Social media relation to communication theory

In the 21st century, social media has changed the shape and form of communication around the world. Scheufele (2013) defines social media as “a collective of online communications channels dedicated to community-based input, interaction, content-sharing and collaboration.” Social media has redefined how the “e-relationship” develops and perpetuated. The mode of communication is not relevant, whether the message is transmitted electronically through social media or the message is written from the cave. The primary system still has not changed. The message has been encoded, sent, decoded, and returned (Brown et al., 2014). It is known that social media has not changed communication theory or introduce a different facet. Communication theories take into account structural and functional structures that are defined by cognitive, objective and psychological behaviors. Brown et al. (2014) indicates that, “The theory behind communications is that it is a two-way activity, with a flow between two or more parties or people.” However, it has returned people to a part of communication theory that was forgotten about. Social media has helped create, reinforce, and enhance rituals of our communities, defining who we are with immediacy that cultural methods can match (Lin & Lu, 2011). For example, that family event photo that had to be sent through email can now be posted on social media.

Many people have despised social media as a communication breaker from the real world. Scheufele (2013) posit that communication through social media has impacts on families across the world and therefore it has both negative as well as positive effects to individuals. There could be some truth in it since there is no need to meet face to face for a conversation or try to make a new friend. However, social media is not replacing face to face socialization instead it is making it stronger. It is facilitating human interaction as people can communicate the way that they could not. It also spices up their private life; people communicate more frequently (Scheufele, 2013).

Making an update through social media has rules and policies that one need to follow. Being an instant form of communication channel, social media plays a vital role and helps individuals as well as businesses to convey given message effectively and conveniently. Lin & Lu (2011) posit that the behaviors of people during communication at work can be measured using introductory communications theories.  Scheufele (2013) posit, “introductory communication theories are associated with human behaviors and societies and it is difficult to think of social or behavioral events from which communication is absent and therefore the communication applies to shared behaviors and properties of any collection of things, whether they are human or not.” Communication mistakes can therefore be avoided if an individual as well as entities takes into account common communication patterns that oversees and correct any arising mistakes.

Social media has become an important tool of the traditional communication theory. It plays a positive role on the theory but we do harm by not accepting its significance on the theory. Despite the dangers that arise from social media we need to learn and understand the benefits of the social media as well as its dangers. Social media can be used to accomplish and enhance the rituals of our families and the society in general (Brown et al., 2014).

Generally, it is easier to focus on the negatives of social media. However, we should not lament the teaching techniques but rather enjoy the insight it offers and the benefits it provides. Social media has not changed communication theory or introduce a different facet but has returned people to a part of communication theory that was forgotten about. The basic channel of transforming message has not changed the keyboard is used for decoding; the screen is the channel, we the sender, and the receiver who is worrying about the correct feedback. The facial expressions are now replaced by emoticons and acronyms. Therefore, the social media has changed the view of communication but retained the culture of the theory of communication.

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Annotated Bibliography

• Brown, J., Broderick, A. J., & Lee, N. (2014). Word of mouth communication within online communities: Conceptualizing the online social network. Journal of interactive marketing, 21(3), 2-20.

The title of the article is Word of mouth communication within online communities: Conceptualizing the online social network. Published by Elsevier publisher, the journal is an interactive marketing book with 20 pages and entitled volume 21, number 3.The authors are Brown Jo and Broderick Amanda J and Lee Nick. The article is relevant to the paper since it provides ideas on how social media is used to communicate in the today’s world. It has information on the forms of communication channels and basically conceptualizing how social network is an interactive tool for online communication.

• Lin, K. Y., & Lu, H. P. (2011). Why people use social networking sites: An empirical study integrating network externalities and motivation theory. Computers in human behavior, 27(3), 1152-1161.

The article title is Why People Use Social Networking Sites: An Empirical Study Integrating Network Externalities And Motivation Theory. Published by Elsevier and written by Lin Kuan-Yu and Lu His-Peng, the journal touches the aspect of computers in human behaviors with 1152-1161 page numbers and entitled volume 27, number 3. The relevance of the article to the paper is that it provides critical information about the people’s approach towards using social media. It has real life examples and research discussion on how people use social networking sites and how institutions has taken social media as a platform for motivation and externalities network integration.

• Scheufele, D. A. (2013). Framing as a theory of media effects. Journal of communication, 49(1), 103-122.

The title is Framing As A Theory Of Media Effects written by Scheufele Dietram and published by Wiley Online Library with 103-122 page numbers, entitled volume 49, and number1. It is a journal of communication. The purpose of this reference to the paper is that the article has provided a critical idea of how social media has affected the theories of communication today. It also frame and give research findings on how social media and communication theories works hand in hand giving a framework that Social media has not changed communication theory or introduce a different facet but has returned people to a part of communication theory that was forgotten about.

In other words, texting, Facebook-status updates, and Twitter conversations makes face to face socialization stronger rather than displacing it. Many researches indicate that social media enhance and promote connectivity among people, hence making conversation easy and accessible. In addition, social media has enhanced the life of many families by promoting frequent know-how and making family members always stay in touch to solve any family complexity that impacts families within the society.