The need to communicate is vital to our existence, and one cannot overlook its immense purpose. By definition, need is a necessity, and purpose is an object to be attained or thing intended. So, remarkably, communication is a necessity aiming at educating, informing and to establish commonalities. This is another one of my essays I wrote when I was studying towards my honours in English and Media back in 2013. It’s an attempt at the ref question: With the aid of examples critically discuss the needs and purposes for communication

J.K. Sing (2011:1) defines communication as “a common phenomenon that cuts across the daily activities of human beings.” He goes on to establish that “as food and water are very important to man’s survival, so is communication “. This shows that communication is a part of human existence which, when removed, could mean the extinction of the human race.

It is equally notable that we are educated through communicating. Education, which is very important in improving lifestyle and enabling us to understand certain facets of our existence, is passed on through communication. For instance, the various means like education programmes and books are meant to pass on vital educational information. So one can thus say that communication is needed for this purpose.

Also, Sing (2011:12) even comments on the purposefulness of communication in terms of education. Apart from offering debate and discussions, he posits that the mass media and communication helps to instruct, educate and socialise the members of society. Here, he claims that “Mass communication provides a fund of knowledge, expertise and skills that enables people to operate as productive members of the community. “This thus provides ground for the public to clarify different viewpoints on issues of public interest and arrive at a general agreement on matters that concern us all. 

As human beings, we need communication for information. Without communication, people would be starved for knowledge. This is why we have the media which have taken the place of sentinels and lookouts (Dominick2005:33). In this regard, their purpose in surveillance is divided into warnings or beware which occurs when the “media informs us about threats from terrorism, hurricanes, erupting volcanoes, a depressed economy, increasing inflation, or military attack” (2005:33). Here, the need for communication is realised since vital preparations should be taken in case of the threats mentioned above.

Furthermore, social interaction is satisfied with communication. To establish commonness, we relate with friends, parents, colleagues and others, through connections (Sing 200:2). So the need for socialising, communication plays an important role. Even Dimbleyby and Burton (1992:44) state that “we have a personal need to feel secure within ourselves, so we need to have friends because friends support each other. “This shows that we need to communicate to survive because communication helps one to feel secure and loved.

Dimbleby and Burton (1992:45) assert that “cooperation is a much-needed activity. “In this case, for instance, there cannot be cooperation without communication between two people building a house and one can be sure that the product will be unpleasant. So it could here be argued that “cooperation is the single greatest need and purpose in communication” (Dimbley and Burton (1992:45).

Furthermore one cannot overlook the need of communication in break sessions Singh (2005:11) comments that “we all need the entertainment to break the monitoring of our stressful life and divert our attention from the trouble and tensions” of the day. Tv shows, drama and music, can help us do this relaxing exercise. For instance, after researching and drafting this well-organised essay, I need something to ease my mind and keep it healthy, and music will do the job. This is thus an urgent need which is here established by communication through media such as television, radio, among others.

Communication portrays a society, and by watching, listening and reading, we learn ho people are supposed to act and what values are essential. For example, a local drama Tiriparmend portrays a culture and way of life of the Shona people and communicates the order of life and sacred things such as ancestors. Dominick (2005:12) supports by saying that “Mass media provides an opportunity for culture to be preserved and promoted. “Baran (2011:9) is also of the same notion because he states that “through a lifetime of communication, we have learnt just what our culture expects of us. He also wrote that “communicators contribute to the creation and maintenance of cultures.” So, this shows so much importance and need for communication.

From the above presentation, it can be noticed that us humans cannot go without communicating and that we need it in everything that we do. Singh (2005:2) concludes that communication is very central to all human activities; this is because everything we do and do not do, we communicate and that it is the key around which social life revolves. So, it becomes clear from the given evidence that life would be more miserable and unbearable without communication. One can even go as far as to say that the human race would cease to exist without communication.