Elements of interpersonal Communication and Mass Communication Compared. interpersonal communication free communicators to gamble, to experiment with different approaches. Their knowledge of one another enables them to tailor their messages as narrowly as they wish. As a result, interpersonal communication is often personally relevant and possibly even adventurous and challenging. In contrast, the distance between participants in the mass communication process, imposed by the technology, creates a sort of communication conservatism Feedback comes too late to enable corrections or alterations in communication that fails. The sheer number of people in many mass communication audiences makes personalization and specificity difficult. As a result, mass communication tends to be more constrained, less free. This does not mean, however, that it is less potent than interpersonal communication in shaping our understanding of ourselves and our world. Media theorist |ames W Carey (1975) recognized this and offered a cultural definition of communication that has had a profound impact on the way communication scientists and others have viewed the relationship between communication and culture. Carey wrote, Communication is a symbolic process whereby reality is produced, maintained, repaired and transformed (p. 10). Careys (1989) definition asserts that communication and reality are linked. Communication is a process embedded in our everyday lives that informs the way we perceive, understand, and construct our view of reality and the world. Communication is the foundation of our culture. Its truest prirpose is to maintain ever-evolving, fragile cultures; communication is that sacred ceremony that draws persons together in fellowship and commonality (p. +31. What Is Culture? Culture is the learned behavior of members of a given social group. Many writers and thinkers have offered interesting expansions of this definition. Here are four examples, all from anthropologists. These definitions highlight not only what culture ls but also what culture does: Culture is the learned, socially acquired traditions and lifestyles of the members of a society, including their patterned, repetitive ways of thinking, feeling, and acting. (Harris, 1983, p. 5) Culture lends significance to human experience by selecting from and organizing it. It refers broadly to the forms through which people make sense of their lives, rather than more narrowly to the opera or art of museums. (Rosaldo, t989, p. 26) Culture is the medium evolved by humans to survive. Nothing is free from cultural influences. It is the keystone in civilizations arch and is the medium through which all of lifes events must flow. We are culture. (Ha11, 1976, p. 14) Culture is an historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbolic forms by means of which [people] communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life. (Geertz, as cited in Tayloa 1991, p. 91) #ul&*nr* as #**tm,I3;r #*.m.stum#e*{e $hm,r*# &Iem,nai*pry Virtually all definitions of culture recognize that culture is learned. Recall the opening vignette. Even if this scenario does not exactly match your early mornings, you probably recognize its elements. Moreover, all of us are familiar with most, if not every, cultural reference in it. The Simpsons, Rolling Stone, McDonalds, Nlke, Dilbert-all are points of reference, things that have some meaning for all of us. How did this come to be? Creation and maintenance of a more or less common culture occurs through communication, including mass communication. When we talk to our friends; when a parent raises a child; when religious leaders instruct their followers; when teachers teach;
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 09:19:20 +0000
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