Final Exam

Module 15: Communication and Technology

Prior to completing the following, please read:

**THERE IS NO TEXTBOOK CHAPTER FOR MODULE 15. PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING TWO ARTICLES:  Online Dating (Module 15).pdf  and  Social Media, Caring, & Stress (Module 15).pdf

NOTE: After reading the two assigned articles and reviewing this module and the Module 15 PowerPoint, make sure to complete all of the Module 15 Assignments. Please refer to the course calendar or the bottom of this module for a list of the assignments.

REMINDER: Your Special Occasion Speech is due by 11:59pm on Monday, July 31st. Please review the assignment description and rubric here:  Special Occasion Assignment (SU17).pdf

 

Communication and Technology

This module will emphasize Communication & Technology and review a few of the ideas discussed in the two assigned articles. After reading the articles and completing this module you should be able to:

1 Define the concept of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC)

2 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of CMC

3 Explain the Online Disinhibition Effect and identify ways it can be both problematic and helpful

4 Describe the relationship between social media and stress (see the Social Media, Caring, and Stress article)

5 Define the concepts of selective self-presentation and warranting, and describe the role they play in online communication (see the Online Dating article)

6 Identify important takeaways concerning Communication & Technology and apply them to help improve your own online communication experiences.

Computer Mediated Communication (CMC)

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) = any human communication achieved through computer or internet technology

It is no secret that advances in technology and social media have changed (and continue to change) the way we communicate with others in our personal and professional lives. As we conduct more and more of our communication encounters via online and digital technologies, there is a growing concern regarding whether technology has a "positive" or "negative" impact on our personal lives and relationships. However, the perspective taken by many communication scholars (myself included) is that Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) has both advantages and disadvantages. Thus, there is no simple answer to the question of whether technology is "good" or "bad" for our relationships; it depends on a number of factors including HOW we use the technologies to communicate, who we're communicating with, the rules we establish (or don't establish) with relational partners regarding appropriate CMC behaviors, and so on.

While there are entire textbooks and semester-long courses dedicated to discussing and debating CMC, we're just going to highlight some of the basic ideas in this module. My hope is that the information provided here raises your awareness about the role that technology plays in your own personal and professional lives, and perhaps encourages you to think more critically about how you use online and digital technologies to communicate. 

To begin, let's look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of CMC.

Advantages of CMC

1 Connects geographically dispersed individuals

2 Offers flexibility

· CMC is convenient and allows parties to maintain contact amid their hectic lives and busy schedules.

3 Combines permanent nature of written communication with the speed and dynamism of oral communication

· Digital communication should not be viewed as an "impoverished" version of face-to-face communication, but as a mixed modality that combines beneficial elements of both face-to-face communication and written communication (Baym). Not only do many technologies allow for interactive, quick communicative exchanges characteristic of face-to-face encounters, they also offer many methods for conveying emotion and expressing intimacy that are typical of written communication (e.g., emoticons, caps lock and other font characteristics, abbreviations/slang, etc.). In this way, CMC can be viewed as allowing for the "best of both worlds." 

4 Asynchronous CMC allows for greater reflection

· Asynchronous communication = communication that does not happen in "real" time. The message can be sent any time without the need for the sender and receiver to be "time-synchronized."  Email and text-messaging are examples of asynchronous exchanges. You can send an email or a text and the other person does not have to (or may not be able to) respond right away. The receiver can respond at a later time and at his/her convenience. This is in contrast to synchronous communication (e.g., face-to-face encounters, talking on the telephone, etc.) that requires both parties to be available at the same time and typically demands an immediate response from the receiver.

· Thus, the asynchronous nature of CMC can be an advantage because it allows parties to reflect on a message they have received and think about how they want to respond.

Other advantages of CMC?

Disadvantages of CMC

Reduced cues environment - CMC often lacks important social cues that help facilitate interactions. This "reduced cues environment" creates the following disadvantages of CMC:

1 Limits nonverbal communication

· In most CMC encounters, we do not have access to observe others' facial expressions, gestures, eye movements, tone of voice, and other valuable nonverbal "cues" that offer insight into their emotions and how they are interpreting messages. Although emjois and other digital elements (e.g., the use of all caps, slang, etc.) can give us an idea of the other person's mood, they are not as telling and typically not as accurate as the cues we can observe in face-to-face interactions.

2 Offers more potential for deception

· Have you ever heard of the TV show Catfish? Because CMC limits the ability to observe nonverbal behaviors and other cues, people may feel that they can "get away" with deception more easily online than offline. Communicating via digital technologies is often less intimidating than communicating face-to-face, which may also tempt people to engage in more deception online.  

3 Offers more potential for misunderstandings

· Without access to others' nonverbal behaviors and reactions, there is more potential for messages to be misunderstood or misinterpreted. Additionally, CMC makes it more difficult to immediately clarify our messages or ask others how they interpreted something we said, which can also lead to misunderstandings.

4 Encourages "flaming" (the act of posting or sending insults online)

· Some people feel less restricted and less self-conscious about their behaviors in the "reduced cues environment" created by CMC, making them more likely to "attack" or offend others online. If you've ever read through the comments section of an article, you've likely observed other users engaging in flaming and throwing insults at complete strangers. 

 Other disadvantages of CMC?

Watch the following video to hear Jimmy Kimmel's perspective on the challenges that come with text-messaging. Which specific disadvantages of CMC is he discussing?

Jimmy Kimmel Explains Passive Aggressive Texts

<div class="player-unavailable"><h1 class="message">An error occurred.</h1><div class="submessage"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07TinrpKG6o" target="_blank">Try watching this video on www.youtube.com</a>, or enable JavaScript if it is disabled in your browser.</div></div>

 

Online Disinhibition Effect

Online disinhibition effect = the tendency for people to say and do things in cyberspace that they would not ordinarily say and do in face-to-face encounters.

· Reduced concern for self-presentation and the judgment of others

Factors that contribute to online disinhibition:

1 Anonymity

· People are often more likely to say and do certain things online when they can remain "unknown" to others and can conceal any and all aspects of their identity (name, sex, race, hometown, etc.). 

2 Invisibility

· When people can control the amount and duration of their visibility online, they often feel less inhibited and may be more likely to say things that they would not typically say in face-to-face interactions. 

3 Asynchronicity

· Online settings remove the pressures associated with interacting with others in "real" time and observing their immediate reactions. Thus, even with people we know, we become less inhibited when communicating via digital technologies and may be more likely to say things we wouldn't feel comfortable saying to them in person.

4 Minimization of authority

· Whereas power differences are often emphasized or noticeable in face-to-face encounters, online settings can create the sense of a more level playing field and allow parties to interact more as "equals." Though we may be aware of others' offline status and authority, we are less likely to be intimidated by it on the Internet or when communicating via digital technologies. 

Toxic vs. Benign Disinhibition

While online disinhibition can be problematic and harmful, it can also be positive and lead to beneficial outcomes. Thus, it is important to distinguish between toxic and benign disinhibition.

Toxic disinhibition = angry, threatening, and/or offensive behavior prompted by the feeling of being "disinhibited" online.

· Flaming (discussed) above, cyber bullying, threats, offensive comments, etc.

Benign disinhibition = revealing personal information and intimate details or showing unusual kindness/generosity to others due to feeling "disinhibited" online.

· Personal self-disclosures, "opening up" to strangers, random acts of kindness (e.g., GoFundMe donations, "liking" someone's Facebook post although you wouldn't likely compliment them in person, etc.)

· Benign disinhibition is what helps a lot of online dating couples "connect" 

Self-Presentation Online

When creating a persona online, people tend to engage in two processes: 1) Selective Self-Presentation and 2) Warranting

Selective Self-Presentation 

· Conveying a desired impression to others

· The tendency for people to highlight positive information that makes them most desirable

· Not blatantly lying or being dishonest, but embellishing/bragging

Warranting

· Information with warranting value cannot be easily altered or falsified

· Links to blogs, personal websites, or other verifiable sources

· Specific information (5’8” instead of “average height”)

· Multiple (recent and accurate) photographs

Selective Self-Presentation, Warranting, and Online Dating

Communication scholars Wotipka and High (2016) examined how selective self-presentation and warranting behaviors affected viewers' perceptions of others' online dating profiles and their desire to contact the profile's owner.

316 online daters viewed 4 different profile types:

· High Selective Self-Presentation & High Warranting

· High Selective Self-Presentation & Low Warranting

· Low Selective Self-Presentation & Low Warranting

· Low Selective Self-Presentation & High Warranting

Participants were asked to rate the following for each of the 4 profiles: trustworthiness, social attraction, intention to date, and desire to contact profile owner

The profiles favored the MOST by participants were:

· Low Selective Self-Presentation & Low Warranting

· Low Selective Self-Presentation & High Warranting

In other words, participants preferred the LOW selective self-presentation profiles (the profiles that contained less bragging).

The profiles favored the LEAST by participants were:

· High Selective Self-Presentation & High Warranting

· High Selective Self-Presentation & Low Warranting

In other words, participants were more turned off by the HIGH selective self-presentation profiles (the profiles that contained more bragging).

Summary of the study's findings: Viewers judged people who bragged about themselves, their looks, or their accomplishments too much as less trustworthy and less socially attractive, thereby lessening their intentions to date or contact the profile owner.

 

 

Main takeaway from the study? Braggers don't get dates! Also, how we present ourselves online MATTERS.

Communication & Technology: Key Takeaways

1 Technology has (and continues) to change how we communicate, live our lives, and form and maintain relationships

· However, there is no simple answer to the question of whether technology is "good" or "bad" for our relationships; rather, CMC has both advantages and disadvantages.

· It is important to be aware of these advantages and disadvantages and strive to use CMC in responsible, mature, and productive ways

2 People should clearly communicate to their relational partners their expectations for CMC and text-based communication 

· Discuss rules for CMC

· Craft messages carefully

· Be aware of potential misinterpretations/misunderstandings

· Ask for clarification

3 It is important to be careful about how we present ourselves online and via text (text-messaging & email)