[Vol.86] Online Communication: An Oxymoron

Our social interactions had definitely been usurped by the pandemic and we had to surf through some pretty rough waves to be where we are today. As we are communal beings, we searched for ways to stay in touch with one another under sanitary conditions. Online platforms, therefore, were considered as that safety zone. All forms of social interaction, which were barricaded by social distancing regulations, seemed to be restorative with the help of our quick adaptations to virtual forums where we can see whomever we want whenever and wherever we feel fit. Indeed, online communication has opened doors and led us into a new realm of communication. Ironically, however, this new normal is making us yearn for face-to-face interaction as we are realizing that communication is virtually (mind the pun) impossible online.

What online context has gauged out of our interaction is the importance of non-verbal communication. I’m sure most of our readers will agree that a lot can be said simply by an eye-contact or a raised eye-brow. What we refer to as “시선” in Korean is just not present online. Imagine this situation: You are having dinner with people whom you have just met for the first time and would like to get to know better. If you were all physically present, then you would be able to exchange eye contact to show interest in starting a conversation or simply to interact. However, this is not possible online because you have no idea where they are looking at. They could be looking at their own image or looking at online chats or checking email. This void of non-verbal communication hamper our natural abilities to connect and interact. As teachers, this means that it is extremely difficult to instinctively notice a confused student, a student who would like to raise his/her hand but not confident enough to do so, or even students who are bored out of their mind. If this type of artificial interaction continues, it is likely that we are going to lose touch with how we connect with each other naturally.

To make matters worse, the auditory spectrum is also manipulated in online communication. As the camera will never be able to capture the exact colors and details the human eyes can see, so can’t the computer ever be able to match up to the multitudinous functions of the human ear. In face-to-face communication, it is possible

for a group of people to “mingle” in a single room without interrupting other’s conversations. However, this cannot be done online because the digitally transmitted “audio” will overlap. In fact, what is subtle in face-to-face communication is sometimes much “louder” online. What I’m referring to is the “mute” button. When you mute yourself, you are making it clear, visually, that you are shutting off the system which allows you to voice your thoughts. The meaning of this action is twofold. One, you are making it visible that you have now engaged in the “passive mode” of the communication. Two, you are making it visible that you are not interested in further interaction. In either case, this action does not yield any positive dynamic to the communicative context. Of course, this may be done to show respect to the presenter by excluding any possibilities of interruption or to prevent yourself from being in the spotlight as you are visually enhanced by the neon-squared highlight when you make noise. Be that as it may, the option to mute disrupts communication and eliminates the dynamic vivacity in interaction.

I am, by no means, lack of gratitude for the contributions of online platforms for their dedicated work on sustaining our daily interactions. What I am trying to state is that we need to be aware of these issues and search for ways to ameliorate what has been lost due to online communication. The more our actions deviate from human nature, the more we need to keep our focus on what makes us human. We need to ensure that our current state of communication does not have a detrimental influence on our communication quotient and result in having corrosive effects on human interaction.