time, it enables us to find groups of people who think the same way we do and who resemble us in every conceivable way.
We Consciously Can Choose Our Neighbors
We can choose our “online neighbors” just as we choose a real neighborhood.
The fear in this development is that communicating solely with like-minded people may lead to the polarization of opinions, whereas communicating with mixed-minded people tends to bring about a moderation of viewpoints.40 A preference for likeness and an intolerance for difference often leads to the development of online in-groups (composed of people whom we perceive to be like us) and out-groups (composed of those we view as different from us) whom we may block or “unfriend.”
On the bright side, sites such as Facebook do let us stay in touch with friends as well as provide opportunities to reacquaint us with those with whom we have lost touch. They also let us friend people we barely know.
Other Reasons We Seek Virtual Communities
Many virtual communities are social networking sites in which users create profiles or avatars—alternate selves or images of characters—that they use to interact with others online. Why are people seeking multiple lives? Could it be because the neighborhoods they live in are not delivering the person-to-person contacts they seek? Millions of people go online in search of surrogate neighborhoods and relationships. This has led some critics to assert that rather than bringing people together, computer networks are isolating us. They contend that online communities are missing the essence of real neighborhoods, including a sense of location and a feeling of permanence and belonging.
The Power of Dialogue
The ability to reach so many different people from so many different places so quickly gives communicators a new sense of power. Wherever we live, we can use the Internet to help bring diversity and new cultures into our lives, changing our social, political, and business lives. Some worry that the culture of computing, especially participating in the Internet’s message boards, attracts extreme political positions and contributes to long-standing international conflicts. In contrast, advocates believe it facilitates international dialogue.41
Are all voices really being heard? Are we becoming more or less tolerant of each other? Are we aware that words posted to global online groups have consequences, just as they do when delivered in person? If we use the Internet wisely, we will find ways to increase the scope and diversity of our knowledge and develop our abilities to work together in diverse teams to solve personal, professional, and societal problems.42
For Good and Bad
The Internet can be used for good and for evil. Those in control of governments during periods of unrest in such places such as Egypt and China have censored the Web, even suspending access to YouTube and Twitter in the effort to preserve their power by controlling what the people in their countries were able to say and see over the Internet. However, tech-savvy activists usually find ways to circumvent such Internet controls. In fact, the Arab Spring uprisings across the Middle East played out on a global digital stage.43 The numbers of people going online to follow world events or for social networking continues to grow.
The digital divide, which refers to inequality in access to technology and the Internet, is shrinking. Minorities, the elderly, and the poor are going online in greater numbers, democratizing access. Still, gaining access to computers remains a problem in many places around the world because of high poverty levels and the absence or unreliability of electricity.
Photographee.eu/Shutterstock.com
Let us close this section with some questions for you to think about. When you go online, do you seek to interact in communities based on difference or likeness? In other words, how many of the sites you visit online are visited by people who think and behave similarly to you, and how many are frequented by people who think and behave differently from you? Do you think the Internet is better at creating more insular communities, or does it foster interest in diversity?
Communication Skills
Practice Communicating Interculturally
Despite technology’s inroads, there are too many of “us” who do not work as hard as we should at communicating with people from different cultures, simply because we do not wish to live or interact with “them.”44 To counter this, we need to make reducing the strangeness of strangers a priority in our lives. How can we do this?
Focus on mastering and maintaining these skills as you work to eliminate ineffective behaviors.
Refrain from formulating expectations based solely on your culture.
When those you interact with have diverse communication styles, it is critical that you acknowledge the differences and accept their validity. By not isolating yourself within your own group or culture, you allow yourself to be more fully a part of a multicultural society and thus a better communicator.
Recognize how faulty education can impede understanding.
It is important to identify and work to eliminate any personal biases and prejudices you have developed over the years. Determine, for example, the extent to which your family and friends have influenced your feelings about people from other cultural groups. Do those you have grown up with appear comfortable or uncomfortable relating to people of different cultural origins? To what extent have their attitudes affected your intercultural communication competence?
Make a commitment to develop intercultural communication skills for life in a multicultural world.
Although culture is a tie that binds, the creation of a global village makes it essential that you leave the comfort of your cultural niche, become more knowledgeable of other cultures, and strive to be culturally aware.
Familiarize yourself with the communication rules and preferences of members of different cultures so that you can increase the effectiveness of your interactions. Act on these suggestions.
Seek information from people whose cultures are different from your own.
Try to understand how the experiences of people from different cultures lead them to develop different perspectives.
Pay attention to the situation and context of any intercultural communication.
Make efforts to become a more flexible communicator; don’t insist that people from other cultures communicate on your terms.
Diversity is about all of us, and about how to figure out how to walk through this world together.
Jacqueline Woodson
Complete This Chapter 2 Checklist
2.1 I can explain the significance of intercultural communication in the global community. □Globalization is the increasing economic,
