What is this paper about?
You will write a paper in which you choose two or three concepts (bolded sections of the chapter) that we have covered from the textbook that are especially useful for your life (professional and/or personal). For example, you could discuss identity and interpersonal communication ((Ch. 1), the permanence of social media . You will discuss the concepts, defining each one (using both the textbook and outside sources to do so) and explain how understanding and utilizing these concepts will make or have made you a stronger communicator.
Specific Steps: (this is what you’ll be doing over the next few weeks to create a well-written, edited, and impactful paper)
Choose two or three course concepts from our textbook that you have found most helpful for you and/or which most apply to your life.
Define each concept. First define it in your own words to make sure your voice is the strongest one we hear in your paper. Then use your textbook and other sources to make your definition even stronger.
Explain/discuss how these concepts will assist you or already are assisting you in becoming a stronger communicator.
Once you have a (fairly) clear idea of your overall position/opinion/idea, write your thesis statement that sums up what your research paper will be about. Your thesis should be one sentence that weaves together the concepts and makes a statement about how they have made you a stronger communicator. You can always revise this later.
Write the rough (1st) draft of your paper (this simply lays out your thoughts on the topic).
Make sure you clearly organize your discussion so that your paper is one cohesive exploration and not two or three disconnected or only partially connected ideas or paragraphs.
Write the second draft of your 3-page (750-1000 words), double-spaced MLA-formatted paper. In this draft you will add in supporting material (at least three citations from at least three sources) to make your discussion stronger and prove your thesis. Of course, make sure to include your thesis!
Don’t just rely on the textbook and websites for your research sources. Use the information on research from – BCC library (books, journals, databases), newspapers, interviews, statistics…NO WIKIPEDIA
Remember, this is a research paper, not just an essay of your thoughts. You need to support your ideas with compelling supporting material (research).
Make sure you weave YOUR experience into the paper! Your voice should be the strongest one we hear even with the support from the research you conduct and include.
Edit your paper. (third draft/final version)
Reread your paper – also read it OUT LOUD (you’ll catch a lot of mistakes that way).
Follow MLA guidelines (OWL at Purdue). Include a Works Cited.
Upload your paper on Blackboard on or before the day/time it is due.
This assignment will use Turnitin.com as part of the assessment.
Midterm Paper Requirements Recap:
Define and discuss 2-3 Textbook Concepts from Chapter 1, 2, or 3
Each concept must include your experience with this concept
Strong thesis statement that weaves these concepts together
3 pages (750-1000) words
Formatted and edited paper: paragraphs, double-spaced, 12 point font, 1 inch margins,
3 different sources must be used to support your ideas in MLA format-NO WIKIPEDIA
MLA Works Cited included with at least three different sources at the bottom of the paper
Sources;Module 3
https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?deploymentId=5483502222507907952916266298&eISBN=9781305645103&snapshotId=2830155&id=1426850462&
Consequences of Mediated Communication
At first glance, the differences between mediated and face-to-face communication might not seem especially significant. What does it matter if nonverbal cues are reduced or if messages aren’t exchanged in real time? SocialShutterstock.com
Curled up at the foot of my bed, my face inches from the laptop screen, I stared anxiously at the Google chat box. “Will is typing,” the box told me, helpfully. Recognizing the stupidity of falling for someone on the Internet does not prevent you from doing it.
With my Skype screen open and my webcam on, I viscerally felt that Will was sitting a foot away on my bed. We started video chatting for hours every night. I learned that he ate take-out for every meal, slept in a series of identical white V-neck T-shirts, and smirked with one side of his mouth when I said something clever.
In the safety of my apartment, I could see Will, but I couldn’t touch him. I could summon him when I wanted to talk, but I never knew him in any light other than the one from his bedside lamp. This phenomenon worked in my favor as well. I could call him after a few drinks, when I felt sufficiently talkative and social; I could avoid him if I had videos to edit or blog posts to write. I could say whatever I wanted and risk awkwardness because, at the end of the conversation, one click of the mouse would shut him out of my room.
The irony is that we flock to the Internet for this type of safe, sanitized intimacy, but we want something entirely different. And so—slowly, cautiously—Will and I began circling the question of what it all meant. I wanted to find out. So in early March, I rented a car, begged my professors to let me out of class a day early, and drove 540 miles to spend a long weekend in the midsize city where Will lives.
Will was almost exactly as I expected: thin lips, straight nose, small hazel eyes, glasses. We kissed on the cold, blustery sidewalk as the wind whipped my thoughts around. Mostly, I felt relieved. I thought: “This works in real life. This means something.”
But after we kissed and ate pizza and went back to his house, we struggled for things to talk about. In real life, Will stared off at nothing while I talked. In real life, he had no questions about the drive or my work or the stuff that waited for me when I went back to school. He took me out for dinner and read his email while we waited for our food.
In the front hallway, where I stood rubbing my eyes, Will hugged me goodbye and told me to drive safely. He struggled for a closing statement. “It was great to see you,” he said at last.
I sat for a long time at his kitchen counter, trying to work out what happened. I didn’t like being surrounded by his things. I felt more comfortable in my room, with my things, and with his presence confined to a laptop screen.
Caitlin Dewey
What makes mediated relationships especially appealing?
How is communication likely to differ in mediated and face-to-face relationships?
In your opinion, what is the best way to transition from mediated to face-to-face communication?
Given time to craft responses, communicators can carefully edit and manage their self-presentation, always putting their best feet forward. (We’ll describe the phenomenon of impression management in Chapter 3). In a virtual world without bad breath, unsightly blemishes, or stammering responses, relationships often develop at hyperpersonal rates. If you’ve ever heard stories—or personally experienced—the kinds of intense self-revelations that happen online between people who have never met in person, you understand how mediated communication can be hyperpersonal. Add the dimension of permanence, in which partners can pore over their written exchanges and read deeply into them, and you’ll recognize the potentially unique nature of online relationships.
Hyperpersonal communication has both benefits and drawbacks. In one study, researchers found that group members who connected online rated their teammates as more physically and socially attractive, and they reported greater intimacy and affection than did those who communicated face to face. In other words, hyperpersonal communication allowed online groups to quickly form positive relationships to assist in the completion of their tasks.
On the other hand, hyperpersonal communication can be the breeding ground for the kind of relational deception we’ll discuss later in this chapter. Healthy relationships usually develop slowly over time, with cautious decisions about personal disclosures. They also typically require some amount of face-to-face interaction. It’s no wonder that communicators who create and develop their relationships exclusively online have a difficult time transitioning to face-to-face communication. (For an example, see the “Virtually Separated” reading in this section.)
Clearly there are both benefits and drawbacks to mediated communication, which we’ll outline and examine more closely in the following section.
Drawbacks of Mediated Communication
Even at its best, electronic communication isn’t a replacement for face-to-face interaction. One study of college students who frequently use text-based messaging concluded that “nothing appears to compare to face-to-face communication in terms of satisfying individuals’ communication, information, and social needs.” Furthermore, there’s an interactive relationship between text-based messages, phone contact, and in-person communication. If you regularly communicate with friends and family online, it is likely that you will also call them and try to see them more often. In other words, few close relationships use mediated channels to the exclusion of in-person communication.
Along with the potential benefits, mediated relationships can have a downside. Understanding the potential drawbacks can help you guard against them.
Superficial Relationships
Social scientists have concluded that most people can only sustain about 150 relationships. (That figure has been termed “Dunbar’s number” in recognition of Oxford University anthropologist Robin Dunbar, who established it.) If we’re lucky, we have an inner circle of five “core” people and an additional layer of 10 or 15 close friends and family members. Beyond that lies a circle of roughly 35 reasonably strong contacts. That leaves about 100 more people to round out our group of meaningful connections. We simply don’t have the time or energy to sustain relationships with many more people.
Pina Piccolo Panel Cartoon used with the permission of the Rina Piccolo and the Cartoonist Group. All rights reserved.
Dunbar’s number is much smaller than the array of “friends” that many people claim on social networking sites. Some Facebook users seem proud to have hundreds or even thousands of social media friends. Dunbar explored the discrepancy between “true” and mediated friends by comparing the online exchanges of people with thousands of friends to those who identified smaller numbers of online relationships. He discovered that there was no significant difference between the two groups. Regardless of how many online friends social networkers claimed, they only maintained relationships with the same number of people—roughly 150 people. As Dunbar put it, “People obviously like the kudos of having hundreds of friends, but the reality is that they’re unlikely to be bigger than anyone else’s.”
SOCIAL NETWORKING, SURVIVAL, AND HEALING
Throughout 20 years of drinking and drugs, I’ve always had cyber-friends who, for reasons I can’t explain, have stayed up late and saved me more times than I can count.
When I made the decision—or more accurately, when the decision smashed down upon me—to get sober, I was terrified, embarrassed, and angry. I certainly didn’t think I needed anyone to help me. Sometime near the end of the third month, the last bits of my sanity were gone. I couldn’t function any longer. That’s when I turned to the Web. I began to post what I’ve been told was an ever-increasing series of erratic blurbs.
Those messages started a dialogue that took on a life of its own. I began to get emails, phone calls, text messages, tweets, and other digital notes from people around the world. Some offered kind words. Some offered support. Many people shared their own stories of addiction. In my darkest times, these notes would come. And always, without question, they pulled me back from the brink. Many of these messages were from people I have known for years. Another handful came from childhood friends and people I’d grown up with. Some I had known well; many I had not. Others came from complete strangers. I have no idea how they found me.
The moment when I knew I’d be okay came one night, during a cross-country drive. The phone rang as I blew through Tennessee, but I didn’t recognize the number so I let it go to voice mail. When I pulled into a gas station, I listened to the message. The woman on the phone didn’t leave her name, and to this day I have no idea who she was. She told me about her father and his drinking. She told me that she was proud of me for getting sober and that she wanted me to keep trying. Already tenuous with my emotions, I sat on the side of the road crying. I listened to that message dozens of times, over and over.
mattjeacock/istockphoto/Getty Images
The encouragement kept coming: strangers leaving messages about their lives, encouraging me to keep going. Throughout the next few months, my life became a 24-hour shower of love. There wasn’t one free moment that wasn’t taken up by someone making sure that my dumb ass wasn’t back at the bar, that I wasn’t looking for ways to die, and that I was doing the right thing. I still couldn’t bring myself to leave the house. I rarely left my couch. I couldn’t communicate with most people. But I was never alone.
AA keeps me sane. But social media got me there. Without that far-reaching network of people—friends and strangers alike—I wouldn’t be here today.
Brad K.
Brad K., “Social Networking, Survival, and Healing.” Used by permission of the author.
How often do you give or receive interpersonal support through social media? Consider times when you’ve exchanged supportive messages via social networking sites, email, texts, or tweets.
Can you think of a time when you received social support from someone you didn’t know in person—perhaps in an online forum, blog, or support group? Was that support similar to or different from the kind you receive from people you know?