Even though the specific platforms, sites, and apps you use to communicate via social media change constantly, there are still established ways in which these tools meet your communication needs. As Chapter 1 discusses, communication helps you meet three types of goals, and these apply to mediated communication as well:
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Instrumental goals are the practical objectives you want to achieve or tasks you want to accomplish. This includes using social media to find information, coordinate schedules, and confirm reservations. For example, college students find social posts to be the easiest way to get information about upcoming social events (Quan-
Relationship goals include how you build, maintain, or terminate bonds with others. This is a popular way to use social media, allowing you to get in touch with people you haven’t spoken to in a while, share your own news, and even block or defriend people you aren’t close to anymore. Such tools are often at the center of our social lives. In the Alpha Chi Omega example discussed in our chapter opener, for instance, the women at the ball game weren’t taking and posting the selfies to celebrate themselves but to share the fun they were having at the game with friends and sorority sisters who weren’t able to attend.
Self-
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In addition to fulfilling such goals, mediated communication serves two other important functions:
Participating in professional and public communities means you can engage with people outside your intimate networks of family and friends. For example, you could use e-
Alleviating boredom through social media is a common experience (Quan-