Formative Assessment 2:
READ: Social interactions across media : Interpersonal relationship on the internet , telephone ,
and face - to - face by Baym , N., Xhang , Y., Lin , M.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/47503655_Social_Interactions_Across_Media
Answer the following questions:
1. Describe the communication characteristics of one of your personal experiences that
might be comparable to situation/s contained in the above material you read.
Before the pandemic started, we still lived the same life but minus all the social
interactions, gatherings, and travels with our friends and families; we lived with our
phones in our hands and our minds connected virtually. I can say that I was very much
updated with what was happening around me because of the posts I see online.
Therefore, I was more connected with my friends and loved ones because even when
we’re not seeing each other, we could still talk through social media apps like Messenger,
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Even though I look like someone who has lived in the
online world and can’t live with my phone, which is true, I have always attended
birthdays, hangout with friends and families, and joined activities like funruns and team
buildings. Based on the research, it was found that internet user spends three times more
attending social events than non-users (Robinsons et al., 2002). I think the reason why
internet users are more attending because they engage in online interactions that leads
to real-time socializing. It’s fun to meet people you met online and see them in person
because it gives the feeling of excitement and the anticipation you have been waiting for
a long time.
2. How do communication technologies affect your behavior, attitude, values, awareness,
perceptions, habits, skills, practices, and personality? Explain each of the listed factors.
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Definition
Communication technology is the transfer of messages through the use
technology such as our phones, tablets, and laptops that are connected through
the internet. The internet is what allows us to communicate with each other
through an online platform. However, with this type of communication, there are
fewer physical interactions in comparison to face-to-face and telephone
communications. According to the research, it is considered that face-to-face is
the most popular means of communication. People are more inclined to use it
since we can physically connect with each other. In telephone communications,
according to the research, the students are augmenting their high-quality face-toface and phone chats with excellent internet interactions. This is why most
interactions are either done face-to-face or through phone calls.
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Platforms
For the online communication, there are various platforms that you can use
to engage conversations with other people. People use gadgets to be able to talk
with people whom they please. Although we are not sure how sincere or genuine
people are when talking online, it still satisfies the meaning of online
communication which is to transfer and deliver messages on an online platform.
Face-to-face interactions on the other hand, doesn’t need any platform for you to
do it. You just need a person who can physically interact with you such as you
friends, family, acquaintances, or even professionals. Lastly, for telephone
communication, they need a phone in in order to call other people. As time
progresses, advancements in technologies have taken place and people now use
it as a substitute to telephones.
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Pros and Cons
For the pros of face-to-face interaction, we tend to connect easily with the
people we are talking to as we try and communicate with our body and gestures.
This allows us to build genuine relationships with them. The only downside of this
is that everyone is not available at all times and sometimes meeting up on a place
is dangerous because of the risk that the environment poses. As for online
interactions, we have a much more efficient way of communicating with other
people. With the help of the technological advancements, we can utilize this to
contact and connect with people even overseas. As for its cons, we are not really
sure if they are being true or sincere about what they are trying to tell us. Lastly,
telephone communication is quite similar to online interactions; it’s just that
through this, we can hear their actual voices talking over the phone. However, we
still cannot see how they act when we talk to them and non-verbal communication
is just as important as communicating verbally.