Blog #3

In class, we discussed how the Reduced Social Cues Model ties into the “cues filtered out” approach. This model was demonstrated with group dynamics online and I was able to relate it to a personal experience I had in high school.

I was apart of the cheerleading team during all four years of high school. Our team was extremely close and very talented. We were ten-year-conference champions and had everything going for us. That is, everything but the management of our group processes.

Every Sunday night at 7PM, our team had a “meeting” on our Facebook page. The meetings entailed practice changes, philanthropic opportunities, football/basketball game information, and more. The discussions were never properly controlled and ultimately wouldn’t end with much depth to them. The interactions were difficult to manage, conversations were task-focused, behavior wasn’t enforced, and the decisions we made were more extreme.

To begin with, the way we interacted with each other was the biggest issue. None of us were able to keep a synchronous conversation going because of the lack of nonverbal cues. People would talk over each other, which made it close to impossible to stick with one topic. I felt like everyone’s attention span was that of a fish.

Another issue our team ran into with the online meetings were that they were task-focused. While we did complete what needed to be done, the messages being sent were impersonal. Individual inputs weren’t praised or discussed in depth. For example, if our coach asked us for fundraiser ideas we would all just post different creative ideas that would only be “considered.” Instead, we should have met in person to present our fundraiser ideas so that each one of us could hear feedback and bond through that experience. Doing things like this online just got the job done without keeping the relationships in mind.

Our team was also less likely to behave with the online meetings. The lack of social pressure resulted in team members skipping meetings. For many of them, they just never participated in the discussions. If our meetings were online then it would have forced members to be present and prompt to each discussion/meeting.

The last issue we ran into was the decision making. The saying “it’s easier said than done,” ties in perfectly with this example. Our coach would plan trips that were outlandishly expensive and far-fetched. None of us ever opposed because once it was posted, we felt that it was final. Every decision that was made wasn’t always doable. For example, our coach wanted us to decorate the football player’s lockers during finals week. The preparation and time it took to decorate lockers just wasn’t realistic during finals. Our coach did not take into consideration our feelings on the matter and went ahead with the decoration plans. If this decision had taken place in person, it would not have happened.

My high school cheerleading team’s online meetings related to the Reduced Social Cues Model perfectly. Our conversations were difficult to manage, everything was task-focused, the behavior wasn’t enforced, and extreme decisions were made. Until this class discussion, I never thought too much about the difficulties of group dynamics online. Face to face is much more efficient and works out better for the group as a whole.