Communication has changed through the years. Before students may have passed a note to communicate with friends in secret now they communicate through text, Instant Messaging, and through social networking. Photo by: Patricia Ortiz

By Patricia Ortiz

With the arrival of new innovative technology, the way students communicate with others has developed into much more than face to face conversations.

Before technology came along, the normal method of communication was face to face.  While most of the students communicated face to face, there were students that used snail mail (letters) to communicate with others.  Juniors Bailey Back and Emily Blake were two students that used letters for communication.  Blake says that she, “sent out letters in the mail and waited for them to reply.  Those were the good old days.”

When students were younger, their method of communication was much different than it is now.  Facebook, texting, Skype, and other such methods may not have been available to all of the students.  Since these new conventional methods were not available, they had to come up with alternative ways of communication.  Sophomore Mariana Olvera used notes to communicate.  The most popular form of communication when students were younger was face to face although talking on a house phone was popular as well.  Senior Lindsey Trump says that, “back in my day a cell phone wasn’t a common thing for elementary students.  We would either talk to people face to face or write notes and such.”

With the technology age in full swing, the most common form of communication is texting.  Instant Messaging on Facebook, Skype, or calling have all become the new ways to communicate.  Sophomore Jordan Pratt says that to communicate she mostly uses, “texting and calling.  Texting is a good way to communicate if you have a quick question and need to a short response.  I call people if I’m bored and want to have a long conversation.”  The way students communicate at home is much different than the way students communicate in school.  Freshman Mariah Tepper says that at home she usually uses Facebook, Skype, and texting to communicate with others.  She says that at school her form of communication is face to face and that, “you tend to have better memories and funny moments while talking face to face.  I prefer face to face over all the technological ways.”  Senior Jackson Seering agrees with Tepper and says that although he texts, he prefers good old fashioned face to face communication.

There may be different ways of communicating, but there are also different people to communicate with.  For example, students may use a different form of communication to communicate with friends than they might with their parents.  Sophomore Jena Baker usually texts, and she talks face to face with friends and family.  The distances between family members may change the way people communicate with relatives.  Some may use Facebook to communicate with friends and family that live far away, but Back says that she Skypes her cousin in order to communicate with her.  Senior Christina Schafer uses different methods to communicate with different people because of the accessibility of those people.  She says that “some people are really hard to get a hold of, so instead of using the phone, I Facebook or email them.”  Freshman Nicholas Powers is a student whose typical form of communication is texting.  He says that he communicates with everybody the same way.

Important information may be communicated by students in different ways.  The most common form of communicating important information is face to face.  Pratt says that “if it’s really important [information], I call them.  When you call them, the person has to answer it right then and there, or if they don’t answer, you can leave a voicemail and tell them and they’ll usually call you back.”  Freshman Brandon Zehner and Senior Josh Cole both inform important information by calling the person.

Technology has made it easier for people to communicate with one another.  No longer do students have to wait until the next day to ask a teacher a question.  They can now use Google Docs as a way to communicate with their teacher or send them an e-mail.  Schafer says that technology has made communication a lot easier.  She says that now she can “stay in touch with people that are on different continents without having to pay really expensive phone bills or anything.”

Students now communicate with their teachers through Goggle Docs and e-mail. Photo by: Patricia Ortiz