Response to Communication Discussion

I never actually payed attention to the fact that communication comes in different forms. I never really took the time to think about the fact that not all communication is between two individuals. There are three different categories of communication: mass, group, and individual. When I hear the word communication my immediate thought is that between individuals in relationships. In a way the only category, or form of communicating, that I have ever taken the time to appreciate and process is individual communication. This might reign true for others as well. However, our class discussion a few days ago made me realize that there is more to this process than I might have thought. Often things are more interesting, detailed, and complicated than we give them credit for.

I have never really thought about how mass communication (has the potential to reach a mass audience, message travels through time and space, and there is no immediate feedback) is a form of communication. For example, books are words written onto pages and we have the capability to pick them up and read the contents. In the past I did not see this as as form of communication, but I was wrong. This is a form of mass communication; although it has the ability to reach a mass audience, it is still the thoughts and ideas of an individual or individuals being conveyed to the public. In Mr. Miller's class I learned that communication is not always an individual conversation, but that there is more behind the concept.

-Guinn