Podcast Research

     I listened to the podcast "Psychology Trumps Technology: How to Be a Better Communicator on Social Media" by Think Fast Talk Smart, which is linked here.

This episode's main focus was on the ways that people communicate via social media, which connected to a number of the things that we have gone over in class, including oversharing online, interpersonal communication, online identity on social media, the pros and cons of online communication, and professional online identities. 

Oversharing Online

One of the podcast speakers, Jeff Hancock, discussed the difficulty for parents to know when it is best to step in and limit their children’s time spent on social media. He reasoned that doing things online that connect you with others and bring positive feelings can be beneficial, but there are obviously aspects of the internet that do not do this. This reminded me of week two of class, when we watched a clip which discussed the topic of whether or not we are sharing too much online. The clip was looking specifically at the case of a young girl who was managing her PTSD-related stress through talking to people about her experience in online chatrooms. The question being addressed was about whether this oversharing was beneficial to her healing or not, seeing as some of the people she was connecting with did not have her best interests at heart and were asking crude questions. One reporter said “[being online] opens someone up to the positive feedback, but also the negative.” (CNN, 2017). Both of these instances address the issues of not knowing when it is best to step in and say ‘okay, that’s enough sharing online for today’, because the line between the benefits and the detriments can be so blurry.

Interpersonal Communication

Also in week two, our learning materials went over the characteristics of competent communicators. These included self-awareness, adaptability, empathy, cognitive complexity, and a sense of ethics (Green, 2024). A similar point was made in this podcast episode, though in a less detailed list. It was said that “Authenticity, competence, and timing…are the key ingredients to help you act more effectively in social media.” (Abrahams, 2021). These factors listed in the podcast differ from the factors that we went over in class, but I think that all of these terms can be interwoven together. Online communication is not always black and white, and a number of skills are needed to communicate effectively depending on each scenario that you are in.

Online Identity on Social Media

During week 3, we went over interpersonal communication and how the way we present ourselves online impacts us. One of our readings said that “because the impressions others form of an individual influence how they perceive, evaluate, and treat that individual, people want to convey an impression that is in their interest” (Zillich et al, 2021). This basically just means that people want to be perceived in a positive way by their peers, and they attempt to do this by presenting themselves in a specific way on social media. This is connected to a snippet from the podcast, which stated that “social media allows us to communicate so much about ourselves, our beliefs, our ideas, desires, hopes, fears and most importantly, our identities.” (Abrahams, 2021). Social media lets you give others a little window into who you are as a person, and this image you create for yourself can be easily manipulated to allow yourself to be perceived in the way that you want to be perceived, even if that is not necessarily who you truly are.

The Pros and Cons of Online Communication

The pros and cons of communicating online was something that we discussed during week 4. One of our class readings states “Cues are missing in a typical teleconference. As a result, even the simplest of things can be misinterpreted.” (Ferrazzi, 2013) Miscommunication is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the drawbacks of online communication. However, social media is not all bad. Podcast guest Jeff Hancock said “[I’m] still just flabbergasted by how much negativity can be out there and toxic discourse. Now, it’s not everywhere, and most of social media is very positive, but there is still a shocking amount in the weirdest of places.” (Hancock, 2021). Like anything, there are going to be both light and dark sides to social media and online communication in general. 

Professional Online Identities

One last connection I drew between our class and the podcast I listened to was in regards to professional online identities. In week 5, our class discussed how businesses communicate online professionally with their respective audiences. The podcast stated that "you need to communicate in a way that is trustworthy for you, that when other people see that, they think ‘Okay, this person is trustworthy, they’re reliable’ " (Hancock, 2021). This is an incredibly important aspect of communication for online businesses. An untrustworthy site is not going to draw in as many customers as a trustworthy site would, and is therefore going to be less successful.

Overall, this episode echoed a lot of the main points of online communication that we have covered in class. I found it really insightful to see how our class discussions connect to the real world and how the topics we are learning about can be applied outside of class.