Communication and Technology

With the sudden rise in the popularity of social media, smart phones and other technologies, it is more important than ever to study how new media is changing the way that people communicate. Technology has a profound effect on the way that we speak, write and even how we think, and by understanding how technology affects communication, we can see how interpersonal skills will change in the first half of the 21st century and how our culture will adapt to these changes. The articles in this category discuss new communication-based studies and research. We will consider rising trends in social media and offer insight to research to show how new media affects communication on both a macro and a micro scale.

New Tool Shows Youth Overexposure To Alcohol-Related Advertising

April 12, 2012 coms 0

A new online tool draws attention to how young people are exposed to radio ads for wine, beer and hard liquor. The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth developed the tool at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health by tracking and analyzing the consistency of alcohol-related ads in 75 radio markets in 2009.

Please Help: Take + Share the Communication Degree Survey

April 4, 2012 coms 1

Today is an exciting day! CommunicationStudies.com is proud to announce the launch of its first research project, the Communication Degree & Major Survey. If you are studying for a degree in communication, graduated with one, or are a communication professor, we would appreciate your help completing this survey.

What Makes Great Infographics Great

April 2, 2012 coms 0

Today’s culture is obsessed with data. We love approval ratings of presidents, how the public feels about prescription drugs, and the ratings of our favorite TV shows. So it’s no wonder that infographics have been all the rage online. But just like anything, there’s good and there’s bad infographics. Bad infographics don’t go viral. Great ones do. Here are some tips for creating and designing brilliant, wonderful, great infographics.

Dos and Don’ts of Twitter Credibility [Study]

March 25, 2012 coms 0

A new study from Carnegie Mellon took a look at how Twitter users determine whether or not a tweet is credible. They found that as people begin to rely more heavily upon search engines to locate relevant tweets from people they do not usually follow, they begin to be wary of trusting the content they encounter. The researchers culled their findings to come up with ways you can make your tweets more credible.

5 Tips for Communicating with a Robot

March 22, 2012 coms 0

Scientists say we are within a decade of creating personal robots capable of cleaning our homes, taking us on guided tours and caring for our grandparents in nursing facilities. However, computer scientists simply won’t be able to program every robot to do all the things we will want them to do. This means we’ll have to tell robots what do to and how to do it. How will we do that?

How to Tell If Someone Is Lying On Their Online Dating Profile

February 21, 2012 coms 1

Stories about perfect online dates who bear no resemblance to their online profiles have become fodder for television sitcom plots, late-night punch lines and, unfortunately, crime headlines. Whether these examples reflect the reality of the online dating world or simply the public’s anxieties and fears regarding online matchmaking, the truth remains that online daters can easily get away with lying about themselves for at least as long as it takes to get a foot in the door.

Don’t Use Facebook If You Have Low Self-Esteem [Study]

February 6, 2012 coms 2

Having a stable network of social connections helps to improve self-esteem. In reality, though, it may not work out that way. A new study conducted by Amanda Forest and Joanne Wood of the University of Waterloo found that people with low self-esteem tend to post too many negative updates, causing friends to see them as less likeable.