Mediated Communication and Your Online Business
Many of the reasons for studying interpersonal forms of communication are also relevant to the study of mediated communication. Perhaps the most important reason is the by understanding the process of mediated communication, you will learn to think critically about the messages the media send us. You will become a more thoughtful media consumer. As a consumer of the media and as a citizen of a world in which technology seems to be bringing people closer together, your responsibility is to understand how the media function of mediated communication, you can begin to recognize the significance of the media and the role they play in shaping your understanding of the world.Beyond becoming a critical consumer of mediated messages, we also produce mediated communication. Sending an e-mail message, creating a web page, and posting to an online chat room or discussion board are all examples of mediated communication. For decades textbooks used in introductory communication courses have treated mediated communication as something we listen to, watch, or read all messages produced by other people. The Internet has forced all of us to change our assumptions about mediated communication. Today all of us have the potential simultaneously to be consumers and producers of mediated messages. Thus a second reason to study mediated communication is to become a more thoughtful producer of mediated messages.
So what is Mediated Communication? Mediated communication is more than just radio, television, and newspapers. Mediated communication is the use of electronic messages to create meaning. Within mediated communication we make the distinction between mass communication and computer-mediated communication.
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