Interconnections: Interpersonal Communication Foundations and Contexts

CONTEMPORARY FOCUS ON MEDIATED COMMUNICATION. Today's students spend as much or more time interacting with others via social media as they do in face-to-face conversation. INTERCONNECTIONS takes this as a given, referring often to issues that can arise from connecting on Instagram, Twitter and other social media platforms. INTERCONNECTIONS focuses on students' current lived experience.

TEACHING WITH STORYTELLING. The text's unique narrative style uses storytelling to engage students in otherwise difficult material through brief examples, video interactions and extended vignettes. Stories are at the root of interpersonal relationships, and throughout each chapter students read intriguing anecdotes about people in common communication situations.

FEATURES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS. Six featured boxes in each chapter highlight human diversity, address the impact of technology on relationships, explore ethical dilemmas, help students gain insight into their personal relationships via questionnaires and journal writing, and use current media depictions of interpersonal relationships to illustrate key concepts. Each box ends with questions that ask students to reflect on the interpersonal interactions depicted in the narrative and apply it to their own lives.

THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON RELATIONSHIPS. Emphasizing the role of technology in shaping our interpersonal interactions, "iPersonal" boxes in every chapter explore in depth the implications of innovative communication technology on human interaction in an increasingly mediated social environment.