Blog 1

           Recently in lecture we have been discussing the uses and gratifications of computer mediated communications and up until this time I never fully comprehended that there are assumptions about our use of communication. When I check my twitter or respond to a text it never crosses my mind that I’m actually applying concepts like social utility or content management. To me I think I’m simply going about my normal day and assuming that I’m using the Internet just as much as the average American, which is 3 hours a day.

In reality, it finally dawned on my yesterday that I am a ritualized user of social media. A ritualized user of media is a person that is frequently on or checking social media and uses it as a diversion. An example that illustrates that I am a ritualized user is just this past month my IPhone 5 stopped working and I went into panic mode because I felt completely disconnected from the outside world. I had no clue what was going on in my group message with my friends and I was missing what was being tweeted on my timeline. Looking back now I realize now how ridiculous I must have looked to my family that watched me go into a mini anxiety attack.

My generation has placed such an emphasis on social media that we have forgotten the basic principles of communication. I could have called my friends on my house phone or even better got some exercise and rode a bike to one of their houses. It is actually a relief that I learned about the different uses of media because it allows me to take a step back and realize I don’t need to be a ritualized user. The young generation already places to high of a need to be constantly checking social media that I’d rather make a positive change and dial back my use of social media.

            In lecture this past week, we also talked about different gratifications of computer-mediated communication and defined some of the most common ones. More specifically we identified one of them as social presence and social presence is maintaining relationships and connections with someone without meeting them or seeing them. Social presence is most often applied when people are using a dating site or some other form of a chat room. In my experience, social presence connected to my life when I was looking for a roommate in the summer going into my freshman year. I used Facebook to send out a message that I was looking for a roommate and eventually I began connecting with other freshman that I had never met or seen before. When I finally met the guy I was going to live with we used Facebook messaging to stay in touch throughout the summer and get to know each other. Social presence is overall a positive gratification because relationships are important to build whether they are face to face or over the Internet. However, there is always a danger factor that goes into applying social presence because people aren’t always who they say they are. Maintaining relationships online will continually be tricky in some circumstances, but a large percentage will be a positive and rewarding experience.