Paper 3

Hussam Mawari
Professor Lee Brooks
English Composition 106
3 March, 2013
Paper 3 With the breakthrough in technology, communication seems to be changing drastically. Communication began face-to-face; over time, easier means of communication were developed and revolutionized our culture. The culture of communication was reformed by technological developments such as: the cell phone, e-mail, and social networking websites. These technological developments are so common that many people from recent generations could not imagine what they would do without them. Fawzia Kalek, a middle aged computer science major, has experienced both cultures and the transition from old fashion communication to modern communication. In an enlightening interview, Fawzia describes the revolution from her educated perspective. Born in 1964, Fawzia spent her early life without nearly as much technology as we have today. Fawzia and her family have always been old fashion middle class people, but they loved staying up to date with technology. In Fawzias childhood, communication outside of talking face to face was a hassle. A few examples of those forms of communication were using telephones and writing letters. Growing up, Fawzia and her family owned a rotary telephone. The telephone was popular; however, it could not replace all the means of communication. Not everyone had a telephone, it was common in households and businesses but lower class people could not afford it. Also, the telephone also had its limits. People avoided long distance calls because of its high prices. Fawzias parents grew up in Yemen, so it was important for them to keep in touch with people overseas. Because of the high prices, her parents were forced to limit the amount of time they spent on every call home. Another inadequacy in the telephone was that there was no way to leave a message. This was a major problem for Fawzias family because everyone in the household was either working or at school for most of the day. For these reasons, sending letters in the mail was another popular method of communication. Although sending letters was a bit time consuming, it was a sometimes cheaper and a more reliable form of communication. At 2013, Fawzia has lived through the biggest technological revolution in history. Along with the advancement in technology was the revolution in the culture of communication. In regards to the difference in communication between her generation and her 16 year old daughters generation; Fawzia says, “The two are completely different; if someone told me that the change in the culture of communication would be this different, then I would have thought they were insane” (Kalek). Fawzia grew up around minimal technology; raising her child made her realize how different it was to grow up around so much technology. Fawzia is most astonished by how popular text messaging has become. She says, “Text messaging replaces those less than 15 second phone conversations” (Kalek). Technology has evolved and made many tools that best fit every individual situation. Technology has even made long distance communication much more efficient. For example, Fawzias family used to communicate with friends and family overseas by exchanging letters. Nowadays, they communicate and even celebrate holidays together using video chat applications like Skype. Fawzia has adapted to the change in culture and uses some of the more efficient means of communication.
With all the positives in the breakthrough in communication technology it’s hard to believe that the culture of communication might be taking a hard hit. According to Fawzia, “Even though communication technology is advancing, I believe that face to face communication skills are declining” (Kalek). The replacement of face to face communication with easier means has led to lethargic habits. It is a lot easier for a shy teenager to text rather than improving their social skills and talk in person. Individuals now choose the easiest way to communicate rather than the best way. This often leads to a lack of necessary interpersonal skills needed in everyday life. Fawzias perspective of the evolution of communication was extremely insightful and informative. Her experience of both cultures gives her a legitimate perspective of the difference in both cultures. Her insight gives younger generations awareness of positives and negatives of the development of communication. Although we are still in the midst of this technological boom, it is important to reflect on how much things have changed. I think this is an exceptional story to use as a basis for my final paper. According to the guidelines given for the final paper, the final paper is basically an elaboration of the story in this paper and an addition of written sources. After writing this paper, I feel like I could have included much more detail and examples to the story partly because writing about a cultural trend is a broad topic compared to writing about a historical event or a career pathway especially when writing about something as interesting as communication. I also feel like this is a good story to use because it fulfills the requirements on the guidelines listed, including the requirement of written sources that will help give credibility to my audience.

Works Cited
Kalek, Fawzia A. "The Transformation of Communication." Personal interview. 01 Mar. 2013.

Cited: Kalek, Fawzia A. "The Transformation of Communication." Personal interview. 01 Mar. 2013.