Mobile Technology and Communication Influence

The Influence of Mobile Technology on Communication

• Donna Haraway's "Cyborgs": Blends biological and mechanical entities, highlighting the influence of technology on human identity.
• We became cyborgs by accepting media extensions of human capabilities as integral to our being.
• The concept of the cyborg challenges traditional boundaries between humans and machines, urging us to acknowledge the interconnectedness and mutual influence.

Concerns of Mobile Dependency

• Mobile devices have deviated from their initial purpose of saving time, assisting in emergencies, connecting people, and maintaining human relationships.
• Mobile over-reliance has led to a new term "Moborgs," where people primarily use their devices for sleeping, gaming, entertainment, and even basic tasks like checking time and making calculations.
• The increasing dependence on mobile devices has led to concerns like mobile addiction (Nomophobia) and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Managing Mobile Usage

• Mobile free time periods are crucial to regaining human interaction and reducing dependence.
• Treating phones as tools and not substitutes for essential items like watches, calculators, or maps promotes healthy boundaries.
• Mobile etiquette is essential for respectful communication, including using it appropriately in face-to-face interactions, being mindful of other people's time, using suitable caller tones, and utilizing silent mode or switching off the phone when necessary.

Ethical Concerns in Cyberspace - Electronic Communication

• Despite the convenience of email, instant messaging, and cell phones, it can lead to disorganized communication.

Considerations for Effective E-Mails

• Avoiding bad e-mail practices is crucial before learning how to send effective ones.
• Key principles of soft skills and personality development (5Ps):
  • Planning
  • Preparedness
  • Persuasiveness
• Presentability
  • Perseverance

Bad E-Mail Examples

• Using inappropriate language, unprofessional tone, and excessive informality.
• Sending unnecessary messages or irrelevant information
• Making demands and expecting immediate responses

Effective E-mail Communication

• Make sense in your writing, even when it might be challenging.
• Plan your message in advance, prepare a rough draft, then present it in a readable manner.
• Be clear, concise, and coherent.
• Use simple language with short sentence structures to avoid confusion.
• Spend extra time editing the text, checking for spelling errors, using punctuation marks, spacing paragraphs, and writing a descriptive subject line.
• Avoid sending unsolicited and irrelevant emails.

Email Length: Keep It Short!

• Write concisely and avoid lengthy emails as people often lack the time to read long messages.
• Limit each paragraph to one idea for better clarity and organization.
• If a long email is necessary, use subheadings, paragraph divisions, and spacing to improve readability.
• Even a few extra minutes spent on refining your email can save the recipient an hour of their time.

Explore the profound impact of mobile technology on our communication patterns and human identity through the lens of cyborg theory. This quiz addresses the duality of mobile technology as both a connecting tool and a source of dependency, highlighting issues like mobile addiction and the concept of 'Moborgs'.