Question 1

__________ are today's platform-of-choice for sending and receiving e-mail messages.

Accepted Answer

Smartphones are mobile devices and can be easily carried and accessed to send and receive e-mail messages. They offer the convenience of receiving and sending e-mails on the go, at any time and from any location. Other devices may also be used, but smartphones have become the most popular choice.

Question 2

Which is a common worry about the growing use of technology?

Accepted Answer

Many people have expressed concern that students are becoming too reliant on search engines and not developing critical thinking and research skills.

Question 3

The digital world deprives people of mental downtime, important for ______.

Accepted Answer

Creating long-term memories is an important function of mental downtime, which the digital world deprives people of.

Question 4

You are a student ambassador for your school and at an open house for prospective students a worried mom comes to you asking questions about health issues that you know little about. However, you are able to point her to a representative of campus health services who will have the answer. Because you know whom to call, you are able to get all her questions answered for her. This is an example of the operation of _______.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of transactive memory, which is the process of collectively remembering information by knowing who has the knowledge and where to find it. In this scenario, the student ambassador knows who to direct the worried mom to in order to get her questions answered.

Question 5

You are a student ambassador for your school and at an open house for prospective students a mom comes to you, worried about her son. He seems to be spending too much time on the Internet; maybe he's even a bit depressed. All she knows, she tells you, is that he continuously quickly switches from website to website, desperately looking for emotional stimulation. This is something you do know about, so you tell her that this might signal _________, an inability to experience emotions.

Accepted Answer

Anhedonia is the inability to experience pleasure or emotions. It can often lead to behaviors such as excessive use of the internet in search of stimulation.

Question 6

In addition to the need to belong, a second underlining reason that people tend to use social media sites like Facebook is ____________.

Accepted Answer

The need for self-presentation is a common motivation for people to use social media sites like Facebook. People often curate their profiles and posts to present a certain image of themselves to their online audience. This can be driven by a desire for validation, acceptance, or social status.

Question 7

_______________ is information the communicating parties share in common and know they share.

Accepted Answer

Mutual knowledge refers to information that the communicating parties share in common and know they share. It is an important aspect of effective communication as it allows for a shared understanding and context between the parties involved.

Question 8

Mutual knowledge in interactions relies on direct knowledge, category membership, and ____________.

Accepted Answer

Interactional dynamics refer to the patterns of behavior and communication that emerge during social interactions. Mutual knowledge is built through these patterns of interaction, in addition to direct knowledge and category membership. Thus, option C is the best choice. Options A, B, D, and E are not directly related to the concept of mutual knowledge in interactions.

Question 9

Among the following technologies, which source of computer-mediated communication is the richest?

Accepted Answer

A webcam chat allows for both verbal and nonverbal communication, allowing for richer communication compared to just text or a profile picture.

Question 10

You are a popular person on campus. You have strong connections with your family, coworkers, and friends. You are extroverted and have pretty solid self-esteem. According to the Rich-Get-Richer hypothesis, you use social media primarily for __________.

Accepted Answer

According to the Rich-Get-Richer hypothesis, individuals who have strong offline relationships tend to use social media primarily for social enhancement, which involves using social media to enhance and maintain existing relationships and social status. This aligns with the extroverted and socially connected nature of the described individual.

Question 11

You are kind of shy, not so sociable both online and off; you're kind of introverted and don't have the best self-esteem. According to the Poor-Get-Richer hypothesis, you use social media primarily for __________.

Accepted Answer

The Poor-Get-Richer hypothesis suggests that people with lower levels of self-esteem and satisfaction in real life use social media for social compensation, seeking validation and social support they may not receive offline.

Question 12

The very same technology, social media, that lets far-flung friends remain involved in one another's lives also has the potential to open them up to harassment and stalking. This is an example of ____________.

Accepted Answer

The statement describes the potential negative consequences of social media, which is an example of how technology has a double edge - it can have both positive and negative effects.

Question 13

The fact that for years people studying computer-mediated communication considered ___________ the gold-standard of interpersonal communication means they quite often ignored technology's potential.

Accepted Answer

The phrase "the gold-standard of interpersonal communication" implies that face-to-face communication is considered the best form of communication. Therefore, the fact that people studying computer-mediated communication ignored technology's potential suggests that they focused only on face-to-face communication as the standard for interpersonal communication.

Question 14

A particularly beneficial effect of the Internet is its ability to let people solicit donations from a large number of others for an important cause or project, a process known as __________.

Accepted Answer

The term specifically used for the process of soliciting donations through the internet is crowdfunding. Choices A and B are not accurate terms and are not commonly used. Similarly, while "digital soliciting" or "online giving" may describe the process, they are not commonly used terms for this type of fundraising.

Question 15

Negative reactions always follow technological change, especially change in how people communicate, because ______________.

Accepted Answer

Change in communication threatens people's meaning-making power because it challenges their existing beliefs and ways of understanding the world. This leads to negativity and resistance towards technological change. While some other choices may also contribute to negative reactions towards technological change, B is the most encompassing and relevant option.

Question 16

__________ are people who've never lived in a world without the Internet, world wide web, and the other technologies they make possible.

Accepted Answer

The term "digital natives" refers to individuals who have grown up with and are therefore comfortable using modern technology such as the internet, smartphones, and social media. This term is commonly used to describe individuals born after the 1980s who have never known a world without these technologies.

Question 17

There is evidence that the simple lack of easy access to a smartphone can create a negative feeling in users that can be relieved only through reconnection with their beloved device, a phenomenon researchers call __________.

Accepted Answer

The phenomenon described in the question is known as nomophobia, which refers to the fear of being without one's mobile device or the anxiety that arises from losing or not having access to it. Anhedonia refers to the inability to feel pleasure or enjoyment, the brain drain hypothesis refers to the idea that information technology negatively impacts our cognitive abilities, transactive memory refers to the shared knowledge among groups, and FOMO refers to the fear of missing out on social events or online content.

Question 18

The very first social networking site, ____________, went online in 1995.

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is D) Classmates.com. Classmates.com was launched in 1995 and was one of the first social networking sites. It was specifically designed to help people find their old high school classmates and reconnect with them.

Question 19

___________ are tracking software involuntarily loaded onto users' computers] to track online user activities after they have left a social networking site.

Accepted Answer

Cookies are commonly used for tracking user activities on the internet. They are small files that are stored on a user's computer when they visit a website and can be used to track their activities even after they have left the site. Stealth bots, worms, and viruses are types of malware that are intentionally designed to be installed on a user's computer without their knowledge or consent, but they are not specific to tracking online activities after leaving a social networking site. Apps, on the other hand, are voluntary software downloaded and installed by users, so they are also not relevant to the involuntary tracking of online activities. Therefore, the best answer is B) Cookies.

Question 20

That's the seventh time today you've answered your smartphone, sensing for sure you had a call, only to find no one there. You are a likely sufferer of __________.

Accepted Answer

The scenario describes phantom-vibration syndrome, which is a phenomenon where a person thinks their phone is vibrating, but it's not. This is common among people who are frequently glued to their smartphones, and their brain is trained to expect notifications or calls.

Quiz 12: Social Media and Communication Technologies