| Online Communication provides an introduction to both the technologies of the Internet Age and their social implications. This innovative and timely textbook brings together current work in communication, political science, philosophy, popular culture, history, economics, and the humanities to present an examination of the theoretical and critical issues in the study of computer-mediated communication.
Continuing the model of the best-selling first edition, authors Andrew F. Wood and Matthew J. Smith introduce computer-mediated communication (CMC) as a subject of academic research as well as a lens through which to examine contemporary trends in society. This second edition of Online Communication covers online identity, mediated relationships, virtual communities, electronic commerce, the digital divide, spaces of resistance, and other topics related to CMC. The text also examines how the Internet has affected contemporary culture and presents the critiques being made to those changes.
Special features of the text include:
- Hyperlinks--presenting greater detail on topics from the chapter
- Ethical Ethical Inquiry--posing questions on the nature of human communication and conduct online
- Online Communication and the Law--examining the legal ramifications of CMC issues
Advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers interested in the field of computer-mediated communication, as well as those studying issues of technology and culture, will find Online Communication to be an insightful resource for studying the role of technology and mediated communication in today's society.
Online Communication aims to help you conceptualize the human uses of the Internet by examining the emerging theories that offer explanations for what people are doing with this technology, socially and communicatively. Now, for some people, theory is a dirty word. It suggests lofty and vague treatises, far beyond the grasp of the average person. Theory, however, has gotten a bad rap. When explained with accessible language and concrete examples, as we have tried to do here, theory helps us to see how processes tend to function in a variety of occurrences rather than in just one case. The value to using theory when approaching the Internet is this: Understanding how communication processes function in general will allow you to apply them to recognizing specific instances of these occurrences in your own life. |
|
