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Chapter 4
Mediated Communication
CHAPTER OUTCOMES
In this chapter, students will learn:
• The functions and characteristics of mediated communication
• Ways to present your identity through mediated communication
CHAPTER OUTLINE
WHAT IS MEDIATED COMMUNICATION?
Technology is often so prevalent in our lives that it is easy to not even think about it. Phone, laptop,
app—what does it matter? While technology helps with everything from family chats to late-night study
sessions, it also has unique considerations of its own. For starters, technology changes your
communication, including the kind of feedback you receive and how you process it.
TYPES OF MEDIATED COMMUNICATION
• Mass media refers to one-way mediated communication vehicles that involve the sending of
messages from content creators to huge, relatively anonymous public audiences. Examples include
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• Social media is the use of two-way mediated communication that enables communicators to directly
FUNCTIONS OF MEDIATED COMMUNICATION
• Like other forms of communication, mediated communication help you to meet the following three
goals:
1. Instrumental goals are the practical objectives you want to achieve or the tasks you want to
accomplish. Examples include using social media to find information, coordinate schedules, and
confirm reservations.
2. Relationship goals include how you build, maintain, or terminate bonds with others. Examples
3. Self-presentational goals involve presenting yourself in certain ways so others view you as you
• Mediated communication serves two other important functions:
1. Participating in professional and public communities means that you can engage with people
outside of your intimate networks of family and friends. Examples include the use of email or
2. It allows you to alleviate boredom during less stimulating moments.
CHARACTERISTICS OF MEDIATED COMMUNICATION
• Mediated communication can be either synchronous or asynchronous.
o Synchronous communication is a back-and-forth exchange of messages that occurs in real time.
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• Examples include face-to-face encounters, phone conversations, instant messaging, and video
conferences.
o Asynchronous communication has time lapses between messages.
•
Examples include email, text message, or posts to social media sites.
•
This type of communication is appropriate for non-urgent, quick, and simple messages.
•
Mediated communication restricts nonverbal feedback.
o Most forms of mediated communication provide little or no nonverbal feedback.
o
A cues-filtered-out model suggests that many of the cues vital for making sense of messages are
“filtered out” with the use of mediated communication and made unavailable.
o
To help minimize such confusion, communicators use acronyms (for example, LOL, SMH),
emoticons, or emojis to convey their intent more clearly. But even these symbols are a poor
substitute for the nonverbal feedback that is available when you communicate face to face.
o Social information processing theory suggests that people who communicate through social
media compensate for the lack of nonverbal feedback by taking more care when choosing their
•
Mediated communication, like other forms of communication, has no “take-backs” or “do-overs.”
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o Every time you send a digital message (texts, emails, tweets, videos, posts), it stays in your
account, on the accounts of those who received your message, and on the servers of companies
hosting the accounts.
SELF-PRESENTATION
AND
MEDIATED
COMMUNICATION
Take a moment to think about how you’re dressed today. Are you wearing casual clothes or something
more professional? You select your clothing to make a specific impression, based on what you’ll be doing
and who you’ll be seeing. Likewise, when you select photos, post updates, and share information online,
you create an impression that influences how others see you.
• In a study of almost 400 Facebook profiles, researchers found that 92 percent of the users posted a
personal photograph, 83 percent made their wall public, and 55 percent indicated their sexual
orientation.
CREATING YOUR ONLINE FACE
• Three elements largely determine your online face:
1. Posted content
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o
The warranting value of the information presented is the degree to which the information is
supported by other people and outside evidence.
•
Low warranting value is considered to be information crafted by the person, isn’t
supported by others online, or can’t be verified offline, and most people don’t trust it.
2. Usernames
o
The name you use for your email address, online profiles, or website tells others how you
want to be perceived online and creates powerful impressions.
o
Research indicates that screen names that are playful or represent physical traits (for example,
“Fun2bwith,” “Blueeyes”) are rated by viewers as attractive; neutral screen names (for
3. Friends and professional connections
o Lists of your friends on Facebook, your professional connections on LinkedIn, or your
followers on Twitter can also give impressions about your social status, political ideology,
and other interests.
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made people seem unpopular, and having “too many” made them appear to spend too much
time online or seem indiscriminate in their choice of friends.
MANAGING YOUR ONLINE FACE
• Given how much communication occurs through social media, it’s essential that you competently
manage your online face and the following “three Ps” of mediated communication:
1. Mediated communication is powerful in shaping others’ impressions of you. Others are more
2. Mediated communication is public. Always assume that the self you present to others through
social media is going to be viewed by a much larger audience than you intended. Even if you
3. Mediated communication is permanent. Assume that anything and everything you and others post
about you online may still be available long into the future.
MEDIATED COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES
Although mediated communication can be a convenient way to stay connected with others, it has
drawbacks. Excessive use of social media can impact your well-being. And sometimes mediated
communication makes it easier to send sarcastic or harassing messages and forget how such messages
can affect the person receiving them.
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PERCEIVED SOCIAL ISOLATION
• People who use social media excessively, two hours a day or more, report feeling lonelier than those
who use it for less than 30 minutes a day.
• Using social media passively can lead to feelings of isolation and envy. To avoid this, try two things:
1. Monitor your social media usage through apps such as Moment and BreakFree. People who cut
social media time found they had more time for reading, hobbies, and sleep.
ONLINE DISINHIBITION
• Online disinhibition describes the effect mediated communication has on how free people feel to say
things—good and bad—that they’d never say to someone face-to-face.
o
The asynchronous nature of mediated communication, where the communicator doesn’t expect an
immediate response, makes you more willing to openly express your emotions.
• Empathy deficits are a dramatic reduction in your ability to experience another person’s feelings.
You may express yourself in blunt, tactless, and inappropriate ways; for example, you might “shout”
by using capitalized words or communicate things you’d never say over the phone or face-to-face.
o
Mediated communication restricts feedback, and it can be hard to experience empathy during this
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o If you are unable to perceive others’ immediate nonverbal feedback, you can’t experience
empathy and adjust your communication accordingly.
• Flaming refers to vicious, hostile, insulting, aggressive, or profane mediated messages that would
never be said in person. It is a direct outcome of online disinhibition and empathy deficits.
• Online harassment refers to mediated messages that are perceived by the recipient as disturbing,
threatening, or obsessive.
o
Recipients should directly and clearly ask the person to stop or to remove the post. Contact
someone in a position of authority and ask for advice on what to do if they refuse.
• Cyberbullying occurs when online harassment turns into a communication pattern that becomes
persistent and is used to exert power, with the intention of causing social embarrassment, inflicting
emotional pain, or damaging a person’s reputation.
DIGITAL DECEPTION
• Digital deception occurs when someone sends a message that is intentionally misleading or creates a
false belief. Forms of digital deception include:
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o
Message-based digital deception is the manipulation of information with the intent to mislead
recipients. This can include butler lies, which are used to avoid conversation, prevent
USING
MEDIATED
COMMUNICATION
COMPETENTLY
You probably spend a lot of time playing with the various features of a new phone or tablet, but it’s just
as important to learn how to communicate competently when using technology. Otherwise, you might
make some missteps—like sending lengthy text messages when a phone call would’ve been easier, or
sounding more aggressive than you intended.
•
The following suggestions can help you improve your own mediated communication:
1. Know when to use mediated versus face-to-face communication.
o First, consider the message itself. Handle emotional messages face-to-face or use
synchronous communication to better monitor and respond to the other person’s reactions.
2. Remember the three Ps. Mediated communication is powerful, public, and permanent. The
things you say and do online endure. Think before you post.
3. Practice creating drafts. Get into the habit of saving posts, texts, and email messages as drafts to
4. Use clear language and provide enough detail. Try to use the clearest words possible and
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online presentations or participating in videoconference meetings when it is crucial that your
audience understands your messages clearly.
5. Always show respect for others. Empathy deficits can make it hard to communicate in sensitive,
respectful ways. So when you’re communicating through social media, put extra energy into
CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Do you think it is ethical for a prospective employer to use your online persona in their evaluation
process? Why or why not?
• Students often have strong opinions on their right to privacy but often fail to see the paradox created
by desiring privacy while they continue to have a strong online presence. Further the discussion by
2. Explain in your own words online disinhibition. Give an example of how this might help a close
relationship and how this might hurt a close relationship. Explain why.
• Examples will vary, but discussing examples as a class will help provide more insight into why
3. If you had a friend who was being harassed online or cyberbullied, what would you advise them
to do?
• Allowing students an opportunity to discuss how best to handle online harassment and
cyberbullying may be beneficial to other students who are dealing with harassment. Remind
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4. Should the online communication you send to an employer or a teacher differ from
communication you send to a friend? Explain why or why not.
• Discuss with students the importance of using complete sentences, words, and thoughts and of
identifying who they are in their professional online correspondence. Many students are so
5. Explain synchronous communication. Should you consider the receiver’s background, age, or
their relationship with you when you choose the appropriate type of communication? Why or
why not?
• Remind students that when choosing a method of communication, they need to consider the
receiver’s comfort level with online communication, the content of the message, and the depth of
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1.
Unplugged Challenge
Goal: To help students realize how social media affects their lives.
Time: 20 minutes
1.
Ask students to stop using social media for one day.
2. Have them keep a journal throughout the day and record how the lack of social media is affecting
their day. Their final journal entry should describe how they feel the social-media-free day changed
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2. YouTube Communication Project
Goal: To have students explore how social media affects the communication process.
Time: Time will vary depending on whether you want students to complete the assignment in class or
as a homework assignment. You will need about 30 minutes for the video presentations once they
complete the assignment.
1. Divide students into four groups.
2. Instruct the groups to identify one aspect of social media that either improves or hampers the
communication process.
3. Tweet Sheet versus Face-to-Face
Goal: To have students understand the concept of online disinhibition
Time: 20 minutes
1. Divide students into two groups. Give students in one group an index card (tweet sheet) for each
person.
4. Then ask the other group to tell you their honest opinions of your statement face-to-face. Jot down
their responses.
5. Compare the tweet sheet responses to those given verbally. Did the group using face-to-face
communication respond as strongly as those who wrote down their answers? Discuss.
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4. Celebrity Rehab
Goal: To further students’ understanding of the effects of a damaged online face.
Time: 60 minutes.
1. Ask students to select a celebrity, athlete, or politician who has damaged his or her online face
and, in turn, harmed his or her career. Students should be prepared to explain how the celebrity
2. Have students present their findings to the class and discuss.
5. Supreme Ruler of Social Media
Goal: To have students explore the ethics and effectiveness of social media communication
Time: 30 minutes
1. Divide the class into three groups.
2. Declare each group supreme ruler of social media and have each group develop five “rules” for
3. Have each group present their rules to the class and explain why they would make these changes.
MEDIA RESOURCES
1.
TED Talk: “Txtng Is Killing Language. JK!!!”
This 13-minute TED Talk by linguist John McWhorter discusses texting’s impact on language and
culture. He discusses this new form of communication or “fingered speech” between writing and
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2. Online Harassment and Cyberbullying
This website for the Cyberbullying Research Center has research, resources, and presentations
concerning cyberbullying and reinforces key concepts in the chapter related to cyberbullying.
3. Mediated Communications Challenges
For some fun examples of breakdowns in mediated communication courtesy of the text auto-correct
4. 65_RedRoses (Force Four Entertainment/CBS Newsworld, 2009)
This documentary film about Eva Markvoort, a young woman from British Columbia with cystic
fibrosis, demonstrates how online relationships can be a lifeline for teens. The film follows Markvoort
as she blogs about her experiences while waiting for a double-lung transplant. This film is available on
Netflix.
5.
Black Mirror: “Nosedive”
In season 3, episode 1 of Netflix’s dystopian series Black Mirror, social media ranking and societal