Tricia Lao

COM 101 D Estelle Ladrido

Critical Review
Virtual virtue an analysis of
Facebook: Challenges and Opportunities for Business Communication
Students by Christina Decarie, St. Lawrence College, Canada

Opening Facebook is like opening my refrigerator. I refresh my
newsfeed over and over just to check if there's something new, similar to how
I keep opening the magical white box in my kitchen to see if good food is in
the house. You know why I do this? Out of sheer boredom.
What I would usually see on Facebook are pictures of people I don't
know and shares of 9gag photos I don't care about. There's the occassional
interesting news article I open and read because an acquaintance shares it
online. I also do the duties of liking my friends' display pictures so that they
may reach the social quota of over 100 likes. Aside from that, I have class
groups to look at and chats with friends to keep up with. Facebook has
become the first website that I check whenever I turn on my laptop.
There are at present over 1,250 million Facebook users worldwide as
of the second quarter of 2014. It's pretty much safe to say that Facebook has
taken us by a cyberstorm; the question is is it bringing more harm than
good? The author of this article thinks otherwise.
Decarie sheds light on the research problem of Facebook and how it
may benefit business communication students. She writes about the social
media site as an opportunity for budding businessmen to build their networks
and relationships. Facebook can also help develop the writing and
communication skills of students. She also discusses how people represent
themselves online.
The author says that Facebook "requires and enhances strong writing
and interpersonal communication skills." How does she teach her students?
She lets them read foolish word vomit statuses and comments posted on
Facebook and talks about the repercussions and absolute stupidity of it all.
This dissecting of the careless words of others online has become such an
interesting activity that the students even look forward to it. You have to admit,
studying other people's online mishaps is fun.
One cunning student was mentioned in the article because he was able
to save his face a few minutes before presenting a project to his college
president. He asked a friend to change his display picture before the president
could see him on Facebook shirtless, playing the drums, and holding a bottle
of beer. Does that picture scream professional and respectable? It does not,
but the college president will never know that.
The author gave good examples of her argument by relating a personal
experience wherein a student posted a negative comment about Decarie's
teaching on Facebook. The student didn't think Decarie would read it because
they aren't Facebook friends. Apparently, that student made a grave mistake
when the author showed the whole class the comment about her boring
lectures that he would rather sleep in. Even though he was embarrassed, he
said that it was "quite the learning experience."
Decarie gave another advantage that Facebook can be of use when
she was able to persuade an author to publish his book through her
micropublishing company. How did she do it? Much to her students'
amazement, she simply used good writing to introduce herself properly.
So apparently, Facebook isn't all just a waste of our valuable and
precious time. It can be an opportunity to present ourselves well to build
relationships and benefit our careers.
The author says that persuasive writing strategies, grammar, and
punctuation matter in real life because of Facebook. Social media has now
become a battlefield and practicum ground for the application of
communication theories.
Cognitive dissonance is applied specfically when there is a conflicting
represenation of someone online and in reality. If my dream job were to work
in Vogue magazine, surely they would like to screen me first. If Vogue sees
an inconsistency in my reputation, they would feel discomfort. I may be an
angel sent from heaven all covered up and dressed in white while reading a
prayer book before my interview but if I'm a drunken mess clad in a crop top
partying at Laboracay on Facebook, there will be a conflicting notion of who I
really am. Vogue seeks consistency in their belief and attitude towards me.
Since I am motivated to reduce or eliminate the tension, I change my attitude
and behavior by taking down the photo and change for the better.
Vogue may also like to acquire new information about me from a
reference person such as my former boss from GQ magazine. GQ would then
say that I am a respectable and hardowrking young lady. Vogue then hires me
despite my photo because there is more good information about me than bad
ones. This is when dissonance is reduced and the tension is lessened.
Another solution to the problem is to reduce the importance of the
cognitions. Vogue may just focus on how talented I am and disregard my wild
and outlandish pictures on Facebook. They hire me anyway because they
shifted their mindset and thinking to a different perspective about me.
Albeit a very interesting piece, I felt like the article was still incomplete.
There is so much more to say about the pros and cons of Facebook for
business. She could have mentioned that Facebook can be used to promote
products for sale. The author also could have talked about the issue of
melding personal and professional friends on Facebook. Some teachers to
the present day still prefer not to accept friend requests from their students
until after the school year ends.
Anyone who is interested in the effects of social media on
communication should read this article. Communication business majors in
particular should take this with a grain of salt. People who are unproductive
online should also take home the points of putting Facebook to good use.
References:
Decarie, C. Facebook: Challenges And Opportunities For Business
Communication Students. Business Communication Quarterly, 449-452.
Facebook: figures of monthly active users 2008-2014 | Statistic.
(n.d.). Statista. Retrieved July 26, 2014, from
http://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-
users-worldwide/
McLeod, S. A. (2008, January 1). Cognitive Dissonance. Theory. Retrieved
July 29, 2014, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-
dissonance.html