Online Communication vs Offline Communication; The What, Why, & How of it.

Any communication done through the internet can be called online communication. Email, social sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc, chat applications like WhatsApp, telegram Snapchat chat, etc are modes of online communication.

If any marketing actions do not involve the Internet as such, some refer to it as traditional marketing or Offline communication.

How does people’s communication online differ from how they communicate in person?

Interesting question! I was discussing this with a friend recently. We had met a couple of times in person following which our interaction was limited to frequent texting for a couple of months due to the pandemic.

Here are a few things I noticed:

The data we get over text is limited. It lacks many dimensions that we otherwise find with direct interactions such as facial expressions, tone, eye contact, and stimulation to other senses. This gap in the data leads to completely different experiences. With online interactions, people I’ve known very well in person act differently. The comfort of the screen allows one to send a smiling emoticon when they’re tearing up.

The screen acts as a filter to emotional data we’d rather receive or give away. Recently when I misplaced a friend’s pen driIlackedsd was t far easier to tell him this over text than inform him in person first.

How important is communication to you?

Communication is key. Let me tell a story. I know of a person who loved this one guy. But they lived apart, and can only talk over phones. They tried- video calls, texts, normal phone calls- everything. However, somewhere, somehow, they weren’t able to communicate their feelings to each other. Your words, your body language, your hand gestures, your eye contact, your facial expressions- everything has a role to play in good, effective communication. If you do not communicate, you will never be able to put your point across! That’s why communication plays a significant role in our everyday life!

Why is an email service called an offline form of communication?

Because you are not communicating with the other person IRT. They send you a message, and, depending on how often you look at your email, you might not see it until they are no longer online. Whereas with Skype, you can only communicate with each other as long as both of you are online. Text messaging, IRC, and the like fall somewhere in-between, but because they are often used for immediate responses, they are considered online.