Lecture 3: social media affordances

Question 1

how humans relate to media vs. how media shape human behaviors

Answer 1

how humans relate to media:

• when a medium is introduced into a society, humans are shaped cognitively by that new medium
• the older function of the human is ‘amputated’ and now it serves to function by interacting with the medium

how media shape human behaviors:

• new media aren’t ways of relating to us the ‘real’ world: they are the real world
• all the new media are art forms which have the power of imposing, like poetry, their own assumptions

Question 2

Medium theory by McLuhan

Answer 2

focused on the effect of the media technology itself, rather than the effect of the content within the media
- it’s the media technologies and the cultural environment that lead to change

Question 3

global village

Answer 3

shortened the distances between people in different parts of the world, all over the globe and are a reference to the new media

Question 4

Diffusion of innovations

Answer 4

1. relative advantage of the innovation over earlier technologies
2. compatibility with other technologies
3. simplicity or ease of learning
4. ability to observe others using technology
5. ability to test out the technology on a trial basis

Question 5

definition affordance

Answer 5

perception of an object’s utility. This is based on the idea that individuals perceive objects not for what they are, but rather for the uses it affords (remember the 3 red doors)

• people don’t interact with an object prior to or without perceiving what the object is good for
• physical features of an object exist apart from the people who use them. Yet it is the user who give meaning to such physical features
• a quality of an objects/environment which allows an individual to perform an action

Question 6

Affordances are dependent on an actors’s:

Answer 6

• physicial capabilities
• goals
• plans
• values
• beliefs
• past experiences

Question 7

Affordances of computer-mediated communication

Answer 7

1. editability (communication is asynchronous)
2. unlimited time
3. physical isolation (sender of a message can be separate from receiver)
4. reallocation of cognitive resources (no need for non-verbal interaction)

Question 8

uses and gratifications theory

Answer 8

Individuals will seek out media among competitors that fulfills their needs and leads to ultimate gratifications
- it sees media beyond its affordances and rather in terms of what needs are satisfied