I read “The Future of Communication”, a Psychology Today article, for class. I found the article very interesting, as it drew on some good points. An exciting technology that is discussed in the article is brain-computer interfaces. According to the article, it works because “the brain makes use of electrical signals—an electrical code—to transmit and process information.” Theoretically, these electrical signals should be able to be read by an external device via brain-computer interfaces. It is crazy to think that a machine could execute tasks just by you thinking about them, but it makes sense that this technology is now feasible. This is how cochlear implants work, and currently this is being tested on prosthetics. If this can work, it could be life changing for amputees. The article said that in some cases, sensation can even be restored, which is incredible.

Another point the article talked about was how technology has shifted the way we communicate. Emojis have become commonplace and a “textspeak” language of abbreviations has developed. I catch myself saying “LOL” in real life on occasion, these phrases have totally been incorporated into our real lives. Emojis also help us convey tone. The article makes a good point that emojis supplement what is lost in translation in textspeak or even just non verbal cues like facial expressions. I definitely use emojis to soften a text or convey how I’m feeling. Textspeak has definitely seeped into real life, and I think it makes some of us worse communicators. Serious conversations that should probably occur in person are happening over text message, and miscommunication is very common. Texting and other instant messaging is great, but I think we should all keep in mind that so much can be lost in translation and emojis can’t supplement real emotion.