A person as a social being cannot live outside of communication with individuals of his own kind, that is, outside of communicative relations. Thus, society rests on social relations and communication between its members.
Why does society need communication relations
Social communication is a special kind of activity that is conditioned by the system of norms and assessments, as well as the rules of behavior adopted in the society, whose members enter into this communication.
The purpose of any communication is the individual's desire to transmit and receive information that is important and socially significant for him. An individual participating in social communication becomes a communicative person. Any communicative personality is characterized by three types of parameters: motivational, cognitive and functional. All these parameters of an individual are aimed at maintaining contact with the interlocutor, at establishing feedback between interlocutors, at regulating self-esteem, etc.
A particularly important aspect of communication as a social phenomenon is the need to manipulate the interlocutor and the selection of the information necessary for this. The communication process is heterogeneous in nature and has the following features:
- the presence of a mass audience;
- multichannel interaction;
- technical means to promote the dissemination of mass communication.
However, the social phenomenon of communication cannot be viewed only as a search for ways to manipulate the audience. Social communication also presupposes the rallying of people in this audience, that is, their consolidation.
Different approaches to defining communication
In Russian sociology, communication is usually understood as real communication in all its manifestations. Moreover, according to the researchers, people do not just communicate, but mainly during work. A. Ananiev and S. Rubinstein adhered to this position.
Other scientists - V. Slobodchikov, E. Isaev - consider communication, or communication, not only as a joint activity, but also as a product of this activity.
According to A. Rean, communication is not just a means, but also a goal. The individual strives for communication with all the forces and means available to him. Rean, in support of his position, recalls the pyramid of the American Maslow, who calls communication a necessary need for a person.
Thus, communication can be viewed and defined in different ways. However, its social significance for society in general and the individual in particular cannot be overestimated.
