My Anthropology Class

Hey guys, I have a friend who asked me about my Texting and Talking class, Anthropology 2320, and I loved it.  "Is mediated communication really changing the way we measure to one another? How do we evaluate the information we encounter in mediated and face to face spheres of interaction?"  These were the questions answered in my Anthropology Class.

 We read one article, #Ferguson: Digital Protest, Hashtag Ethnography, and the Racial Politics of Social Media in the United States by Yamira Bonilla and Jonathan Rosa, where we learned mediated communication is just as powerful as face to face communication, especially in racial instances where #BlackLivesMatter helped in bringing racial injustice to the forefront using Twitter.  Twitter is known for hashtags, which help as a search engine.  Whether funny or serious, hashtags can become conversation starters with your friends and family.

Texting is also a form of mediated communication.  In class, we discussed talking versus texting.  As many preferred to text, others opted for talking, agreeing face time was included in face to face communication.  I feel talking is better as it helps to get your thoughts across without any confusion in tone, as it seems to happen with mediated communication.  In the video, "A Surprising New Language," John McWhorter explains texting to be a new way of communication with grammar such as LOL.  Texting has structure as it is considered "fingered speech" to show emotion.

Emotion is also an important aspect of this class.  We've read multiple articles discussing the effect emotions have on individuals.  In Paul Mannings' Barista Rants About Stupid Customers at Starbucks, the rant of the service worker shows emotion on both ends, customer and barista.  Although the conversation is fictional, it proves words and emotion go hand in hand.  In mediated conversation, emotion is displayed in multiple ways: emojis, Facebook reactions, and stickers.

The rules for participation in face to face commission communication and mediated communication are very different.  In face to face communication, participation shows how much a person has listened.  With mediated communication, it shows how much a person cares about a topic.  On social media, participation includes comments, likes, and tagged posts.  Different social media sites have different unwritten rules.  These rules help in navigating friendships.  With Facebook, one important rule is to not comment on posts of people you may not know.

All in all, this anthropology class has taught me a lot and I can't wait to teach others. :-)