Example Of Essay On Technology And Intercultural Relationships

Technology has changed the way humans interact with each other. The Internet has provided people with methods to interact with one another internationally. This provides the ability to develop intercultural relationships from the comfort of our own homes. It expands the boundaries presented by our physical constraints and provides the potential to expand our horizons. Social media sites provide forums through which people can connect with one another. It allows us to reach out to others regardless of the physical location and become acquainted with people and cultures that we may not be exposed to through traditional methods. It provides a glimpse of another individual and their daily lives that is drastically different from ours.
The impact of the use of these resources varies between individuals. Some appear to view it as an opportunity to improve their communication skills through developing their communication skills to provide clear, concise comments or status updates while others appear to make little effort in this area. Many ignore the rules of spelling and grammar which often makes the posts difficult to decipher.
Personally, I think electronic communications makes it easier to interact with people from other cultures. It provides a way to “meet” someone outside of our geographical culture without consideration to any defined boundaries with the exception of those presented by the website that is used. It allows us a glimpse at someone else’s life and permits us to learn about that individual and their culture. It is a chance for exploration.
Electronic communications can impact our expectations and perceptions both positively and negatively, depending on the circumstances. It can affect our expectations and perceptions positively through the realization that underneath the cultural differences, we as humans are basically all the same. We all need love, we all need shelter, we all need nurturing. It can be enlightening and give us pause to reflect upon ourselves to see if we are the person as we present ourselves to be. However, expectations and perceptions can be affected negatively if we perceive others to be attempting to take advantage of us or if they are trying to cause us harm. This does present the need for a level of caution, but it is important to remember that the actions of one member of any culture are not representative of that culture as a whole.