What do the words "Media and Communication" mean?

Communication is the transfer of information between people or groups. Photo: Gabriel Blaj_Dreamstime

We encounter the words Media and Communication often, but what do they really mean? Communication is the transfer of information between people or groups. Language is important in communication between people, but communication can also take place by other means such as through text, images, symbols or body language. Medium refers to the channel through which information is given, for example radio, television, newspapers or the Internet.

We distinguish between different forms of communication. Personal communication is communication that occurs between you and your friends. This could be, for example, when you talk to a friend on the telephone. This communication is private, two-way communication. Both of you can influence the content and the form, and the communication is balanced.

Group communication occurs within groups. It could be, for example, communication that occurs in a classroom or within a group of friends. This type of communication can be one-way or two-way, and it can be both private and more public. Group communication is not always balanced, because not everyone has the same opportunity to influence the communication.

Mass communication is communication that is available to many people at the same time, such as through books, newspapers, radio and television. This kind of communication is often one-way communication. The sender decides what is to be produced, while the recipient has little possibility of influencing it or giving any feedback.

On the Internet, information can be spread quickly to large groups all at once. Here we find both personal communication and mass communication. It is not only professional communicators who control the information available here. Everyone can participate in social networks, their own blogs, a home page or comments on the pages established by professional communicators. The Internet gives the user a far greater degree of choice. We can choose when we want to have information, and we ourselves can locate the pages or programmes we like.