ADVOCATING FOR CMC

Alonzo, John Rudolf A.

TOPIC: People use communications technology creatively to increase the sense of social
presence and strength its relationships.
Social presence is the degree to which individuals perceive another as a real person and
any interaction between the two individual or groups as social relationship. Social relationship
also represents connection, cooperation, and mutual dependence and belonging between people.
The importance of social relationship is helped to create better understandings by enhancing
human interaction through communication in order to improve the quality of life.
Communication plays a key role in improving social interaction. Computer Mediated
Communication (CMC) is the process of human communication via computers to exchange
information and messages. Moreover, communication technology is the design of equipment to
process transformation of message between senders and receivers via internet and multimedia.
People use communication technologies to enhance and increase communication opportunities
with different countries, to express self-identity through online, share life experiences, etc. The
development of communication technology has increased the speed of exchanging
communication to enhance the social relationship.

Social Presence and Social Relationship

Social presence is defined a communicator's sense of awareness of the existence of an
interaction partner in a mediated communication. This is important for the process by which
people come to know and think about other persons, their characteristics, qualities and inner
states. Moreover, the concepts of "immediacy and 'intimacy' are related to social presence.
Immediacy identifies as psychological distance and behaviour by nonverbal interaction to others,
such as smiling. Intimacy is expressed by verbal and non-verbal behaviour in explaining
interpersonal interaction and is subconsciously maintained in equilibrium at an appropriate level
by the interactors. As a result, immediacy behaviours are used to create and maintain intimacy;
immediacy behaviours also enhance social presence. Social relationship is the development of
social presence to show the connection between two individuals and groups. The need for
connection is recognised in psychological level in interpersonal interaction to determine success
in life and mental health.
Communication is an important bridge in connecting and improving social relationship. It
is the process of information transmission and it represents as a social interaction between two
agents by sharing a common set of signs/ symbols and common languages. Therefore,
communication creates a sense of connectedness or feeling of being in touch for social presence.
As the increasing development of communication technologies, it creates a new type of (virtual)
social relationship which is different from previous face to face communication. For face to face
communication, the sense of social presence is guaranteed to get an immediate response. On the
other hand, through the communication technology that sender may or may not get a response
from the receivers through the mediated communication. However, the communication
technologies increase connection methods for people to communication which lead to increase
sense of social presence to promote social relationship. Thus, the increased presence leads to a
better person perception.

Communication technology
Communication technology is the channel to transfer information and messages from
senders to receivers through public and private access. Communication technologies are
commonly viewed as internet, multimedia like (advertising and broadcasting). In addition, there
are new channels for communication technology, such as instant messengers that provides more
immediate communication and express self- feeling. The more instant communication and
interaction between people provide greater sense of social presence, for example, video
conferencing. It presents direct feedback and response to increase sense of social presence and
improve social relationship as intimacy behaviour. The increasing uses of new communication
technologies create more opportunities in connection and communication. People have more
ways and chances to express themselves and interact with each other. Overall, the social
presence has increased and strength its social relationship.

In Education aspect, CMC are often used in educational purpose to increase the level of
communication with other students, especially leaming a second language. CMC promotes self-
discipline and requires students to take more responsibility for their own learning. Using CMC,
instructors can vary a course's instructional design to include everything from structured projects
to open projects in which students are free to work on. The online task will increase the level of
cooperation and build up relationships while problem solving.
Online virtual learning environment is combination of virtual learning room with real one
in network education. This designed software is to help teachers by facilitating the management
of educational courses and course administration for both teachers and students. Moreover, it
provides learning progress which can be monitored by both teachers and learners. Virtual
leaming environment has higher sense of social presence in communicating and interacting with
each others. The higher interaction and monitor of users progress of leaming which facilitate
communication and strength relationships by cooperation to solve difficulties at the virtual
rooms. It is important to realize and appreciate not only that communication is vital for
enhancing social presence but also that social presence has a strong impact on learner satisfaction
in an online learning environment.
The development of communication technologies has impact on increasing the level of
social presence and strength the relationship. Using the CMC has created better connection in
communication to increase social presence via computers. Moreover, it shortens the
communication distances around the world to improve better relationship in work, education and
culture aspect. The use of communication technologies has benefited social presence and builds
up better social relationship. The balance of using CMC as a complement and face to face
communication is needed in order to build up stronger and better social life.