Are Devices and Social Media Redefining Human Connection?
Latasha Bradley
Knowledge Management I
29 October 2014
Are Devices and Social Media Redefining Human Connection? : Annotated Bibliography
Gonzales, A. L., & Hancock, J. T. (2008). Identity shift in computer-
mediated environments. Media Psychology, 11(2), 167-185.
doi:10.1080/15213260802023433.
With the rise of computer-mediated forms of self-presentation, an important question to consider is whether mediated self-presentations can similarly shape our identities. The Department of Telecommunications, Assistant Professor, Amy Gonzales collaborates with Jeffery Hancock in examining the effects that communication technologies have on individual identity, social support, and well-being. They do this by comparing the effects of private versus public computer-mediated self-presentations on self-concepts of Forty-four female and 32 male participants who were from introductory communication courses. Given the textual nature of computer-mediated self-presentations, Gonzales and Hancock use computerized verbal analysis to explore the conditional differences in private and public online self-presentations to understand the verbal features associated with public commitment. This article also examines online self-presentations and how they tend to portray strategies of exaggeration and competence, suggesting that individuals want to help social relationships while trying to impress others. The data and analysis in this article suggest that online self-presentation has the power to change our identities thus, people turn to the Internet to express their interests, confess personal histories, or present themselves to future romantic partners, the end result may contain slight shifts in self-perceptions of identity that may in turn influence future social interaction.
This article is an explanation to Turkle’s question when she asks, “Why do we crave social connectedness.” It digs deep when explains how texting, email, posting, all of these things let us present the self as we want to be. There is also a connection with Patrick Tucker when he discusses what happens when the stresses of the real-world conflict with the virtual world, leading to too many people giving too much attention to devices and ignoring reality. This is particularly relevant for investigations of mediated self-presentation, as hints to mediated publicness may be less likely than in face-to-face situations.
Grieve, R., Indian, M., Witteveen, K., Anne Tolan, G., & Marrington, J.
(2013).Face-to-face or facebook: Can social connectedness be derived
online?.Computers in human behavior, 29(3), 604-609.
This team of Australian psychologist is involved in a research program examining risk and protective factors in depression and anxiety; in 2012 they have continued to investigate cognitive and emotional processes related to mental health. They consider how people interact on-line (for example, using social networking sites), taking into account their personality, emotional processing styles, memory and social skills, and try to determine how this relates to their mental and social well-being.
The huge growth of the Internet, and especially social network sites like Facebook, has resulted in large amounts of research trying to decide whether or not ‘being online’ is good for us. Face-to-Face or Facebook: Can Social Connectedness Be Derived Online? provide information that explore social connectedness resulting from the use of Facebook. They revealed that by limiting Facebook use may present the chance to develop and maintain social connectedness in the online environment. In addition, limited Facebook connectedness relates to lower depression and anxiety and greater satisfaction with life. In general, Facebook may act as an additional way in which to develop and maintain relationships, providing a temporary social channel associated with a variety of positive psychological outcomes.
Although technology may make social connectivity easier, this is central to my claim regarding limiting the use of social media which results in being able or having the time to communicate face-to-face. Conversely, the issue at hand is the quality of human conversation and connection after social media use, this does not lend this type of information, but it does gives insight on the emotional state people go through in relation to intricacy of feeling.
Hampton, K.N., Sessions, L.F., Her, E.J.,& Rainie, L.(2009). Social
isolation and new technology. Pew Internet & American Life Project:
Washington.
The authors in this Pew report consults with Sociologists Miller Mcpherson, Lynn Smith-Lovin and Matthew Brashears include new bits of knowledge to conversations about the measure of social isolation in America. The focus of this research is the relationship between new information and communication technologies, social networks, democratic engagement, and the urban environment. Hampton, Sessions, Her, and Rainie observe the role of the internet and cell phones in the way that people interact with those in their core social network. The rise of web and cellular phones was revealed as one of the motives that pulls individuals away from face-to-face social settings. This research was conducted using a statistical technique called regression analysis, which allows them to examine the relationship between technology use and network size while holding constant supplementary factors such as education, age or gender.
This report points out some additional aspects of study such as demography which may play a significant role in the effect of engaging in digital worlds in initially. Similar to the way Turkle states,” Although we are lonely, we are also scared of closeness,” this article could possibly explain why we are digitally divided. For instance, some people who are older that are not used to technology such as computers, mobile phones etc. might don’t spend time on social networks that consume their human connectedness which is probably the reason why they are wise and able to give us so much advice on life experiences. On our mobile devices, we often talk to each other on the move and with little disposable time, so little, in fact, that we communicate in a new language of abbreviation in which letters stand for words and emoticons for feelings. It appeals to our vulnerability and self-importance.
This supports the main purpose of my research paper concerning people having problems with relating to themselves, others, and their ability to experience and understand the human fundamental nature, purpose, and essence. This report could be a potential answer to Gonzales and Hancock examining the effects that communication technologies have on individual identity, social support, and well-being.
Johnson, V. (2011). Plus ca change…? The salutary tale of the telephone
and its implications for archival thinking about the digital revolution.
Journal of the Society of Archivist, 32(1), 79-92.
doi:10.1080/00379816.2011.563105.
In 1876, the telephone was invented. In its day, this technological breakthrough revolutionized long-distance communications, causing a huge shift in the way in which many transactions took orally took place. Valerie Johnson explores the history of the telephone as an up-and-coming technology in the late nineteenth century as it related to the retention of records, comparing it with the possible loss of data in our present digital age. The way we communicated through telegraph resulted in a paper transmission that could then be maintained. Johnson conjoins this to our digital age by acknowledging that various data was lost when the telephone was invented and with the increase of digital technology. There are some pros and cons to this as well, however, Johnsons argues that the pros exceeds the cons, and suggests we cultivate and familiarize ourselves with the tools that are accessible to us.
Arguably, this is a great article that goes against the view of people unacceptable to technology, while this piece points out communication before internet and sheds light to anticipated negatives about the telephone in the past. For instance, Privacy was a major concern. As is the case with the Internet, the telephone worked to improve privacy while at the same time leaving people open to invasions of their privacy. In the beginning days of the telephone, people would often have to journey to the local general store or some other central point to be able to make and receive calls. Most homes weren't wired together, and eavesdroppers could hear you conduct your personal business as you used a public phone. Yet, the invention of the telephone also worked to increase privacy in many ways. It allowed people to exchange information without having to put it in writing, and a call on the phone came to replace such intrusions on domestic seclusion as unexpected visits from relatives or neighbors and the door-to-door salesmen. The same could be said for the Internet privacy has been enhanced in some ways because e-mail and instant messaging have reduced the frequency of the interruptions previously dished out by our telephones. So, this is almost swaying my argument about negative effects on technology redefining human connection, just as the telephone was a new way to communicate, so is social media.
Kruger, J., Epley, N., Parker, J., & Ng, Z. (2005). Egocentrism over e-mail:
Can we communicate as well as we think? Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 89(6), 925-936.
A team of Professors in Behavioral Science in Psychology seek to explore how the absence of verbal cues (body language, gestures, tonal fluctuations, emphasis, etc.) affects our interpretation of tone and emotion when communicating over e-mail. This article explores five difference experiments, complete with method and the results, lending to the credibility of this source. The results of these experiments show that we often believe we can communicate far more effectively via e-mail than we actually can. This article supports my argument that we often misinterpret the tone and meaning in online text-based communication. It shows evidence that we have difficulty detaching ourselves from our own perspective to evaluate the perspective of another person when communicating online. This supports my argument that online communication is having an impact on our emotional intelligence, and specifically on empathy.
What’s important here is given the growing popularity of e-mail and the fact that successful
communication depends partly on the ability to anticipate miscommunication. This article serves as more support toward why we need face-to-face communication instead of relying on text messages, instant messages, Facebook posts and more importantly email. If comprehending human communication consisted merely of translating sentences and syntax into thoughts and ideas, there
would be no room for misunderstanding. But it does not, and so there is. People convey meaning not only with what they say, but also with how they say it and the body language also give off clues. Overall, this research shows that once a statement is interpreted as, say, sarcastic, it may be difficult to “hear” the statement any other way, leading people to believe they understood their partner’s communication better than they actually did.
Pea, R., Nass, C., Meheula, L., Rance, M., Kumar, A., Bamford, H., &
Zhou, M. (2012). Media use,face-to-face communication, media
multitasking, and social well-being among 8- to 12-year-old girls.
Developmental Psychology, 48(2), 327-336.
Using data collected from over 3,400 girls, examining levels of video usage, video gaming, video chatting, texting, messaging, emailing, social networking, music listening, and time spent engaged in homework and reading. Roy Pea, a seasoned Professor of Learning Sciences at the School of Education at Stanford University, wanted to find out exactly how the use of media channels in general, and how multitasking between such channels in particular, affected the social well-being of young girls. He was specifically interested in determining if false relationships online or over texting and video chatting were stronger and more intimate than those developed through face-to-face communication. Pea also looked at rejection coping, positive and negative affect and hours spent using media in relation to total sleeping hours per day, this study examined those oversights in a large-scale survey using data collected from over 3,400 girls. He also noticed that nearly all of the in-person encounters resulted in an increase in positive emotional well-being and social functioning.
This is another report that could be a potential answer to Gonzales and Hancock examining the effects that communication technologies have on individual identity, social support, and well-being. On social networks, people are reduced to their profiles. We can pick and choose which photos we share and craftily edit our words to ensure we convey the image we want others to see. Yet, it also provides the illusion of friendship that, in real life, may be shallow, superficial and unable to stand the demands, and pressures genuine friendships entail. With that being said, this is more of a reason to start practicing more face-to-face communication.
Tucker, P. (2007). The over-mediated world. Washington: World Future
Society 41(1), 12.
Michael Bugeja, director of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University, wrote a book in 2005 called, Interpersonal Divide: The Search for Community in the Technological Age. In that book, Bugeja depicts what happens when the stresses of the real-world conflict with the virtual world, leading to too many people giving too much attention to devices and ignoring reality. Author of the article The Over-Mediated World, and Director of Communications, Patrick Tucker observes Michael Bugeja’s book. He attempts to answer the question of whether or not our constant connectedness is making society more or less knowledgeable. People are more likely to communicate through social networks, consequently leading them to ignore the people in their immediate environment. The main focus is on the media, the problems and abuses of inter-connectedness, what this means for higher education, and the effect of technology on human value systems and communication. He speaks on the availability of media such as television, computers, radio and MP3 players cause people to have less time for nurturing primary relationships.
In support of my argument Patrick agrees that communications systems alter value systems. We’re spending more time communicating via social networks, ignoring those in our immediate environment. Patrick makes a point to the common sight of parents driving and talking on their cell phones while their kids sit in the backseat and watch a DVD. We’ve gone from family time to quality time to media time, or defining activities around media. This can circle back to the negative effects on technology redefining human connection.
Turkle, S. (2011). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology
and less from each other. New York: Basic Books.
Between smart phones in our pockets and lively social networks on our computers, we are more connected than ever before. But this technological connection is damaging to our interpersonal connections we develop in face-to-face or voice-to-voice contact, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Science Professor Sherry Turkle’s perspective in her book, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. She shares valuable information with 15 years of research and hundreds of interviews with children and adults. This book observes how devices are changing the way parents relate to their children, how friends act together, and why both young and old keep their devices in-hand all the time, even when they go to sleep. Under all this communication lies a deep human need for quietness, seclusion, and affection. She explains how texting, email, posting, all of these things let us present the self as we want to be. Turkle believes it is possible to be in constant digital communication and yet still feel alone.
The value of this book for me lies within the teenage interaction with technology, which is written about much later. Turkle also picks up on the almost silly fears teens have about face-to-face contact, including making a phone call. It’s shocking how nervous kids get when they have to talk to an adult or conduct an interview, but technology is ultimately to blame. We all know we spend an extensive amount of time on our phones and computers. But at what cost? Turkle doesn’t really answer any questions about how we will ultimately be affected by this new lifestyle and I think that’s the central question.
Knowledge Management I
29 October 2014
Are Devices and Social Media Redefining Human Connection? : Annotated Bibliography
Gonzales, A. L., & Hancock, J. T. (2008). Identity shift in computer-
mediated environments. Media Psychology, 11(2), 167-185.
doi:10.1080/15213260802023433.
With the rise of computer-mediated forms of self-presentation, an important question to consider is whether mediated self-presentations can similarly shape our identities. The Department of Telecommunications, Assistant Professor, Amy Gonzales collaborates with Jeffery Hancock in examining the effects that communication technologies have on individual identity, social support, and well-being. They do this by comparing the effects of private versus public computer-mediated self-presentations on self-concepts of Forty-four female and 32 male participants who were from introductory communication courses. Given the textual nature of computer-mediated self-presentations, Gonzales and Hancock use computerized verbal analysis to explore the conditional differences in private and public online self-presentations to understand the verbal features associated with public commitment. This article also examines online self-presentations and how they tend to portray strategies of exaggeration and competence, suggesting that individuals want to help social relationships while trying to impress others. The data and analysis in this article suggest that online self-presentation has the power to change our identities thus, people turn to the Internet to express their interests, confess personal histories, or present themselves to future romantic partners, the end result may contain slight shifts in self-perceptions of identity that may in turn influence future social interaction.
This article is an explanation to Turkle’s question when she asks, “Why do we crave social connectedness.” It digs deep when explains how texting, email, posting, all of these things let us present the self as we want to be. There is also a connection with Patrick Tucker when he discusses what happens when the stresses of the real-world conflict with the virtual world, leading to too many people giving too much attention to devices and ignoring reality. This is particularly relevant for investigations of mediated self-presentation, as hints to mediated publicness may be less likely than in face-to-face situations.
Grieve, R., Indian, M., Witteveen, K., Anne Tolan, G., & Marrington, J.
(2013).Face-to-face or facebook: Can social connectedness be derived
online?.Computers in human behavior, 29(3), 604-609.
This team of Australian psychologist is involved in a research program examining risk and protective factors in depression and anxiety; in 2012 they have continued to investigate cognitive and emotional processes related to mental health. They consider how people interact on-line (for example, using social networking sites), taking into account their personality, emotional processing styles, memory and social skills, and try to determine how this relates to their mental and social well-being.
The huge growth of the Internet, and especially social network sites like Facebook, has resulted in large amounts of research trying to decide whether or not ‘being online’ is good for us. Face-to-Face or Facebook: Can Social Connectedness Be Derived Online? provide information that explore social connectedness resulting from the use of Facebook. They revealed that by limiting Facebook use may present the chance to develop and maintain social connectedness in the online environment. In addition, limited Facebook connectedness relates to lower depression and anxiety and greater satisfaction with life. In general, Facebook may act as an additional way in which to develop and maintain relationships, providing a temporary social channel associated with a variety of positive psychological outcomes.
Although technology may make social connectivity easier, this is central to my claim regarding limiting the use of social media which results in being able or having the time to communicate face-to-face. Conversely, the issue at hand is the quality of human conversation and connection after social media use, this does not lend this type of information, but it does gives insight on the emotional state people go through in relation to intricacy of feeling.
Hampton, K.N., Sessions, L.F., Her, E.J.,& Rainie, L.(2009). Social
isolation and new technology. Pew Internet & American Life Project:
Washington.
The authors in this Pew report consults with Sociologists Miller Mcpherson, Lynn Smith-Lovin and Matthew Brashears include new bits of knowledge to conversations about the measure of social isolation in America. The focus of this research is the relationship between new information and communication technologies, social networks, democratic engagement, and the urban environment. Hampton, Sessions, Her, and Rainie observe the role of the internet and cell phones in the way that people interact with those in their core social network. The rise of web and cellular phones was revealed as one of the motives that pulls individuals away from face-to-face social settings. This research was conducted using a statistical technique called regression analysis, which allows them to examine the relationship between technology use and network size while holding constant supplementary factors such as education, age or gender.
This report points out some additional aspects of study such as demography which may play a significant role in the effect of engaging in digital worlds in initially. Similar to the way Turkle states,” Although we are lonely, we are also scared of closeness,” this article could possibly explain why we are digitally divided. For instance, some people who are older that are not used to technology such as computers, mobile phones etc. might don’t spend time on social networks that consume their human connectedness which is probably the reason why they are wise and able to give us so much advice on life experiences. On our mobile devices, we often talk to each other on the move and with little disposable time, so little, in fact, that we communicate in a new language of abbreviation in which letters stand for words and emoticons for feelings. It appeals to our vulnerability and self-importance.
This supports the main purpose of my research paper concerning people having problems with relating to themselves, others, and their ability to experience and understand the human fundamental nature, purpose, and essence. This report could be a potential answer to Gonzales and Hancock examining the effects that communication technologies have on individual identity, social support, and well-being.
Johnson, V. (2011). Plus ca change…? The salutary tale of the telephone
and its implications for archival thinking about the digital revolution.
Journal of the Society of Archivist, 32(1), 79-92.
doi:10.1080/00379816.2011.563105.
In 1876, the telephone was invented. In its day, this technological breakthrough revolutionized long-distance communications, causing a huge shift in the way in which many transactions took orally took place. Valerie Johnson explores the history of the telephone as an up-and-coming technology in the late nineteenth century as it related to the retention of records, comparing it with the possible loss of data in our present digital age. The way we communicated through telegraph resulted in a paper transmission that could then be maintained. Johnson conjoins this to our digital age by acknowledging that various data was lost when the telephone was invented and with the increase of digital technology. There are some pros and cons to this as well, however, Johnsons argues that the pros exceeds the cons, and suggests we cultivate and familiarize ourselves with the tools that are accessible to us.
Arguably, this is a great article that goes against the view of people unacceptable to technology, while this piece points out communication before internet and sheds light to anticipated negatives about the telephone in the past. For instance, Privacy was a major concern. As is the case with the Internet, the telephone worked to improve privacy while at the same time leaving people open to invasions of their privacy. In the beginning days of the telephone, people would often have to journey to the local general store or some other central point to be able to make and receive calls. Most homes weren't wired together, and eavesdroppers could hear you conduct your personal business as you used a public phone. Yet, the invention of the telephone also worked to increase privacy in many ways. It allowed people to exchange information without having to put it in writing, and a call on the phone came to replace such intrusions on domestic seclusion as unexpected visits from relatives or neighbors and the door-to-door salesmen. The same could be said for the Internet privacy has been enhanced in some ways because e-mail and instant messaging have reduced the frequency of the interruptions previously dished out by our telephones. So, this is almost swaying my argument about negative effects on technology redefining human connection, just as the telephone was a new way to communicate, so is social media.
Kruger, J., Epley, N., Parker, J., & Ng, Z. (2005). Egocentrism over e-mail:
Can we communicate as well as we think? Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 89(6), 925-936.
A team of Professors in Behavioral Science in Psychology seek to explore how the absence of verbal cues (body language, gestures, tonal fluctuations, emphasis, etc.) affects our interpretation of tone and emotion when communicating over e-mail. This article explores five difference experiments, complete with method and the results, lending to the credibility of this source. The results of these experiments show that we often believe we can communicate far more effectively via e-mail than we actually can. This article supports my argument that we often misinterpret the tone and meaning in online text-based communication. It shows evidence that we have difficulty detaching ourselves from our own perspective to evaluate the perspective of another person when communicating online. This supports my argument that online communication is having an impact on our emotional intelligence, and specifically on empathy.
What’s important here is given the growing popularity of e-mail and the fact that successful
communication depends partly on the ability to anticipate miscommunication. This article serves as more support toward why we need face-to-face communication instead of relying on text messages, instant messages, Facebook posts and more importantly email. If comprehending human communication consisted merely of translating sentences and syntax into thoughts and ideas, there
would be no room for misunderstanding. But it does not, and so there is. People convey meaning not only with what they say, but also with how they say it and the body language also give off clues. Overall, this research shows that once a statement is interpreted as, say, sarcastic, it may be difficult to “hear” the statement any other way, leading people to believe they understood their partner’s communication better than they actually did.
Pea, R., Nass, C., Meheula, L., Rance, M., Kumar, A., Bamford, H., &
Zhou, M. (2012). Media use,face-to-face communication, media
multitasking, and social well-being among 8- to 12-year-old girls.
Developmental Psychology, 48(2), 327-336.
Using data collected from over 3,400 girls, examining levels of video usage, video gaming, video chatting, texting, messaging, emailing, social networking, music listening, and time spent engaged in homework and reading. Roy Pea, a seasoned Professor of Learning Sciences at the School of Education at Stanford University, wanted to find out exactly how the use of media channels in general, and how multitasking between such channels in particular, affected the social well-being of young girls. He was specifically interested in determining if false relationships online or over texting and video chatting were stronger and more intimate than those developed through face-to-face communication. Pea also looked at rejection coping, positive and negative affect and hours spent using media in relation to total sleeping hours per day, this study examined those oversights in a large-scale survey using data collected from over 3,400 girls. He also noticed that nearly all of the in-person encounters resulted in an increase in positive emotional well-being and social functioning.
This is another report that could be a potential answer to Gonzales and Hancock examining the effects that communication technologies have on individual identity, social support, and well-being. On social networks, people are reduced to their profiles. We can pick and choose which photos we share and craftily edit our words to ensure we convey the image we want others to see. Yet, it also provides the illusion of friendship that, in real life, may be shallow, superficial and unable to stand the demands, and pressures genuine friendships entail. With that being said, this is more of a reason to start practicing more face-to-face communication.
Tucker, P. (2007). The over-mediated world. Washington: World Future
Society 41(1), 12.
Michael Bugeja, director of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University, wrote a book in 2005 called, Interpersonal Divide: The Search for Community in the Technological Age. In that book, Bugeja depicts what happens when the stresses of the real-world conflict with the virtual world, leading to too many people giving too much attention to devices and ignoring reality. Author of the article The Over-Mediated World, and Director of Communications, Patrick Tucker observes Michael Bugeja’s book. He attempts to answer the question of whether or not our constant connectedness is making society more or less knowledgeable. People are more likely to communicate through social networks, consequently leading them to ignore the people in their immediate environment. The main focus is on the media, the problems and abuses of inter-connectedness, what this means for higher education, and the effect of technology on human value systems and communication. He speaks on the availability of media such as television, computers, radio and MP3 players cause people to have less time for nurturing primary relationships.
In support of my argument Patrick agrees that communications systems alter value systems. We’re spending more time communicating via social networks, ignoring those in our immediate environment. Patrick makes a point to the common sight of parents driving and talking on their cell phones while their kids sit in the backseat and watch a DVD. We’ve gone from family time to quality time to media time, or defining activities around media. This can circle back to the negative effects on technology redefining human connection.
Turkle, S. (2011). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology
and less from each other. New York: Basic Books.
Between smart phones in our pockets and lively social networks on our computers, we are more connected than ever before. But this technological connection is damaging to our interpersonal connections we develop in face-to-face or voice-to-voice contact, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Science Professor Sherry Turkle’s perspective in her book, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. She shares valuable information with 15 years of research and hundreds of interviews with children and adults. This book observes how devices are changing the way parents relate to their children, how friends act together, and why both young and old keep their devices in-hand all the time, even when they go to sleep. Under all this communication lies a deep human need for quietness, seclusion, and affection. She explains how texting, email, posting, all of these things let us present the self as we want to be. Turkle believes it is possible to be in constant digital communication and yet still feel alone.
The value of this book for me lies within the teenage interaction with technology, which is written about much later. Turkle also picks up on the almost silly fears teens have about face-to-face contact, including making a phone call. It’s shocking how nervous kids get when they have to talk to an adult or conduct an interview, but technology is ultimately to blame. We all know we spend an extensive amount of time on our phones and computers. But at what cost? Turkle doesn’t really answer any questions about how we will ultimately be affected by this new lifestyle and I think that’s the central question.