Chapter 1 CMC in PR, by Wright & Webb

In the initial chapter entry by Bryant Marmo and Ramirez deals with interpersonal and relational functions in regards to CMC and SNS systems. People wish to initiate specialized interactions through the use friendships through social media.  The strength of friendships can vary in the initiation phase, weak social ties exist without great bonding to others in the communication exchange. Levels of uncertainty exist also, people want opinions in general short term priorities, and not just for long term ventures. If relationships with others are on a higher level, individuals facets include trust, liking, and commitment are more prevalent in this stage known as relational maintenence.  Social media serves as a way to display pertinent relational status; people can view succinct knowledge of others activities, thus, minimal contact is needed to maintain a friendship. Asynchronous communication is merely needed to check up on others. If a relationship is broken reconnection or needed for re-establishment, social media can help through the hierarchy of friendships already maintained by others in immediate social groups. Others wish to create alternate identities in social media. However this role playing venture has social norms like honesty, confidentiality, and integrity have to be adhered to if participants know your true identity, or if you are seeking long term commitment from people. Initial impressions people seek are very important in the establishing of oneself in the online community. Trying to influence how others perceive you, or gaining the knowledge that your individual self is the product of continual social engineering. Information seeking is another component of social media, people can instantly gain knowledge about others without solicitation. Through the acts of active, passive, interactive and extractive procedures, individuals can gather initial impressions about others. Finally meta communications provide a complex process of situational and contextualization that determine appropriate specific cues. Non aligning statuses, such as relationship indicators between users and or audience can create disharmony.

Being in the art classroom for the past decade I see many of the similar personality interactions that his chapter outlines.  A related art or humanity as it is commonly known brings out social dynamic other classes do not.

1. Proximity, students feel a sense of connectedness to each other in a social group and harmony. Sharing supplies and thus ensuring fruition of product.

2. Belonging. A sense of unity in the structure of the class is accepted gradually, with students sometimes taking the role of mini facilitators in class.

3. Challenging norms. Norms are challenged by individuals who wish to change their identity or behavior radically in opposition to agreed upon principles.  Any radical departure from appearance contrary to known self is not an instant cohesive reaction by others in a classroom. The group dynamic is upset by total departure of normalcy or having to get use to blatant unknown nuances.

4. Defiance. Ill-tempered radical behavior towards the teacher, can enact sympathy or anger from other students in the classroom.  Students can shun the individual in question with silence or more outwardly question the actions of the culprit.

5. Departure. If a student announces they are moving or relocating to another school a general sympathy starts followed by understanding of the finality of the decision. However in this new digital age of CMC and SNS, students now say, “hey……..I will see you on Facebook”