Do you agree that modern means of communication alienate people?

„Communication is not only the essence of being human, but also a vital property of life.” I found a whole lot of such remarkable maxims in Internet when I wrote “communication+proverb” in Google but this quote by John A. Piece really impressed me. It clearly shows that the need of communication is of a great importance in our life because we are “social animals” so we cannot exist effectively without developing specific communication skills. That’s why communicating is one of the most talked about areas of human behavior that has even evolved in our technocratic world to form the new means of communication – Internet, cell phones etc. But here arises the question, if these new technologies separate and alienate people rather than it serves to bring them together. In my opinion, as with many other issues related to technology, we cannot say that it is fully true or false, but both the perspectives can co-exist.
On the minus side, the new ways of communication have some obvious disadvantages. According to a leading american sociologist, the social networks are actively “usurping” our world and isolating us from the real human interactions. For example, many opponents of Facebook and Twitter believe that modern people become alienated from each other by the increasingly dehumanizing lifestyle, in which these new means of communication have the dominant role. There are many young people addicted to this art of digital contact so they prefer it instead of real face-to-face communication. Unfortunately, such people often have problems when communicating in the “real life”. Furthermore, the normal human-to-human contact comprises verbal, non-verbal and facial expressions. So body language is really important when we aim to get to know each other. But how is it possible to make use from this powerful tool when writing an e-mail for instance?!
However, the modern ways of communication have many advantages as well. The cell phones, social networks and Internet at all allow people who have troubles meeting in the real world because of great distance for example, to keep in touch with their family and friends. Furthermore, the communication via Facebook, Skype or Twitter seems to be cheaper than making a phone call and faster than writing and receiving a letter. In addition, the new telecommunication wonders play a key role not only in bringing people socially, but also economically. They have became a crucial part of our work and business connections to partners across the globe. So from my point of view this kind of technology has brought the world closer together.
It can be seen from all mentioned above that the arrival of modern means of communication have led to heated discussions among the society and to many different attitudes. In my private opinion, the technological progress in communication is a process that couldn’t be stopped. Therefore, we have to benefit from it without forgetting that above all things we are human beings, so our “real life” communication shouldn’t be replaced or imitated by nothing.