11. Television’s tendency to stabilize and homogenize views within a society in order to create a
e. social systems
12. Heavy television viewers are more likely to have beliefs that reflect the worldview portrayed
by television, which is not equivalent to reality. In television entertainment programming,
77% of major characters that commit crimes perpetrate acts of violence, compared to roughly
10% of actually reported crimes. This is an example of __________. [p. 283, II]
e. standpoint theory
13. The Electronic Epoch in McLuhan’s review of human history began with __________. [p.
280, I]
e. the television
14. The Mean World Syndrome is related to all of the following EXCEPT __________. [p. 283,
II]
a. cultivation theory
b. mainstreaming
c. television violence
d. standards of beauty for women
e. cumulative effects of television viewing
15. To become a more responsible and thoughtful consumer of mass communication we should
__________. [pp. 289-292, II]
a. develop media literacy
16. Invention of the phonetic alphabet ushered in which epoch in many societies? [p. 279-280, I]
d. electronic
e. telegraph
17. Janis loved watching TV. She really liked to get into shows so that she could forget the
problems she was facing. Which theory would best explain the impact that watching
television has had on Janis? [pp. 281, III]
e. media literacy theory
18. Dom has noticed that after he returned from a study-abroad program there were few news
stories from other parts of the world. The theory that best explains what Dom was noticing is
__________. [p. 282, III]
a. the hypodermic needle model
19. The process by which a viewer’s basic view of the world can be affected due to watching
large amounts of television over time is known as __________. [p. 283, I]
e. mainstreaming
20. If commercial programming consistently portrays European Americans as upstanding
citizens and members of other races as lazy, criminal, or irresponsible, viewers may come to
e. constructing the news
TRUE/FALSE
1. Mass communication affects our lives in minimal ways. [II] F
3. The telegraph inaugurated the electronic era. [II] T
5. Uses and gratification assumes that consumers of mass media are active agents who
deliberately choose what pleases them. [II] T
7. The premise of cultivation theory is that the more one attends to television (heavy viewers)
the more distorted perspective of reality they hold. [I] T
9. Becoming media literate takes little work. [II] F
10. Part of having media literacy means being skeptical of what is presented. [II] T
15 // DIGITAL MEDIA AND THE ONLINE WORLD
I. Digital media are electronic modes of communication that store and manage data in digital
form. There are several features of digital media.
A. Digital media have the ability to manipulate information.
B. Digital media also cultivate convergence.
1. Interconnectivity is the idea that various devices are connected to each other and to the
Internet so that users don’t need to worry about configuring each new system.
2. In the future, each appliance or device that we use will have its own computer and be
connected to the Internet.
3. Interconnected communication technologies represent the convergence of existing
technologies in order to make them simpler to use.
C. Digital media enable information to travel quickly.
1. Through email or text, recipients get messages almost instantly.
2. IM or instant messaging was named instant because it’s so fast.
3. Because of this speed, however, there is the potential to jeopardize accuracy.
II. Digital media have both positive and negative impacts.
A. Positive impacts are that we have greater access to information and that computers can
amplify what humans alone are able to do.
B. Negative impacts include reducing our ability to sustain focused attention, encouraging
us to engage in multitasking, and undermining imaginative thought in children. People
think they are more efficient and productive when they multitask, but that is usually not
true.
C. Another negative impact is the potential for excessive use among some users.
III. We use digital media for many of the same reasons we use other modes of communication.
A. We use digital media to craft identity.
1. One way is though screen names and email addresses.
2. Many aspects of personal identify are not known unless we choose to disclose them.
3. People may also create on-screen identities that help them learn social skills.
4. Learning to accept our limitation or changes in ourselves is another way in which
digital media help us do identity work.
5. Negative outcomes develop when people intentionally misrepresent themselves
online, or worse, prey on others.
C. Digital media is also used for instruction and learning.
D. Digital media has radically altered how we communicate in professional contexts.
1. It allows all co-workers in different physical locations to plan, review documents, and
collaborate.
2. VOIP allows professionals to be visually and verbally present in meetings without
being physically present.
E. Digital media provide tools for social and political organizing.
V. Guidelines for interacting with digital media.
A. A major challenge is managing the flow of information in our lives.
1. Many people feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information they receive each
day; others are comforted by it.
KEY CONCEPTS
Communication technologies
Cyberbullying
Digital divide
Digital media
Multitasking
ACTIVITY: Put it in Writing
Purpose/Objective:
To demonstrate the drawbacks of communication technologies that rely on writing as the
Don’t be concerned about making typing errors, or going too slowly—this emphasizes the point
that our communication is severely limited when we are confined to writing everything out. Ask
the class a question and when someone raises their hand to answer, motion them to come
forward and type/write their response. As a variation, you might try to arrange to have an
Internet connection live in the room and “chat” with the class from a remote location. After
you’ve exhausted everyone’s patience, or your fingers, lead the class in a vocal discussion of the
benefits and limitations of communication technologies that depend exclusively on the written
word. Also explore the emerging popularity of distance learning and what limitations the
technology imposes on the learning process.
ACTIVITY: Assessing the Effects of Technologies
Purpose/Objective:
To engage students in research to discover who does and who does not have access to new and
converging technologies of communication.
Instructions:
One week before discussing this activity, assign students to conduct research on who owns and
uses various technologies, including computers, modems, faxes, and answering machines.
Assign each student to bring in three relevant pieces of information with proper citations. Tell
them they are to find out what they can about who owns and uses new and converging
technologies of communication and then to draw conclusions about whether new technologies
are reducing or increasing the division between haves and have-nots in society. Use students’
findings to engage a class discussion that reviews the two opposing claims made by scholars
about the effects of new and converging technologies (they will foster a global community in
which everyone can participate; they will exacerbate existing social divisions).
ACTIVITY: It’s Science Fiction
Purpose/Objective:
To have students consider the unreliability of predictions about communication technologies and
their effects on humans in the future.
discussion on evident themes related to communication technologies and their relationships to
human beings. For example, telepathy might be a prevailing theme. Ask students if they think
people of the future who are telepathic will be more or less skilled at communicating. Finally,
ask students to predict what they believe communication technologies will be used to accomplish
in 25 years, and in 100 years.
JOURNAL ITEM
1. Keep a log of your use of communication technologies for a three-day period. Record the
amount of time you spend sending and receiving written communication, phone calls, and
faxes. Also note the time you spend on the web, exchanging e-mail messages, and
chatting on the Internet. What themes emerge when you analyze your log?
PANEL IDEA
1. Invite two or more individuals at the cutting edge of communication technologies to
speak with your class. Tell them you want them to enlarge the students’ understandings
of the current and future possibilities of new and converging technologies. Ask them to
prepare informal remarks about what is now possible that is not yet widely used. Also ask
them to offer their informed predictions about technologies that will be available in the
near and less-near future.
After the panelists speak for half of the period, invite students to ask questions. If
necessary, prompt with some of your own prepared questions, such as: How will new
technologies change family life? How will they transform our work—where and how we
do it?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
MOVIE—MINORITY REPORT
Tom Cruise plays Detective John Anderton in this science-fiction thriller set in the year 2054.
Anderton works in the “pre–crime” division, which uses advanced technology and three
genetically altered humans (or “precogs”) to see crimes before they happen. Anderton, shocked
to find out he is accused of a future crime, goes on the run to clear his name. This film is driven,
in large part, by the relationship between humans and technology. Students might explore the
ways they feel we have allowed technology to take over some of our present-day decision-
making. It’s also interesting to see a director’s vision, in this case Stephen Spielberg, of what the
future will be like. Students should pay attention to the role of technology in this film, even in
the subtle details of the background.
1. Identify examples of ineffective and effective listening on the part of Chris’s mother.
2. Chapter 10 stated that proximity and similarities are the two most significant influences
on initial romantic attractions. Does this statement hold true for the online relationship
between Chris and Brandon?
3. If Chris and Brandon meet face-to-face, how will communication on their initial date be
different from communication on first dates between people who have not met online?
4. If you were romantically attracted to a person you met online and wanted to have a face-
to-face date with her or him, what would you do to maximize your safety?
ESSAY QUESTIONS
1. Describe and discuss the evolution of communication technologies and how they are related
as well as how they differ.
2. Discuss the three ways in which computer usage impacts our thinking. Provide examples for
each way, and discuss whether you think the results are positive or negative.
3. Review the positive and negative ways that online identities can be used. Give specific
examples for both.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Electronic modes of communication that store and manage data in digital form are known as
__________. [p. 299, I]
e. creating identity
3. E-mail addresses and screen names allow users to __________. [p. 303-304, II]
a. be ignored
4. The gap between people and communities that do and do not have access to digital
technologies is called ? [p. 297, II]
e. the developing market
5. How many digital devices does the average U.S. citizen own? __________. [p. 298, I]
6. Jasper’s e-book reader, laptop, and cellphone are set up so he can listen to the same music on
any of the three devices. This is known as what feature of digital media? __________. [pp.
300, III]
a. electronic conferencing
7. The average white-collar worker now spends how much time tending to emails?__________.
e. 73%
8. When protesters in Saudi Arabia tweeted over 30,000 times in defense of a woman who had
been arrested for driving a motor vehicle, they were using digital media to
. [p. 308-309, II]
a. teleconference
b. videoconference
d. multitasking can make us feel rushed
e. all of these are true of multitasking
10. Skype is an example of digital media being able to cultivate __________. [p.300, II]
a. speed
11. What percentage of adult Americans use at least one social networking site? [p. 314, II]
a. 5%
12. The percentage of Americans who use the Internet is __________. [p. 307, II]
d. 59%
e. 55%
13. Small messages texted throughout the day . [p. 326, II]
a. are so trivial they have no impact on a relationship
14. The telephone was invented __________. [p. 299, I]
e. none of the above
15. Individuals or groups who are intentionally cruel and mean in digital communication are
known as __________. [p. 311, I]
a. flamers
16. The foundation of today’s Internet made its debut __________. [p. 299, I]
17. Increasingly, we are demanding greater __________ in our digital communication. [p. 300,
II]
e. all of the above
18. Computers and online interaction affect human thinking __________. [pp. 321–324, II]
a. by allowing us to multitask
19. Choosing screen names, posting profiles, and adopting avatars are all forms of __________.
[pp. 304, I]
a. multitasking
20. Which one of the following statements about too much digital communication is NOT true?
[p. 310, I]
a. Switching from device to device reduces our attention span.
b. Many of us feel emotionally and psychologically stressed by the compulsion to stay
connected.
TRUE/FALSE
1. Communication technologies are fairly recent phenomena. [I] F
3. Email addresses are one way people create identity online. [II] T
5. A primary way that computers affect thinking is by encouraging multitasking. [II] T
7. Online games do not offer children as much opportunity to use their imagination as
traditional play. [II] T
9. In online communication basic aspects of personal identity may be unclear or even
deliberately misrepresented. [II] T
CLOSING THE COURSE
To conclude your course it is valuable to have an exercise that allows students to integrate much
of what they have learned about communication during the term. The following two exercises
achieve that goal, and have worked well for past instructors. Not only do these synthesize the
course for students, but they also provide the instructor with insight into students’ perceptions of
key issues and communication skills.
CLOSING ACTIVITY: The Communication Time Capsule I
Purpose/Objective:
This exercise allows students to review theories, principles, and skills taught during the term and
to identify those they consider most important for people in the present time.
Instructions:
One class period in advance of this exercise give students the handout below. Emphasize you
want students to be both serious and creative in choosing artifacts to go into the time capsule.
All students should bring to class any items you think should go in the time capsule. First as a
group, and then as a class, you will collectively decide which items best capture the spirit of
communication today.
On the day of the exercise, organize students into four groups. Allow twenty minutes for groups
to decide on no fewer than five and no more than ten items to recommend for the time capsule.
Give each group three minutes to explain its recommendations and show its artifacts to the class.
Commit the class to whittling the final number of items to ten and have one student list the items
on a piece paper that will be sealed in a box along with the items. While the class is watching,
label the box: Communication Time Capsule—date. To conclude the session, discuss trends in
students’ selections and what these reflect about communication and interpersonal relationships
in our era. Invite students to predict how the issues they regard as most important will be
addressed, resolved, and/or changed in the years ahead. NOTE: After you have done this
exercise several times, you may open a time capsule at the beginning of new classes so that new
students learn what issues were viewed as most salient five or ten years ago.