ABSTRACT

This chapter explores the process of perception and its role in interpersonal communication. Perception is the process of sensing, organizing, and interpreting the many stimuli that shower our senses every moment we are alive. Most people regard perception as a one-step process in which we take in something that we see, we hear, or we smell. More time and effort are often spent selecting the pictures to be posted rather than the written content to be shared on social media. People can also be overly sensitive to and dependent upon the number of “likes,” retweets, reposts, and positive comments their social media postings and images receive to feel positive about themselves. Social media is a powerful way to stay connected to others, to gather news and information, and to be entertained and inspired. In a high-context culture, people find meaning in their surroundings and environment and less meaning in words.