Today, most people use written communication (emails, WhatsApp), in cases where there have been face-to-face meetings, or we used the phone. Some people miss the phone and argue that it is better to talk than to correspond. I do not completely agree with them, and I would say the following:
I certainly don't reject the phone, it is still of great use, but I leave it for cases where it is the most effective medium. For example, when we want to announce something to someone and we want to be sure that he will respond immediately to our message. Or when we think that the one we are talking to will enjoy or better understand our message if we say it orally. I said "enjoy", but the same is true for opposite feelings: when we want to express our anger or at least our dissatisfaction in an unambiguous way. Moreover: in oral communication (face to face, telephone), we express through body language, tone of voice, accents, smiles, tears, etc., things that are more difficult to express in WhatsApp. The truth is that it was precisely to cover up this shortage of written communication that the emojis were invented.
But what, then, are the benefits of written communication? (Emails and WhatsApp)
1) We can send our message at any time of the day, without being dependent on the availability of the one we correspond with.
2) A copy of our conversation remains so that we can reproduce in the future what we have said and been told.
3) We are left with proof of what was said. (There are two faces to speak of: it is good, but on the other hand, it is difficult for us to deny or regret what we have written).
4) Each person, according to his profile (reference to what has been written in the past, character ...) can think in his free time before responding.
5) We prevent all misunderstandings that result from emotions: ("You said!" / "No! I did not say!", "Why do you not listen ??," Why did you interrupt me? "What are you shouting?" / "Because you shouted! ", Etc.). Moreover, we become more aware of our emotions, and when we return to spoken communication, we make it more effective. This avoids from the banal conflicts to the cruelest quarrels between the peoples.
An example of this:
Michal, my niece, who helped me to develop this blog, went over the initial version of all my posts, and it seemed to her that some changes needed to be made to them. So, she suggested a phone call to change them. She only wanted my best interests. But when she started explaining these changes to me (e.g., "this post is too long, lacks a paragraph break, this section is not clear, etc.) I rejected them outright and even got a little upset.
If I retrospectively analyze the feelings and thoughts that went through my mind when I rejected them, then I felt bad because she allegedly rejected my work, disrespected me. It seemed to me that I would actually have to rewrite everything! All of these thoughts were not true. As mentioned, this was not her intention at all.
Then, she sent me emails, in which she repeated her suggestions. When I read these emails in peace, it became clear to me that I agree with most of these changes. Then I went to the craft of improving what I had written, and it was to her satisfaction. (I hope these posts, dear readers, will also be to your satisfaction! 😊).
To my credit, it will be said that I am a person who tends to leave my prestige aside. But many people in such a case, even when they know they were wrong and spoke nonsense orally just because "they spoke from the belly," continue to cling to their positions stubbornly, and so do their interlocutors, all so that they don't say they were suckers.
To sum up, what we have said, written electronic communication is another tool that does not replace oral communication. And it contributes to the improvement of communication between human beings.