The Pros And Cons Of Media Communication

Until the nineteenth century, for most people actual experience was limited to events occurring within the “natural sensory envelope.”(Ruben & Stewart, p.181) I interviewed my father, Nabiuddin Azad, who is 56 years old now and has seen the development of cell phones, internet and many other forms of media communication as he was going through life. My father lived most of his life in India, a 3rd world county, so he experienced a slower growth in technology and forms of media communication than the people in the United States. He spent most of his life without cell phones or any other sort of media communication device. His answer to when he first started using a base phone was 2002 and 2010 was when he first started using a cell phone. For …show more content…
One of the issues raised in Chapter 7 in the textbook about mediated communication was Anonymity. “In some mediated communication situations, interactants often have no direct knowledge of one another.” (Ruben & Stewart, p.187) That is the anonymity summed up in a sentence. Talking to my dad he was telling me about how today he can just make a call to interview someone without meting them in person. He said phone interviews have their advantages and disadvantages. “It feels like you are talking to a stranger and its hard to gauge their real behavior over the phone, but sometimes the work demands phone interviews so that’s how it has to be,” said Mr. Azad. He later added, “But, it also gives me the advantage of not traveling somewhere or having the other person travel for an interview, which saves us both time and probably money as well.” He also mentioned emergency situations and how cell phones are so useful in those situations. Anonymity in emergency situation when …show more content…
“The decreased control, anonymity, and depersonalization that sometimes occur in a mediated communication situations can foster a sense of detachment, increased passivity, and a decreased sense of responsibility for directing the communication process and its outcomes.” (Ruben & Stewart, p. 188) Mr. Azad was talking about how it is easier to call at work and tell them you will be not be able to make it work due to some issue in the contemporary world, whereas back when he didn 't have a cell phone the next day he would have to explain why he could not make it work to his boss. Maybe calling is a easier way out because you do not have to face the person and explain why you could not make it to work. My dad it is relief to be able to call because then you do not have to visibly show you are sick. So, yes there is less accountability in mediated communication. “You do not feel the guilt of not going to work when you just make a call and do not have to explain face to face why you could not,” said Mr. Azad. In other words, you feel less responsible for the outcome. In other ways mediated communication also makes you more responsible and accountable. According to Mr. Azad, when my mom forgets to tell him something to buy from grocery store in person, she texts it to him or calls him and he is responsible to get all those things because he has the information. It