This was a very interesting topic for this weeks blog assignment. Baym pointed out a lot a issues that goes on with how we communicate online and what potential barriers we are up against. I agree and disagree with Baym on his ideas about our behavior changing when we become easily distracted with online communication. Baym stated that “Communicators have to work harder to achieve their desired impact and be understood,” which entails that he believes online communication hinders us from becoming more intune with one another (Baym, 54). In my opinion, communication online and in person is very different and it sometimes is better to communicate online so a person will not see facial expressions or hear any type of tones that may be disrespectful. He also talked about social cues. Social cues are expressions of the body, tone of voice, facial expressions, etc. that can be a good or bad cue depending the type of conversation that it brought upon individuals. Baym expressed that people become more disengaged with audiences when there is a lack of social cues (Baym, 54). I agree with this topic of social cues because with social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram there are a lot communication disagreements and agreements with friends and followers and social cues can or cannot be expressed through words or sometimes pictures and emoticons. There is also disruptive behavior in online communication. The negative communication that is being portrayed is volatile and can sometimes become a serious issue with online communication.

The Gerrand article somewhat confused me about how there are a lot of limitations and problems with researching and language use on the Internet. I actually have had some problems with language online but there are websites nand applications that help people translate from one language to another. I have known some people to send me messages in Spanish or French and of course I had no clue what either of the messages said. I just typed the message into my translation app and it gave me everything the person told me. This can be a problem in the near future because a lot of people do not know about the translation methods which can then slow down the process of communicating. I can either make a person frustrated about having to find out what their communicator is talking about or can be a challenge to make people want to learn a new language and find out what he/she is saying to them.