Week 14 Question 3

The concept that interests me in chapter 11 is gatekeepers, “select the issues they feel are most worthy of coverage and give these issues wide attention. Receivers accept the gatekeepers’ agendas without realizing that, somewhere along the line, an editor or producer is making choices about what to cover and what to ignore” (p. 304). This concept makes me thinking about how the Chinese government always presses any news or information that are coming from Tibet. Just recently, there was a huge earthquake happened in the Tibet area but surprising we didn’t hear or see that many news coverage on this incident. Compare with the earthquake happened two years ago in SiChuan, we saw that was the major headline in every newspaper and television. Because of the political stands between China and Tibet, Chinese government is gate keeping any information that are coming out of Tibet and isolating the community.

Week 14 Question 2

I agree with Marshall McLuhan that medium is the message. The way he expresses is that “the beliefs that the channel through which a message is transmitted is as important as the message itself and that the channel, in fact, often determines which messages will be transmitted and which will be ignored”(p. 307). I agree with this concept because it is just like the basic communication concept that when you deliver a message, the message is not the only thing that matter. Things like the content of the message, how you deliver it, in what way you are delivering it and when you are delivering it. However, I can’t fully understand his idea on television being a cool medium because I feel like it really depends on what kind of television program you are watching. The way he refers cool medium as “it demands that viewers fill in detail”(p. 307). Compare with radio, we don’t need to concentrate that much in television because “television encourages sensory involvement”(p.307).

Week 14 Question 1

I have never make friendships that exist exclusively in cyberspace. And I do not plan on moving towards that direction. I think I am still very traditional when it comes to friends because I think relationship made based only on Internet is not safe and legit. We all know stories about people made up identity about who they are on the Internet and being manipulative in cyberspace. And I also think relationships based on Internet cannot be real like face-to-face relationship. There are a lot of elements that you can’t observe through Internet for example nonverbal cues like facial expression and eye contact. These are the things I rely on the most when I am observing people are whether being truthful or not. On the other hand, cyberspace relationship is too dangerous and as a girl, I don’t want to put myself in a vulnerable position. When it comes to making a relationship, I still prefer the old traditional way.

Week 12 Question 3

The concept that interests in me is self-disclosure, “when one person voluntarily tells another person things about himself which the other is unlikely to know or discover from other sources” (Trenholm, 2008, p. 160). I like this concept because I have a bad habit of disclosing too much information about myself to the people I just know. Because I always believe the best in people. If I’m lucky, the person will respect my self-disclosure and I will feel relive to get something off of my chest. However, I have experience that people use the information I told to against me. I think people should be grateful that others want to disclose themselves to you because that means they value you and your personality. “When we self-disclose, we share with another our past experience, present feelings, basic values, and hopes and fears” (p.161). And I think it takes a lot of courage to disclose that kind of information.

Week 12 Question 2

When eliminating people from consideration as potential romantic partners, there are always few characteristics or behaviors lead me to judge others as unattractive. First is whether or not they are close with their parents or family, because I think that says a lot about a guy whether or not he is a family person. Second, is if they care about their future or not, because honestly as a girl, I just want security in life and if they don’t even care about their future then I don’t think I can have a future with them. Third, is that I want a sincere person so liar is a big fat NO. Duck’s theory make sense to me the part about cognitive cues because I believe that if two people want to be together for a long time values and beliefs are important, “In the long run, the extent to which values are shared and attitudes and beliefs are similar is a more important determinant of friendship than is physical appearance”(Trenholm, 2008, p. 160). Yes, I have eliminated someone by using a sociological or pre0interaction cue only to reconsider them based on interaction and cognitive cues later. When I met a good friend of mine in Asia, I didn’t think we could carry on this friendship even though I really like her, because we live so far apart. However, later I found out we share so much common interests and beliefs we started talking a lot online and on the phone. And the good news is, I will be moving back to Asia after summer and we can finally hang out like real friends.

Week 12 Question 1

I think the most difficult to change is the competitive symmetry pattern. When people are competitive in nature, it is very hard for them to admit they are the submissive one and in a relationship like this, they just keep competing. Competitive symmetry defined as “both members fight for the one-up position”(Trenholm, 2008, p. 148). Basically, I think it is never ending cycle and sometimes it can be “encouraging or stressful”(p.148). The most damaging to a relationship is the submissive symmetry pattern, “both parties struggle to relinquish control” (p.148). Because I think if either of the members are going to make a decision, there could be more problems and eventually will lead to arguments. The most potentially damaging to the self-esteem is the complementary pattern, “one partner takes the one-up position and the other takes the one-down” (p.148). The partner who takes the one-down position might feel being control all the time and sometimes it leads to more problems. For example, “The parent controls the child, making most of the decisions and exerting most of the influence. For the most part, the child complies, although occasional temper tantrums show the child’s dissatisfaction with the one-down role”(p.148).