In Interactivity: A Concept Explication, public relations and political communication professor Spiro Kousis argues that the interactivity of communication technologies over time has increased the number of channels through which people communicate using technology.
By surveying relevant literature and evaluating existing definitions, Kousis is able to come up with a conceptual definition that includes each of the three dimensions identified in the study – the structure of the medium, the context of the communication settings, and the perception of the users. In addition, he proposes a second operational definition that details the procedures and recognizable characteristics of interactivity.
Although this is another abstract reading, studies like this one are important because they begin to synthesize complex concepts like ‘interactivity’ into simpler terms that future academics can build on and use to understand the impact of technology on society. If you accept that technology is evolving alongside humans, then it’s imperative that we study the effects of technology, not only on society, but also on itself, in terms of its own evolution.
This study and along with the idea that through interactivity the number of channels that people communicate through increases, are extremely interesting. When applying this theory to my own life I realized that I use various channels or social media platforms to communicate with different people. There are some people who I only speak to over text message, while others I only interact with them on Snap Chat. I am curious whether certain channels offer different levels of interactivity between individuals.
Hi, Bridget ~ That’s definitely something interesting to think about. I bet Dr. Kousis would say that, yes, different communication channels offer different levels of interactivity, but he doesn’t go so far as to quantify relative levels of interactivity in this study. I wonder whether it’s the level of interactivity or some combination of factors that determine which sorts of friends communicate through which channels? I guess that’s a whole other conversation.