3: Self-Presentation/Self-Preservation

I found O’Sullivan’s “What You Don’t Know Won’t Hurt Me” extremely insightful and on-target. It clearly provided reasons why users of media channels would select one particular channel over another with the “boost”, “praise”, “confess”, and “accuse” categories of self-presentational issues. Now I know exactly why I like writing letters to people I’m having issues with…

Last week, one of my closest friends and I had what I will refer to as a “small pocket of relational tension” due to the fact that I am sometimes guilty of considering my own interests over the interests of other people. The situation at hand made me particularly uncomfortable because I was having trouble determining whether I thought she was upset with me because I simply assumed she should be, or if I had accurately read her previous conversational cues over the telephone. Anyway, I decided to write my friend a Facebook message because the issue was a negatively-valenced in my direction. O’Sullivan explains in his third hypothesis that if “one’s own impression is expected to be threatened, preferences for mediated channels will be higher” (p. 416). So I chose to write a Facebook message, which is much like an e-mail, because I feel that I have most control over my self-presentation when I write. In addition, I considered my friend’s stress level at the time the message was sent (she had been at the library all day) and knew that an asynchronous communication, where she would be able to respond whenever she felt ready or compelled to, would be favorable for both of us. Incase you’re wondering, the matter was settled and my friend and I are doing just fine.

My second instance of media selection occurred today. This morning I remembered that tickets for Stephen Colbert’s “I Am America” comedy tour were going on sale, and I really wanted to purchase them. At this point in my life, I am completely dependent on my parents for financial support, so I knew I needed to get their permission before charging 4 tickets (so my friends and I can sit together, at $30 a pop) to their credit card. Remembering that my parents love when I call them, I decided to give them a ring. My straightforwardness in calling and asking them for this favor turned out to be a “boost” to my self-presentation. Choosing the telephone as my media channel was the best selection for this particular situation. A phone call is as intimate as I can be with my parents (as we are too far away from each other to have a FtF interaction), I got my answer quickly (yes!), and their impression of me turned out to be positive. Good things happen when you use media channels to your greatest advantage!

Links to my comments:
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/09/3-like-i-was-born-in-1975.html
http://comm245green.blogspot.com/2007/09/im-basically-attention-whore-3.html