The modern technology has greatly altered the mode ofcommunication among people. With the help of the Internet, people can easily contact each other anytime anywhere. However, the side effect is that many people have become over-dependent on the Internet and neglected face-to-face communication.As far as I'm concerned, electronic communication cannot fully replace the direct contact among people. Although it seems to bring everyone together, it actually estranges people and decreases the effectiveness of communication. A typical example is that, traditionally, people working in the same office simply walk to others and talk. Today, however, co-workers tend to send e-mails or instant messages through the Internet even when they are sitting next to each other. As words can never convey the full message, it usually takes much more time and rounds of conversation than face-to-face communication, in which people can discuss more directly with less loss of information.To conclude, the Internet enables more effective communication in some situations, but over-dependence on it actually pulls people apart.