International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD)

Volume 6 Issue 6, September-October 2022 Available Online: www.ijtsrd.com e-ISSN: 2456 – 6470

Digital Communication: An Overview

Matthew N. O. Sadiku1, Uwakwe C. Chukwu2, Abayomi Ajayi-Majebi3, Sarhan M. Musa1
1
Roy G. Perry College of Engineering, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX, USA
2
Department of Engineering Technology, South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, SC, USA
3
Department of Manufacturing Engineering, Central State University, Wilberforce, OH, USA

ABSTRACT How to cite this paper: Matthew N. O.

Digital communication essentially refers to the use of digital devices Sadiku | Uwakwe C. Chukwu | Abayomi
to send information electronically. It is the way in which people Ajayi-Majebi | Sarhan M. Musa "Digital
communicate through a digital medium. It is a means of Communication: An Overview"
Published in
communicating in the digital age. It involves the use of online tools
International Journal
like email, text messaging or social media to share a message with of Trend in
others. Most organizations today use a variety of digital Scientific Research
communication channels to connect employees, customers, and other and Development
stakeholders. The digital communications field is ever-expanding (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-
with new career opportunities. The constant development of digital 6470, Volume-6 | IJTSRD52244
tools leads to opportunities for digital communication specialists. Issue-6, October
This paper provides an overview on digital communications. 2022, pp.2072-2076, URL:
www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd52244.pdf
KEYWORDS: technology, digitalization, digital technology, digital
communication, analog communication, wireless communication Copyright © 2022 by author(s) and
International Journal of Trend in
Scientific Research and Development
Journal. This is an
Open Access article
distributed under the
terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (CC BY 4.0)
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
INTRODUCTION
The transmission of information is called Digital circuits are easy to design and cheaper
communication. Communication may also regarded than analog circuits.
as a means of connecting people to information, The occurrence of cross-talk is very rare in digital
news, feelings, and so forth. There are two types communication.
of communication: engineering communication (or The probability of error occurrence is reduced by
communication networks) and mass employing error detecting and error correcting
communication. Engineering communication, codes.
which can be wired or wireless, provides the Digital signals can be saved and retrieved more
technology on top of which mass communication conveniently than analog signals.
takes place. The capacity of the channel is effectively utilized
The communication that occurs in our daily life is by digital signals.
generally analog in nature. Traditional analog A communications system consists of a transmitter
communication dominated for decades, but it is (TX), a receiver (RX), and a transmission medium.
slowly fading away. It uses analog signals and suffer As shown in Figure 2, in analog communication, data
from many losses such as distortion and interference. is transferred with the help of analog signal in
In order to overcome the limitations of analog between transmitter and receiver. As illustrated in
communication, the signals are digitized. Figure 1 Figure 3, in digital communication digital, digital
shows examples of analog and digital signals [1]. The signal is used rather than analog signal for
advantages of digital communication over analog communication in between the source and destination
communication include the following [1]: [2]. This implies that digital communication involves
The effect of distortion, noise, and interference is the transmission of information in digital form (0s
much less in digital signals as they are less and 1s).
affected.

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 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
WHAT IS DIGITAL COMMUNICATION? talent. It can create a flexible and adaptable
The digital age has changed the way people workforce.
communicate. Digital communication is a means of
APPLICATIONS OF DIGITAL
communication where information is encoded
COMMUNICATIONS
digitally. It has become the primary way people
Digital communication is being used more and more
communicate with one another. Digital
as technology advances. Businesses, organizations,
communication refers to the use of online tools like
industries, and government all use digital
email, texting, app, and social media messaging to
communications. The following are typical
communicate and share a message. It has replaced
applications of digital communication.
traditional forms of communication like writing,
sending letters, and face-to-face communication. E-Commerce: Today, most businesses use a range
of online channels to connect with customers,
Digital communication includes the communications
employees, and stakeholders. Communication is
that take place via [3]: at the heart of e-commerce. Businesses long for
Email
customers to visit their portals. eCommerce stores
Instant messaging can benefit from using live chat, chatbots, or
Online productivity tools
social media to chat with consumers or resolve
Company intranets their problems. Consumer communication
Employee discussion forums
preferences are rapidly changing as consumers
Intranet apps
look for immediate responses via social media,
Videoconferencing software
apps, live chat, and other digital communication
Digital whiteboard tools channels. Consumers (majority of them are digital
Social media natives) are looking for faster, more efficient, and
It has been estimated that Americans spend around 23 automated responses via chatbots, intelligent
hours a week engaging in digital communication. The voice assistants, As a result, businesses that
number will only continue to increase. provide several options are gaining a competitive
advantage over others [7].
The COVID-19 pandemic caused friends and family
to rely only on texts, social media, and video calls to Workplace: Communicating in the digital
stay connected [4]. Providing face-to-face classes to workplace is an integral component of any
students was impossible and keeping them in the loop modern organization. Improving digital
was another challenge posed by the pandemic. communication in the workplace is a major task,
Regardless of whether a college or university resumes but the benefits outweigh the challenges. Due to
face-to-face classes, remains online, or adopts a the pandemic, face-to-face communication with
hybrid model, or turns to block scheduling, it will remote employees was impossible for all workers
need an effective communication strategy to address are stuck at home. Digital communication
students issues such as food insecurity, lack of between employees has been the only choice.
transportation, mental health challenges, and general Employees use daily communications tools like
anxieties around higher education [5]. email, collaboration software, video and voice
Modern digital communication systems include chat, etc. Properly training for the employees is
important.
communication controlling your water heaters,
washing machines, surveillance of house/offices, and Education: Students as well as teachers use
automated workflows in the home. Digital technology in the classroom as a means of
communication platforms include dropbox, Netflix, communication. It is important that students learn
amazon prime, Youtube, skype, Google, Facebook, the proper way to communicate using technology.
Twitter, and other display technologies [6]. A typical Most educators believe that digital
communications network is depicted in Figure 4 [6]. communication has enhanced their ability to
communicate with their students. During the
Digital communication has changed dramatically over
COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities
the last few years. The rapid advancement digital
started relying on technology for providing
communication is being felt in nearly all disciplines
remote learning to students. Digital
and industries.
communication channels such as email, mobile
Adopting digital communication in business increases push notifications, and text messaging (SMS)
employee satisfaction, productivity, and efficiency. became indispensable to teachers and students.
Digital communication can completely open up new
ways of working for some employees and attract top

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 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
Government: In the digital age, when nearly CHALLENGES
everyone has an Internet-connected device, With automated digital communications, there are
there’s never been an easier time for government concerns about data privacy in collecting customer
to communicate with citizens. Digital personal data. There may be legal and ethical
communication is important for governments concerns of when customers are not how the
because governments can get citizens more information collected is used. Companies must ensure
meaningfully engaged by using digital that they share customer data judiciously and only
communication. Digital communication can make when it is absolutely necessary. Several online
communication between governments easier. It businesses continue to underestimate the importance
also allows a number of different processes to be of customer experience and how it can impact their
automated [8]. businesses [7].
HR Automation: Time-consuming processes like CONCLUSION
management, employee recruitment, employee The digital age has changed the way we interact and
records, and employee benefits can all be communicate. Digital communication is just one
automated. This frees up staff to devote their time aspect of the huge acceleration of digital
to more important tasks. transformation initiatives. The digitalization
Healthcare Communications: Digital messaging transformation has begun and every organization
can let patients receive everything from should embrace it fully.
medication details to self-help videos. Healthcare With communication increasingly becoming
professionals should harness these new tools for digitized, organizations in the private and public
the benefit of patients and staff alike. sectors are looking for talented professionals with a
Other applications of digital communications include solid background in digital communication. Some
public relations, digital marketing, church, consumer colleges and universities are now offering programs
relations, banks and financial institutions, advertising, and providing an outstanding foundation for digital
journalism, multimedia, photography, audio and communication careers in the 21st century. The
video production, computer graphics and animation, programs also foster leadership skills, ethics, and
web authoring, videography, image manipulation, media/communication policy in view of the fact that
professional writing, social media management, and communication is a vital leadership skill. Careers
web design. in digital communications include design, video,
animation, broadcasting, and writing. More
BENEFITS information on digital communication can be found in
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Everything is digitized now, which means that International Journal of Communication
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Figure 1 Examples of analog and digital signals [1].

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Figure 2 Analog communication system [2].

Figure 3 Digital communication system [2].

Figure 4 A typical communications network [6]

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