Communication Technology and Stress - Part 2

This is continued from part one of this article series Please read that before you read this article

This is continued from part one of this article series. Please read that before you read this article. Somehow we are forgetting our purpose of life because we are being bombarded with technology. We have forgotten that there is something like joy, fun, reflection, and peace. There is no peace in lives of most of those who are online. The stress effects are very dangerous. It may cause depression, cardiac problems, affect immune system and play havoc with our health. But we are not concerned because most of us are busy with our personal computers. A time may soon come when more and more people will meet their friends only online and may not meet them physically for years.

There were times when friends used to meet everyday and discuss various issues. People enjoyed attending seminars and conferences and networking was done mostly in the physical world. Meet, shake hands, say hello and begin talking. One could see who the other person was and look into their eyes. Now days we meet others on discussion boards. Discussion boards may at times relieve tension rather than increasing it, but that is not common. For a person with few friends in the physical world, discussion boards are good to meet others and share views.

But there are many issues that create problems on the discussion boards. The real identity of somebody is not known. One may create more than one identity and play around. It is difficult to communicate because there is no non-verbal communication. Every communication is done purely with words. Please note that in physical world lot of communication is done with non-verbal methods.

There is one big issue about discussion boards- you may be responding enthusiastically to somebody''s post and may find that the other person never returns on the board. You may also suffer because of time zone problems. You may be 8-10 hours away from others and by the time you join the discussion, it is over. Heated discussion that may cause lot of tension especially ensues when religions are discussed. Some of the board members are fanatics who defend a religion against every argument and create lot of heat and stress with their words. The same discussion in a physical world may not have so many stresses.

Discussion boards are a good way to lighten up the mood provided you do the following:
1. Join only light discussion without any political and religious overtones.
2. Avoid a member if you know that they are troublemakers.
3. Never get emotionally involved with any member.
4. Never get emotionally involved with a discussion.

The moment you find that you are getting deeper in a discussion, get away. When you are online chatting/discussing with an unknown person, you should be totally alert. Never talk about any of your personal details or location. Do not give out your real identification details. Some weirdo might start stalking you. Just keep everything light and non-serious. Don''t access your online emails and forum alerts on your phone. Slowly you will be addicted to checking your phone every hour or so. This will increase the stress levels of your body.

The author writes text messages and advises for internet and social networking content like myspace surveys and myspace graphics. He also writes quizzes on subjects like personality, etc.