Question 1

Internet addiction is characterized by spending, at a minimum, ______ hours per week, with individual sessions that last up to 20 hours.

Accepted Answer

Internet addiction is often characterized by excessive use, typically defined as spending 40 to 80 hours per week online, with some sessions lasting up to 20 hours.

Question 2

One piece of evidence suggesting that Internet addiction is a real, physiological addiction is that addicted users ____________.

Accepted Answer

The disrupted connections in nerve fibers linking brain areas involved in emotions, decision making, and self-control suggest that Internet addiction is a real, physiological addiction. The other options are not directly related to neurological evidence of addiction.

Question 3

Many young social network site users complain that they become exhausted by always having to put themselves "out there" and are unable to look away from those sites because of ____________.

Accepted Answer

The fear of missing out (FOMO) is a common feeling among social network site users who believe that they might miss important news or events if they are not constantly connected to their accounts. This fear can make it difficult for users to disengage from social media, leading to exhaustion and burnout.

Question 4

Social science has demonstrated that the ________ of our digital communication technologies is conditioning us to be impatient and easily distracted in the offline world.

Accepted Answer

The word "speed" refers to the rapidity with which digital communication technologies enable us to send and receive information. Social science has shown that this speed is conditioning us to be impatient and easily distracted offline.

Question 5

The dual-factor model of Facebook use argues that social network site use is primarily motivated by two basic social needs. One, _________, refers to the intrinsic drive to affiliate with others and gain social acceptance.

Accepted Answer

The need to belong refers to the intrinsic drive to affiliate with others and gain social acceptance, which is one of the two basic social needs identified in the dual-factor model of Facebook use.

Question 6

The dual-factor model of Facebook use argues that social network site use is primarily motivated by two basic social needs. One, _________, refers to the continuous process of impression management.

Accepted Answer

The need for self-presentation refers to the continuous process of impression management, which is one of the two basic social needs identified by the dual-factor model of Facebook use. This involves creating a desirable image of oneself through carefully selecting and sharing content on Facebook. The other social need identified by the model is the need to belong, which refers to the desire to connect with others and be part of a social group.

Question 7

Your prof just doesn't like you, or so you think. Well, if he's going to give you a C on your mid-term, you'll just sign on to the Rate My Professor website and anonymously give him a D as a teacher and trash him as a man as well. In doing so, you are taking advantage of the Internet's encouragement of ____________.

Accepted Answer

The act of anonymously trashing your professor on a website encourages deindividuation, where individuals lose their sense of individual identity and become more focused on the group or community they are a part of. In this case, the anonymous online community of students who rate professors encourage negative behavior that you may not exhibit if you were identifiable.

Question 8

The ____________ hypothesis speaks to the tendency for creators of social network site profiles to display very flattering characteristics of themselves that do not reflect their actual personalities.

Accepted Answer

The idealized virtual identity hypothesis suggests that individuals tend to present an overly positive or "idealized" version of themselves on social media platforms, which may not accurately reflect their true personalities or real-life behaviors.

Question 9

The ____________ hypothesis speaks to the tendency for creators of social network site profiles to create profiles that communicate their real personality.

Accepted Answer

The extended real-life hypothesis suggests that individuals will create social network site profiles that reflect their actual personality rather than an idealized or hoped-for identity.

Question 10

Some SNS pioneers have recently admitted that they intentionally designed their platforms to be addictive, counting on the process of posting content and receiving likes and comments to produce in users a hit of ____________, a chemical messenger that helps control the brain's reward and pleasure centers.

Accepted Answer

Dopamine is a chemical messenger that helps control the brain's reward and pleasure centers. Some SNS pioneers have intentionally designed their platforms to be addictive, counting on the process of posting content and receiving likes and comments to produce in users a hit of dopamine.

Question 11

You're in class, trying to understand a pretty tough lecture. Still, all you can think about is who's trying to reach you. It's been 20 minutes, and who knows how many texts, IMs, and Instagram posts you've missed. You know you can take out your phone, but its unavailability is making you literally physically uncomfortable. You have a bad case of ____________.

Accepted Answer

Nomophobia is the fear of being without a mobile phone or other wireless device. It is a type of anxiety disorder that can cause physical and psychological symptoms, such as sweating, shaking, and difficulty concentrating.

Question 12

Much early scholarly thinking about the new digital technologies revolved around the assumption that face-to-face communication was superior to computer-mediated communication. This belief was based in part on the fact that face-to-face communication is___________, whereas computer-mediated communication is__________.

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is B) immediate and direct/mediated or filtered because face-to-face communication happens in real-time and involves direct interaction, while computer-mediated communication involves technology as a medium, which can filter or mediate the interaction.

Question 13

One chronemic cue that exists in computer-mediated communication is __________.

Accepted Answer

Response expectation is a chronemic cue that exists in computer-mediated communication. It refers to the expectation of a prompt reply in synchronous communication or a timely response in asynchronous communication. The other options listed are not chronemic cues, but rather different modes of conveying nonverbal communication or emotive expression in digital communication.

Question 14

When chronemic rhythms in e-mail communication are violated, for example when senders anticipate a response to a message they sent but it doesn't arrive in what they think is a timely fashion, __________ is likely to occur.

Accepted Answer

When chronemic rhythms are violated in e-mail communication, it can lead to breakdown perception, which is the feeling that communication has failed and the relationship between sender and receiver has been damaged. This can occur when the sender anticipates a response but doesn't receive it in what they perceive to be a timely fashion, creating a sense of uncertainty and confusion. FOMO and transactive memory are not directly related to chronemic rhythms in e-mail communication, while synchronous communication and chronological violation are not specific enough to fully capture the potential negative consequences of violated chronemic rhythms.

Question 15

Much early scholarly thinking about the new digital technologies revolved around the assumption that face-to-face communication was superior to computer-mediated communication. This belief was based in part on the fact that face-to-face communication is___________, that is, people interact immediately, in real time, and can simultaneously send and receive messages.

Accepted Answer

Face-to-face communication is synchronous, as people interact in real time.

Question 16

Media richness theory views different media's contribution to meaning making falling along a continuum of lean to rich, employing criteria such as _________, the use of multiple cues and natural language, and the medium's personal focus.

Accepted Answer

Media richness theory suggests that richer media provide the ability for immediate feedback, among other features like the use of multiple cues, natural language, and a personal focus, which enhance the medium's capacity for meaning making.

Question 17

Those who hold to the belief that face-to-face communication is superior to computer-mediated communication sometimes base that view on the fact that face-to-face communication offers much contextual information, for example nonverbal codes, that make meaning making easier and more accurate. This is _________ theory, the idea that computer-mediated communication is inferior because it lacks this enriching information.

Accepted Answer

The theory that computer-mediated communication is inferior because it lacks contextual information such as nonverbal codes is known as the "cues-filtered-out" theory.

Question 18

One fear surrounding digital communication technologies like social networking sites is that while we are technologically connected we are interpersonally disconnected. It's as if people can't get enough of each other if and only if they can have each other at a technological distance and in amounts they can control. Psychologist Sherry Turkle called this ___________.

Accepted Answer

The fear described in the question is commonly referred to as the "Goldilocks effect," which is the idea that people prefer to communicate only when the level of information provided is not too much or too little, but just right. This relates to the idea that people want to connect, but only in the specific ways and amounts that they can control.

Question 19

Communication technology may be neutral-neither good nor bad-but it is_________. That is, it matters; it changes the way we communicate.

Accepted Answer

The statement acknowledges that communication technology can have negative effects, therefore it cannot be considered benign.

Question 20

How social networking and other Internet web sites use our personal data (for example, to whom do they sell it; do they provide it to government authorities without our knowledge?) is an ethical matter because it deals with _____, a basic human right.

Accepted Answer

The use of personal data by social networking and other Internet websites without consent is a violation of privacy, which is a basic human right. The sale or sharing of personal data without proper disclosure and consent can lead to exploitation, identity theft, or other nefarious activities, making it an ethical matter in terms of protecting individuals' privacy rights.

Quiz 12: Social Media and Communication Technologies