STUDENT: Maria Veniamin

PROJECT ADVISOR: Kim Flanders

ABSTRACT

My research paper focuses on group communication through the means of social media, video calls, phone calls, written letters, and texting, and how they compare to face-to-face communication. I used Tuckman’s Theory of Group Development to help me understand how a group forms and the stages a group goes through to become a cohesive unite that can work effectively together. What I discovered through this research was that groups lost much of their personal connection to their fellow group members because of the loss of facial expressions, gestures, and proximity to others through the use of electronic forms of communication. I believe that this loss of communication over electronic means is the loss of the human touch. Groups are formed for college classes, for business projects, for planning events, and much more. Understanding what modes of communication work best for a group is important so that the group can communicate clearly and openly without any misunderstandings.