The Importance of Communication

Effective communication with others is one of the most difficult and vital parts of any individual’s life. As exceptionally hyper-social creatures, humans are very susceptible to negative effects associated with a lack of socializing.

Unfortunately, this skill is being lost and discarded rather rapidly. More and more people are feeling and becoming isolated, even when surrounded by crowds of people. More is spoken, but less is said. More is read, and less is understood. True communication is becoming more and more of a lost art.

One of the most major difficulties with proper communication is the boundary that lays between minds. I cannot know your experience, just as you cannot know mine. Yet, even such a difficult obstacle as this can be overcome through the simple use of empathy. One can find common ground between experiences, and, through that, communicate.

Another major difficulty is apathy. Most people nowadays don’t care enough to communicate properly, or even at all. The risks associated with associating are much less than the potential rewards to be gained, yet human nature tends toward the avoidance of risk more than the pursuit of pleasure. As a result, more and more lines of communication are becoming disrupted, corrupted. Most bridges between people are not destroyed by burning, but rather by the decay of disregard.

Never before has the world seen such an age of connectivity and globalization as now, yet loneliness has become more and more prevalent. It seems that loneliness is not caused by the lack of other beings, but by the perceived distance in similarities.

With the inventions of alternative communication lines, such as texting and calling, it has become the norm that empathy is only to be expressed when it is explicitly fake. For example, asking a stranger how their day is going is only acceptable inasmuch as both parties are aware that no such question is really being asked.

This has had unprecedented affects on our interpersonal relationships. Dealing with someone in a professional, if camraderious manner is no way to make them feel either happy or respected. Rather, by directly expressing sincere and heartfelt emotions, one can enjoy a sense of understanding far beyond the typical.

In contrast, the always smiling, bustling world serves only to degrade and undermine the fundamentals of what makes each of us uniquely human. Advertisements are made to be of a cheerful disposition, and happiness has started to seem and become more and more fake to all of us. Seeing happiness in a clearly unhappy place causes a sense of disillusionment, and it seems to be a mere fantasy that positive emotion is in anyway divine or beautiful. In fact, it seems to be a distraction from the truly devastating world around us, albeit a pleasant one.

Thus, while fun is certainly an enjoyable experience, it is generally understood that it is merely an illusion, disguising the often difficult world with false smiles and fake laughs. In this way, any joy beyond that of the moment is disregard as unpleasant. Responsibilities such as family, jobs, health, age, and other such things seems so drab, and, in turn, undesirable. This often leads to much more misery than joy.

On the other hand, there is a counter-counter-movement going on, one of sincere interaction. Sadness is not something to be feared or despised. In fact, when it is properly used it can lead to a greater satisfaction with life, through the use of meaning.

Being honest and empathetic in one’s communication is one of the highest methods of respect, even when the emotions aren’t so positive. Coming to terms with and understanding your feelings helps to keep true happiness from inflating beyond what it is, and allows for actual growth and development.