Remus Runcan

Virtual Communication Remus Runcan

Though not stated as such, the main goal of Remus Runcan's book titled Virtual Communication: Another Form of Communication? is to analyse the risks of virtual communication, a form of communication that has most properties, the appearance, the essence, and the effect of communication without being communication. To do so, the author had to identify possible negative external and internal conditions, events or situations in virtual communication; to determine causal relationships between probable hindrances, their magnitude and likely outcomes of virtual communication; to evaluate various outcomes of under different assumptions and probabilities that each outcome will take place in virtual communication; to apply qualitative and quantitative techniques to reduce outcome uncertainty and associated human costs, liabilities and losses in virtual communication. The author did so by tackling the most important aspects of (virtual) communication from a sociological perspective. Possible negative external and internal conditions, events or situations in virtual communication are identified through a thorough analysis of the need for communication. The author analyses physiological, social, identity, affective, and spiritual needs in an attempt to explain the increasing addiction to virtual communication among our contemporaries. In the same context, the author presents the main forms of communication from the perspective of the way messages are coded and conveyed, as well as the levels of communication, showing that virtual communication has come to cover interpersonal, group, public, and mass communication. This is a good opportunity for the author to determine the cause-and-effect relationships between people and Divinity, between friends, between husband and wife, between parents and children, and between professionals at the workplace, relationships that can lead to both understanding and misunderstanding, to communication and miscommunication. Communication outcomes are evaluated from the perspective of social, cultural, psychological, and physical barriers to communication The author applies qualitative (narration) and quantitative (demographics) techniques in an attempt to demonstrate that the communication risks associated to virtual communication are considerable in terms of costs, liabilities and losses. He analyses the relationship between communication and lie and between communication and manipulation, reaching the conclusion that virtual communication should not replace face-to-face communication.