Communication model and misunderstandings

          In week one we discussed the concept of communication model in depth and the definition given by the lecture changed my views on the traditional term “communication” that we are familiar with in everyday life. Communication is defined as “a continuous process through which speaker and listener create shared meaning and understanding”, but communication itself as a complex, multi-staged process incorporates various elements that do not only limited to simple faultless information exchange. The basic elements in communication model include sender, receiver, message, context, encoding, signs, symbol, decoding, feedback, channel, and noise. Most of these concepts are self-explanatory but if we considered them more closely we will see how misunderstanding can occur across these stages. If the message is being improperly encode or decode at any point, the receiver might fail to identify the original meaning that the sender attempted to convey. For example, when people engaged in non-verbal communication such as texting with smartphones, they would use many visual cues like emoji or stickers to express their feelings. However, explanations of these non-verbal cues are not consistent for all individuals. Different people might perceive the identical emoji icon as carrying completely different meanings. One simple example that I experienced is that the smiley face icon means sneer of sarcasm to my friends and me (particularly in Chinese teenager community) but to older generations of my parents it means nothing more than just a friendly smile. Thus, when I decode my emotions (sarcasm) into the icon (smiley face) and transfer it to my parents, they will misinterpret it as friendly smile not necessarily in a wrong way but in a way that departs from my original intention. This is just one way that misunderstanding can occur in communication. Aside from discrepancy in encoding and decoding methods, noise in channel can also contribute to communication issue. Overall, the communication model suggests that the process of information exchange is more complex than we think it is, and we should not take for granted that receiver could always understand sender’s message in a flawless way.

          The article “Do Emoji Help Or Impair Digital Communication?” by T. Gorrindo and A. Fishel discussed how images like emoji play a vital and irreplaceable role in our communication today. The authors believed that emoji could improve our online communication experience in many ways with more vivid visual presentations, but it can also be difficult to interpret under certain circumstances. I wholeheartedly agreed with the authors’ view because according to the communication model, emoji as part of the symbol that carries indefinite meaning can sometimes be extremely ambiguous and foster misunderstanding (like what I stated in the last paragraph). Moreover, the authors believe emoji interpretation is also a cultural product (the “praying hands” icon is often regarded as “two hands having five”). For some of the emojis that carry universal meaning (such as “heart” means only love and care), the alternative explanations are very unlikely and thus leads to less ambiguity. The real meaning behind emojis as part of the non-verbal communication is granted by people (the process of encoding) and interpreted with individual preferences (the process of decoding). Acknowledging that even verbal communication can take along subtle and unclear meanings, expecting receiver to understand a “emoji only communication” can be very unrealistic. The communication model allows us to understand that meaning can only be approximated, but never determined.

Reference:

http://www.mghclaycenter.org/parenting-concerns/emoji-help-impair-digital-communication/