as they moved away. It made me look at social network sites in a different light. The way the internet affects group relationships was perhaps the most interesting part of the class. My original perception of an “online community” previously was the message boards at IMDB. However, there is literally a community for everyone and everything on the internet. There is a place online for everyone to belong!

Personally, I am most excited to see the research on online communication that comes out a decade from now. Right now, we are witnessing an entire generation of internet savvy users who are utilizing every aspect of our technological world. People are extremely free with what they post on the internet, even if they don’t realize they are. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and all the other social networking sites that exist are systematically being saved. It is possible that, in ten years, there will be an entire generation whose lives have been documented and archived online. What will the world be like in that context? Googling dates beforehand is becoming common practice now, so what will happen when you can access a person’s entire history online? Will it become completely ordinary to us? Or will it actually change everything about how we communicate and socialize? I am interested in seeing how the amount of personal information that exists online will affect communication in the future.