Future of new communication technologies (going global and mobile)

New media are basically extensions of old media and therefore, we will be able to notice the difference between the cell phones of today and tommorow. It would have undergone a revamp and turn out to be revised, replaced or reinvented.

-By Kent German, CNET.comJun 10, 2008-

Almost one year after the original Apple iPhone went on sale in the US, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has announced a 3G version of the device, finally putting to rest months of rumors and speculation. While some of the rumors panned out, other rumors, like the addition of a 32GB model, fizzled. The addition of 3G support is a big win. If data speeds hold up as Jobs demonstrated, the new iPhone really will put the Internet in your pocket. The new iPhone will go on sale July 11 in selected countries including the US, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia.

Some data for Nokia 3310 model:
GPRS- No
HSCSD- No
EDGE- No
3G- No
WLAN- No
Bluetooth- No
Infrared port- No
USB- No

The difference between these two mobile phones are really distinct. These days, one usually at least have a basic handphone with infrared-red or bluetooth to send pictures,photographs and music. Most people can afford to purchase a phone with 3G technology too.

Nowadays, it is easy and quick to communicate with others,look up information,make appointments through new medias like mobile phones,computers,blogs,informative websites,Youtube and many more.

Many outcomes,negative and positive can be derived from the arrival of these new and improved media technologies. Some of which are access to more information, faster speed to get them, invasion of privacy, greater dependence due to these new and complex mediums available for usuage, information overload, credibility.

Media communication theories

Critical theorists argue that the media reflect and reproduce only those ideas,meanings and values that uphold the interests of the power elite and that they silence opposing views.

1) Media hegomony (Antonia Gramsci)- media messages keep powerless groups from making their ideas known. The diverse variety of ideas and choices is actually an illusion. There is only a dominant ideology.

2) Media Determinism(Marshall Mcluhan)-"The medium is the message". The belief that the channel through which a message is transmitted is as important as the message itself and that the channel usually determines which messages will be transmitted and which will be ignored. Each medium is individualised and has its own internal logic and it will affect how we experience the world. Some examples would be print media having linear logic and television having mosaic logic.

3) Spiral of silence(Elizabeth Noelle-Neumann)-It talks about people with the tendency to refrain from expressing their views and ideas they may seem unpopular to others. The ones who think that their ideas are popular would voice out,the minority will remain silent. Therefore, it leads to a one sided notice.

4) Cultivation theory(George Gerbner)- Thi talks about how long term television viewing actually affects viewers' beliefs about social reality.There's two sub categories under this which is firstly, mainstreaming that talks about media being able to create a way of looking at the world that will one day become a common held view by many.

Whereas,reasonance is when viewers get a double dose effect because what they view on TV corresponds with what they experience.

How media affect audiences (analysis done using media theories)

You can see the negative taglines or captions accompanying the cigarette boxes. Both talk about the negative effects that will happen if you smoke.
Some of us would not be affected by this message while some may, depending on the perspective we view this advertisement. Some may be reminded to quit smoking because of this constant reminder whenever they take one out to lit. Some may just ignore the message printed there or get so used to seeing it, that it no longer matters to them.


Therefore, media influences and affects audiences by the setting of their agenda, production of hegemonic messages, cultivation of worldviews and the affecting cognitive practices and expectations.

At the same time, audiences do have their own ways of resisting media too. This can be done through selective processing, the conducting of oppositional readings and the usuage of media for individual gratification.

Firstly, i will talk about the powerful effects theory. People who believe in this model are passive receivers who accept media messages at face value and unconciously allow media sources to tell them what to think.

However, for the limited effects theory, the audience interprets messages according to their own pre-existing beliefs and values before using them in unique ways. The receivers are active processors who are capable of defending themselves against media influences.

Personally, i would choose the limited effects theory, but sometimes, circumstances may cause me to subconciously employ the powerful effects theory.

Intercultural communication

According to Geert Hofstede, culture is the "collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another, which includes systems of values and values are among the building blocks of culture."

Cultures are actually templates for living whereby it tells us who we actually are, the groups we belong to and the way we live our lives. It is an influence on our perspective towards life, as well as it inteprets the behaviour we exhibit.

Let's look at the traditional weddings we have in Singapore, for the chinese and malays. They are people living in the same country,working in the same environment and yet have such different sets of traditional values regarding major decisions.

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The traditional chinese wedding held in Singapore is typically in a dinner setting, within a large modern hotel. The other thing you’ll see is that during the dinner, there will be a ‘toast’ called ‘Yam Seng’ where the happy couple give a toast to the crowd of a few hundred people. This is usually followed by a ‘speech’ session where the groom or bride speak about how they met and also to give thanks to the family and friends who have helped them in their preparation.This is rather important to the older generation, who feel that their children must have a ‘grand’ wedding to give their families ‘face’.
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A traditional Malay wedding is usually held in a Housing Development Board (HDB) void deck and is strewn with beautiful lights. You’ll see the happy couple in Malay garb and seated in a grand seat where they pay respects to their elders and entertain the guests. Malays in Singapore are a traditional lot, and usually you will see that they are deeply respectful to theis family and relatives.
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Group Communication

As you can see from this picture, a photographer is taking a picture of two cowboys hard at work. From my perspective, they are either doing this for a living or its their hobby during their leisure time.
But whatever it is, it depicts communication as a group.


Trenholm (2004)- "A group is a collection of individuals who,as a result of interacting with one another over time,become interdependent,developing shared patterns of behaviour and a collective identity."

We can see that they are working hand in hand to repair or fix something that is to do with the wires.
This would require interdependence because one action by any one of them would affect the outcome or result.
Interaction would be the other obvious sign that two or more people display,when they are part of a team.
Being a small team of two, we can see that communication is direct and the participation level is equal to provide sufficient support for one another.

Should any of them face any problem, the other will have to take up the maintenance role to enhance the social climate of the group.
Some of which would include, being 1) an encourager. 2) harmoniser. 3) compromiser. 4) gatekeeper-expediter. 5) standard setter. 6) group observer. 7) follower.

Interpersonal communication in a relationship

When the lights shone upon me, my inner being woke up and suddenly i realised that you are no longer by my side. Gone were the days where you would flash me a smile and bashfully say you miss me... or putting your arms around my shoulder, saying proudly that i belong to you only.
Baby, search my heart..look into my eyes, feel the hurt in my heart, feel the longing in my eyes.. why did you promise me forever, if it wasn't meant to be? why did you just walk out of my life and leave all the memories to me? How could you make me bear all the pain of this unrequitted love? The longing is so overwhelming and the missing so strong...


A poem i wrote about the feelings and emotions of someone who just fell out of love and misses someone deeply. The questions of why must it happen, how did it turn out this way, what went wrong and the many mixed feelings of disppointments, hurts and loneliness are the after effects of a break up between a couple once in love.


Some common relational challenges most couples face:

1) disassociation.
2) Change and differences in character.
3) Poor communication skills.
4) Deception.
5) Unrealistic expectations.
6) Lack of trust.


According to Knapp Model of Relational Development, there are 10 stages in two phases to describe the progression and development of relationships.

Based on the poem above,its about stages 6-10 : coming apart.
It talks about firstly, differentiating, circumscribing,then stagnation steps in, followed by avoiding and eventually, terminating.
The stages are not linear and due to many reasons, it may regress to a previous stage or skip stages.
Therefore,it does not neccessarily follow a particular order.

Non verbal communication

This is a picture of two children in a school bus, on their way to the excursion venue. They were caught unaware when i took this photograph. Being toddlers of the age of two, their speech was not yet fully developed according to milestones. But they are the best of friends in school, which i'm sure anyone is able to tell just by looking at the above picture.





Non verbal communication is defined as communication that occurs when a stimulus besides words creates meaning in the mind and thoughts of the communicator.



Firstly, we can see that the two of them are very comfortable around each other and are actually,under the 'intimate distance' category,when classified under Edward Hall's four zones of personal space which varies according to relational status.


They do not really bother about keeping a distance from each other or set a clear boundary.


Secondly, the actions they display, in this case we can tell that greg is poking ken's face out of playfulness and ken is feeling bashful.
I can infer from their actions that ken is definitely not angry with greg,because he is seen smiling.




Non verbal communication is very much receiver-orientated whereby its the receiver who attaches meaning to the non-verbal cues displayed.
The meaning implied is subjective and based on the person seeing it, like the saying goes ' meaning is in the eye of the beholder'.