Tasks
First, reflect on one communication modality you use regularly. This could be e-mail, text messaging, voice calls, or video calls. As you reflect, consider how you normally try to determine what the purpose of the communication is when someone contacts you in this communication modality. Is it just the context (like in a work e-mail) Is it what the other person says is the actual purpose?
Second, consider the following question: how might approaching the other elements of the rhetorical situation in those communications change your understanding of the purpose in those communications? For example, how might looking at rhetorical strategies before thinking of purpose help you to more clearly understand what and why people are communicating?
Texting is something we all do, all of the time. I use texting as a way to keep in touch with my friends, make plans, or have a quick conversation. Usually, I call or facetime if I want to say something that requires a lot of explaining, or is urgent, otherwise texting will suffice. Mostly, texting is used by friends and family, or anyone somewhat close to you. There are other modalities fitter for professional communication, such as e-mail. You wouldn't email your best friend just to chat, would you? No, you’d text them…because texting is more personal and friendly.
If, say, my best friend is texting me that she is upset, the purpose of that communication is to either listen and respond to what she has to vent about, or offer advice, depending on how she's feeling. Other times, if we talked about hanging out, it is to plan the when, where, and how. Most of the time we text each other about important life events, normal day-to-day things you want to share with your best friend, like how you got the job you applied for, or something exciting, funny, or even sad sometimes. The purpose of texting my best friend depends on what we are talking about, but overall it is to share events happening in my life and hear hers as well.
It is not uncommon for me, as well as others in/around my generation to get to know someone through social media or dating apps, and then move to text. Lately, as a result of Covid, it has been even more common for me, due to my inclination not to go out to crouded bars, clubs or other places to meet people. Typically a conversation will start with a compliment from either them or me, then, depending if they are at all communicative, they’ll ask me how my day was, ect. After the initial engagement, the purpose of communicating with a person im interested in is to see if they are a good match for me. I dont waste time on the nitty gritty questions, so I just get them out of the way. I will ask about their preferences in regards to politics, religion, music taste, hobbies/interests, and so on. Meanwhile, I watch for personality traits they convey in their communication. Are they funny? Are they smart? Do we have the same interests? I think that the overall purpose for communicating with someone I am interested in is, ironically, what is their purpose? The main reason for texting someone to get to know them is finding what their intentions or overall purpose in texting me are. This way, I know if they like me, if they are looking for something more casual, or if they just want to be friends.
Most of the time, I hate texting people I barely know. Usually, this leads to a communication that looks a lot like this one:
Them: Hey.
Me: Hi.
Them: How are you?
Me: Good.
Them: cool.
Do you see what's going on here? This is what Gen-Z calls “dry texting”. It seems to have zero purpose, and usually goes nowhere unless one person makes something interesting. It is extremely annoying when one person initiates a conversation, and doesn't get to the point. This is why texting has to actually have some kind of purpose, otherwise it's boring—aka “dry”. I tend to desert these meaningless communications, due to their lack of substance.
For communications such as texting, I don't feel as if I would ever use something so formal like the rhetorical analysis to figure out what the purpose of a communication is. Usually, it is right there in front of me. Additionally, I find myself to be a pretty intuitive person, so it is never difficult for me to understand why someone is texting me. If I somehow do not, I simply ask what it is they want or need, so I can respond accordingly.
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