Humans, by nature, are said to be social, enthusiastic living beings. To socialize and communicate with people is crucial to a human as food, water, and shelter are for our survival. Communication can be done by both face to face and online methods. Face to face communication enhances the quality of a person’s life, whereas online communication has a new domain of possibilities for communicating with people.
Face to Face Communication vs Online Communication
The main difference between face to face communication and online communication is that in the face to face communication, you can feel and see the presence of the other party, whereas, in online communication, you cannot see the other party to whom you are communicating with.
Face to face communication is a traditional method of communication that allows you of being able to see the opposite party you are talking to. This allows betterment in exchange for communication and information both for a person and to whom he is communicating. Even though the technology today is remarkable many still follow this kind of communication for clarity. Face to face communication is also an informal type of discussion between friends, family, colleagues, etc.
Online communication means when a person is communicating with another person via computer using the internet through email, etc. Due to technology development in a remarkable way, technology provides people with a significant way to communicate with other people and carry their business. We can talk and text anyone we want through mail anytime we want without having any boundaries for a person, whether the opposite person is online.
Comparison Table Between Face to Face Communication and Online Communication
| Parameters of comparison | Face to Face Communication | Online Communication |
| Presence | The opposite party can be seen virtually. | The opposite party cannot be seen sometimes. |
| Cost | The cost is comparatively low. | The cost is high due to the need for facilities for WiFi for the internet. |
| Speed | There is fast communication due to immediate feedback. | It comparatively has slow communication as a person has to wait for the response of the feedback. |
| Privacy | There is usually complete privacy in data and information exchanged. | There is no privacy of the data and information exchanged. |
| Type of communication | This is more often used for informal communication. | This is more often used for formal communication. |
What is Face to Face Communication?
When one person puts forward his views and communicates his opinion to some other person, and both exchange their opinions in the presence of both, this is called face to face communication. In face to face communication, when people communicate with each other, they get a speedy response immediately without any misunderstandings.
During this conversation, people can hear and see the feelings, facial expressions, and knowledge of what context the opposite person is trying to talk about by observing his face. Through face to face communication, people can express what they feel and ideology in a far better way. There is eye contact in this type of communication. Statistics have shown that more than 70 percent of people use face to face communication even with all the developing technology today.
Face to face communication is significant when it comes to discussion of important things since there is immediate feedback from the opposite party. We learn better skills on how to co-ordinate through face to face communication. The major drawback of face to face communication is that when discussing a topic for a large group or large organization with many people, a person may go through difficulties, especially when various departments in an organization are at different places.
What is Online Communication?
Online communication is a platform where a person communicates with another person via a computer or w mobile using the internet through email, WhatsApp, etc. Online communication has widely embraced and enhanced and bought growth to our economy by bringing different languages and geographical boundaries together on one platform for communicating. Through online communication, a business can communicate 24/7 with its clients, which means a person can start his business anytime he wants to and communicate worldwide.
There is a transformation of information in speed through online communication, which unquestionably saves lots of time and money. Online communication has removed the gap of Social-cultural and language barriers, making it easier for a person to communicate globally. It is cheaper to send mail or a WhatsApp text to a person living in another country rather than a phone call.
The major drawback of online communication is that even though the internet has allowed connecting the entire work, some cultures have managed to customize the others, making teenagers in India get a hand over western culture by acting, behaving, and dressing like them. Although online communication is quick and easy, there is no data privacy, and there is a high risk of insecurity of jobs.
Main Differences Between Face to Face Communication and Online Communication
- Face to face Communication usually requires no cost as such, whereas online communication requires the cost to set internet for which you need a WI-FI connection.
- Face to face communication has specific rigid deadlines, whereas online communication is more flexible in nature.
- Face to face communication needs small and limited space, whereas online communication includes large organizations altogether at one time.
- Face to face communication is generally used as an informal communication method, whereas online communication is used for formal communication.
- There is the privacy of data and information in face to face communication, whereas there is no privacy of information and data in online communication.
Conclusion
We need to persevere and learn to keep a healthy balance between face-to-face and online communication: the virtual and real worlds. With today’s rising technology that brings people closer, it depends on nurturing and developing those connections through a traditional face-to-face communication or modern online communication. Using one of the communication is totally relied on from person to person according to their convenience of time, work, and money with their patient experience of nature.
People can use online communication to spread awareness, have formal communication with clients and jobs, and use face-to-face communication when vital decisions are to be taken or for informal communications.
References
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563209000971
- https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037/a0027030