Reflections on Communication by Computer

This blog is an assignment for the Communication and Leadership Program at Gonzaga University.

Buying an airline ticket, ordering a book from Amazon, or registering for a class, all these transactions are easily and efficiently performed on-line. Telling a loved one that a family member is ill, that a pet died, or that you’re engaged, all these relational messages are handled with more sensitivity by phone or in person. When looking at communication from a relational versus a transactional perspective think of a spectrum, not absolutes. When you buy a book in person, you are relating to the salesperson and cashier. When you discuss a pet’s death, numerous transactions evolve. In exploring the richness of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) and comparing it to other forms of communication, including Face to Face (F2F), the lenses of transaction and relation can help us see more clearly.

The transactional part of CMC makes life easier and provides access to options not available F2F or by phone. Making an airline reservation is a good example. On websites like Expedia or Orbitz you can look at all the flights available and get the best prices. This is a significant advantage over going to a ticket office or phoning individual airlines. And it doesn’t end with the reservation. As our classmate Megan mentioned on the discussion board, you can use an automated kiosk at the airport to print your boarding pass. With some airlines, Southwest in particular, if you don’t check in by computer, you're at a disadvantage. You don't get the best seats if you wait till you get to the airport.

On the relational side of CMC, rapid growth is attracting advertisers and corporate owners. The examples of relational CMC mentioned at the start of this blog are fairly clear, but they are presented rhetorically, to make a point and explain a distinction. My Space, Facebook, and Friendster, represent leading examples of social networking sites (SNS). Their allure is how they connect people to each other and build on-line communities. Using graphics, photos, video and sounds, users have the tools to create rich environments, and their identity. How the users' homepages reflect particular identities influences the friends they make and the status they achieve, in the online world. Whether that identity reflects reality or fantasy, or lies somewhere in between, can be of more importance to the host of the page than those who read it, according to communication scholar Daniel Chandler.


Personal homepages may not always be of great importance to those who come across them, but they’re profound, creative opportunities for people to reflect on themselves and think about how they want to represent themselves to the world (Thurlow, 2004, p.99).

When my younger daughter got a letter with the name of her freshman roomate, they immediately connected on Facebook. This led to a phone call. When they met F2F, they were already acquainted. Apparently, their representations on Facebook were realistic constructions and neither was surprised.

Much like the off line world, the SNS world is filled with opportunities and threats. Take a look at my earlier blog below on Deadwood as a metaphor for the commercial side of the web. As for threats, a few weeks ago we all received a four-page article from Gonzaga’s Vice President for Student Life, explaining some of the dangers on SNS.


You also might want to take a moment and reflect on the physical safety of this tool when posting information about yourself. No expectation of privacy combined with the full range of humanity represented in these forums means that you may be exposing yourself to someone who may not have the same values or assumptions about appropriate behavior as you, or may even have a mental defect or disease which could put you at risk as a victim of criminal behavior. Very likely you would not place a placard in the front of your house or dorm describing intimate details of your personal life, private sexual
matters, detailed comings and goings or anything else that someone less careful and competent than you might construe as an invitation for communication or even harassment and stalking that could prove dangerous. Use physical space as your guide. What you wouldn't put on a poster on your dorm room door you might want to think two or three times about posting on-line (Gonzaga University, 2006, p. 3).

What we do in the public part of CMC is visible in ways that can be destructive and long lasting. The world can be a dangerous place and media, to paraphrase McLuhan, are extensions of ourselves (1964, Title Page).

When it comes to conducting business transactions online we find a rich environment filled with opportunity. Besides the simple examples previously cited, think about E-Bay and the web based marketplace it enables. You can find almost anything. Specialty sites for everything from wine to windsocks are available; all it takes are a Google search and a couple of clicks.

The relational side of CMC sizzles with excitement but only goes so far. From dating sites to SNS, people are using their computers to connect. My question, though, is where does it lead? Ultimately, if F2F is the end point, or the beginning of a new phase, the richness of what Martin Buber describes as the I-Thou relationship is possible, facilitated by CMC. But through CMC alone, we are left with the more routine and typical interactions characterized by I-It (1958). Most of our temporal life is lived in this realm; but the most intimate human relations require certain senses, which can only be imagined in the world of CMC. As for the spiritual dimensions of CMC, I invite you to consider its role and potential. I intend to do so in the weeks ahead.


References
Buber, M. (1958). I and Thou (Second Edition). New York: Charles Scribner Sons.

Gonzaga University, (2006). Thoughts on Facebook. based on: "Thoughts on Facebook," Tracy Mitrano, copyright, Cornell University, 2006.

McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding Media:The Extensions of Man. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Thurlow, C., Engel, L., & Tomic, A. (2004). Computer Mediated Communication, Social
Interaction and The Internet. London: Sage Publications Ltd.