BY KATHRYN “SUE” YOUNG AND HOWARD TRAVIS
In Germantown, Md., on a Saturday at 1:47 a.m., dozens of teens enter a convenience store and steal items from the shelves and coolers. They are gone in less than a minute. It’s a “flash mob” theft, coordinated by the use of social media.
In the aftermath of London’s riots, the prime minister tells Parliament that “when people are using social media for violence, we need to stop them.” Two men are jailed for four years each in northwest England for “inciting disorder via social networking sites.”
A curfew is imposed on people younger than 18 in center-city Philadelphia in response to a number of mob attacks by youths who use email and social media to coordinate the assaults.
Interpersonal communication is changing so rapidly that even communication professionals can’t anticipate future social connections. At one time, individuals received information instantly when they were face to face with each other or talking on the phone.
The Internet and emerging media have pole-vaulted human communication into a challenging era of interpersonal communication.
The act of instant messaging and texting via Facebook, Twitter and mobile phone devices to instantly connect with loved ones and friends is changing.
Certainly, a majority of people will use technology to plan social events or exchange their thoughts for the day with others, but a new dimension in interpersonal communication is being formed by various groups and deserves societal attention.
What happens to society when instant communication is used to coordinate negative ideas such as bullying, riots, murder, looting and robbery? The recent riots in London, and “flash mob” violence and looting in the United States are harbingers of the dark side of interpersonal communication.
This dark side of interpersonal communication has always existed, but technology is expanding its unpleasant potential into mob violence and social unrest. If we were to send a message for people on our contact list to meet at a specific place and time, they would probably do it. Once we had our group together, it isn’t hard to persuade them to participate in an action they might not consider if we talked to them as individuals. Groups feed off the energy of other participants creating mob mentality. How often do you reject laughing, applauding, running, standing up, drinking or yelling when everyone around you is performing those actions and making you uncomfortable?
Individuals do not always think critically about the information they receive when they are in a crowd. It’s simply easier to go along with what everyone else seems to be supporting. The thrill of doing something illegal might be appealing to some, but it comes at great risk to individuals and society itself.
Businesses and communities use cameras to monitor who is in a specific space at a specific time. These captured images allow law enforcement to find the individuals taking part in an illegal activity occasionally as they have in the London riots, and burglaries and home invasions in the United States.
A successful arrest, however, takes place after a crime is committed and not before. Individuals need to think critically about what they are reading and what they are saying so their own actions truly represent who they are and what they think.
It’s time for everyone to evaluate messages before they act or respond to them.
The dark side of interpersonal communication is only going to become more visible.
Kathryn “Sue” Young is professor of communication and Howard Travis is professor emeritus of communication at Mansfield University. They are co-authors of a new book, “Business and Professional Communication: A Practical Guide to Workplace Effectiveness.”