ABSTRACT
Intrapersonal, interpersonal, small-group, large-group, mass-audience-what is the difference? If we write articles for a school newspaper, or talk over a two-way radio system, or take family pictures with a videocamera, are we engaging in mass communication? When does personal become mass? Technologies are essential for the process, but using a technology itself does not guarantee mass communication. We need to set our parameters with some definitions. We also need to know why humans communicate on a mass basis, and the purposes or functions mass media fulfill in society.
