Technology & Interpersonal

Communications
Unit 13


Ways We Communicate

Speeches
Presentations
Correspondence/office communication
Telephone
Voice mail
Email
Websites
Blogs
Others?
Impact of Technology
Glance around a restaurant and youll be hard-pressed to find
people who dont have their heads down using their cell
phones to text, Tweet, or update their Facebook statusesall
while sharing a meal with others at their table.
The time people spend watching TV is time they are not
actively socially engaged. Basing their estimates on detailed
time dairies, Robinson and Godbey (1997) reported that a
typical American adult spends three hours each day
watching TV;; consuming 40% of the typical Americans free
time; childrens TV watching is much higher (Condry, 1993).

Impact of Technology
According to a research (Robert K1998) , greater use of the
Internet was associated with:
Statistically significant declines in social involvement as
measured by communication within the family and the size of
peoples local social networks,
Increases in loneliness,
In terms of social involvement, greater use of the Internet is
associated with a declines in size of the social circle, declines
in social contact, and declines in family communication.
Greater use of the Internet also was associated with
increases in depression.
What does this mean for interpersonal
communication?
According to Paul Booth, assistant professor of media and
cinema studies, College of Communication at DePaul
University, Chicago, social media certainly affects how we
engage with one another across all venues and ages. There
has been a shift in the way we communicate; rather than
face-to-face interaction, were tending to prefer mediated
communication, he says. Wed rather e-mail than meet;
wed rather text than talk on the phone.
According to Booth, studies have shown that people actually
are becoming more social and more interactive with others,
but the style of that communication has changed so that
were not meeting face-to-face as often as we used to.
That said, our interactions on social media tend to be
weak tiesthat is, we dont feel as personally
connected to the people at the other end of our
communication as we do when were face-to-face.
So while were communicating more, we may not
necessarily be building relationships as strongly,
Booth says.

Role of Social Media in Communication
Styles
Three key issues:
First, when we communicate through social media, we tend
to trust the people on the other end of the communication, so
our messages tend to be more open.
Second, our social connections are not strengthened as much
through social media as they are face-to-face, so we dont
tend to deepen our relationshipsthey tend to exist in the
status quo.
Last, we tend to follow and interact with people who agree
with our points of view, so we arent getting the same
diversity of viewpoints as weve gotten in the past.


Far-Reaching Effects

Nicholas David Bowman, PhD, an assistant professor of
communication studies in the Eberly College of Arts and
Sciences at West Virginia University, says actions that trigger a
bad online relationship likely are the same ones that trigger a
bad relationship in real lifeonly the modality has changed.
For example, cyberbullying has largely the same antecedents
and behavioral, emotional, and affective consequences as
does [noncyber] bullying, Bowman says.
Yet the difference is the morethat is, social media allows
for more contact, more communication, and in a more public
manner.


Information Overload

One big concern surrounding social medias impact is
communication overloadlearning how to handle and make
sense of this more information we now have.
As Bowman explains, were getting more information about
more people than ever before, and we feel a need to process
and perhaps even respond to it all. In fact, there has been
some very early recent data suggesting that teens are
perhaps pulling away from Facebook because its just too
much for them to handle, he says.

Technology Addiction
When individuals spend more time with their smartphone
than interacting with the people around them, to the
detriment of those face-to-face relationships.
It may be the parent checking his or her e-mail during a
family dinner or the young college student updating Twitter,
Bowman says. For these people, they likely feel such a strong
sense of identity online that they have some difficulty
separating their virtual actions from their actual ones.

Communication and
Information Technology
E-Mail (Written messages have replaced many
telephone and in-person interchanges.)
Company blogs or Web logs (Sends information with
soft, human touch.)
Presentation technology (Eye contact and human
touch still needed.)
Telecommuting and the distributed workforce (Many
positives and negatives.)
Impact of Computer-Mediated
Communication on Behavior
Communication more widespread and
immediate, and can be fast-paced
Limited human touch a problem
Invites Web surfing and useless e-mails
Repetitive motion disorder widespread
Too many wired managerial workers
Multitasking has benefits but can lead to
rudeness and low productivity

13

Examples of Media Richness
Face-to-face dialogue *
Videoconference *
Telephone conversation *
* Voice mail
* E-mail
* Informal letters/memos
* Organizations own videos
* Formal written documents
* Formal numerical documents
Single Multiple
Fast
Slow
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Cues and Language
* Organizations Web site

Technology and Interpersonal
Communication

A. Marshall McLuhan:
1. We are currently living in the electronic age.
Beginning with the invention of the telegraph in
1850, electronic inventions have transformed the
ways that we live and communicate, such as
telephone, television, computer etc.
2. The electronic media foster the creation of one
global village where everyone is linked (directly or
indirectly) through technology with everyone
else. In the electronic age, close human systems
no longer exist.
B. George Gerbner:
Television is the dominant force in shaping
modern society.
1. The result of of Gerbners research studying the
relationship between television viewing and
perceptions of reality:
2. People living in a community with little, if any,
violence were likely to see their community as
more violent than it actually was if they watched
a lot of television.
Reminder!
Final Presentations on June 11
th
and 12
th

Each student will submit a two page report on
his/her presentation on June 12
th
.
Assignment due on Wednesday, June 4
th

Open Book Quiz (based on Case Studies 1,2,3)
on Wednesday June 12
th
.
Activity #1
Cultural Dimensions and Barriers Application
Case 1: Barely Legal
Roy, an international student from Singapore, comes to see
Barbara Jones, an International student advisor, to inquire about
an on-campus summer employment. As Barbara pulls out Roys
academic record from the computer, she discovers that Roy is
currently enrolled below the minimum limit of being a full-time
student. Barbara immediately warns Roy: Did you know that you
are now out-of-status? Roy asks, What did you mean? You are
an illegal now. You can be deported! Barbara adds with an angry
tone in her voice. Roy finally explains to Barbara that he had to
drop calculus because he was doing poorly in the class. Despite
Roys explanation, Barbara continues to tell Roy that he can be
deported back to Singapore. After that conversation, Roy feels
badly about himself, leaves the office, and does not intend to
return to see Barbara again.
Activity #1
Cultural Dimensions and Barriers Application
Case 2: TV Dinner
Phil, an American, invites his Filipino co-worker, Pedro, for a
dinner at his familys house. As the foods are being served,
Pedro is surprised to find out that Phil and his family eats
dinner in the living room in front of the television. Pedro
feels uneasy about this, and Phil realizes that he is receiving
dirty looks from Pedro. Why is Pedro feeling uneasy about
where Phils family is eating their dinner?
Activity #1
Cultural Dimensions and Barriers Application
Case 3: Kenyan Public Speaking
Jack, a White American foreign exchange college student, visits a
Kenyan village to talk to them about the AIDS Epidemic. As a
seasoned public speaker and having done a lot of research on the
AIDS epidemic in Africa, Jack is obviously qualified to give a
presentation on this topic. Jack is dressed in a business suit, nicely
groomed, and confident about the presentation. However, Jack
notices that his Kenyan audience does not even want to listen to
him; they are all inattentive and are not interested at all with
what he is saying. What is the reason behind Jacks audience
reluctance to listen to him?
Robert K., Michael P.,Vicki L.,Sara K.,Tridas M.,William
S.(1998), Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces
social involvement and psychological well-being? Carnegie
Mellon University
Maura K., Social Media and Interpersonal Communication
(2013). Social Work Today,Vol. 13(3) Page 10