300 words
Introduction
If we look at the manner in which we communicate, the lines between what represented “personal” communication and what represented “professional” communication were clearer until recently (from an historical perspective). The gravitation toward online communication began to blur them somewhat, and then that was exacerbated by the shift toward social media, as platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat began to dominate our lives. This is no small matter, as all of us now, through social media, essentially have a powerful publishing platform.
It can be argued that our sense of individual responsibility has not caught up with the impact we can have through social media. Unfortunately, the downside is that we can professionally harm ourselves – because whether we like it or not, our professional identity is often attached to our social media presence.
Once you have read “Here We Are Now, Entertain Us,” you are ready for this activity.
Answer Questions
• Identify and analyze two “problems” from our reading, “Here We Are Now, Entertain Us,” that you think relate most to your own communication experiences. What strategies could you use (or have you used) to avoid them?
• Do you buy into this notion of blurred lines between professional and personal? Could this “blurring” be both problematical and advantageous? Explain.
