COLLECTIVE COMMUNICATION: CHARACTERISTICS, MEANS AND EXAMPLES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The collective communication is a type of information exchange in which a main source transmits a message massively large numbers of people, in a completely unilateral manner. This means that the recipients of the first message cannot respond, something that does not happen in most communication processes.

Collective communication or mass media is carried out mainly through technologies such as the press, television or radio. At present, all these media have also been joined by the Internet, although in this case the characteristics are a little different because in most cases there is a certain reciprocity between sender and receiver.

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Traditionally, the mass media were in the hands of a few, usually the government and a series of private companies that controlled the television, radio and press channels. Nowadays, however, networks have greatly democratized the mass transmission of information.

However, despite the fierce competition that the Internet has brought to the traditional mass media, they still enjoy a lot of power. In this article we will see the most important characteristics of collective communication as well as some of its most representative examples.

Characteristics of collective communication

- It is generally institutionalized

Most types of communication can occur between people of all classes and social conditions. However, this does not happen with collective communication. In order to carry it out, it is necessary to have certain resources, follow specific rules and have an audience interested in the message you want to send.

Traditionally, the only people who could make use of collective communication were the big businessmen, the owners of television and radio networks, and the newspapers. Today this sector has become much more democratized with the appearance of platforms such as blogs or YouTube, but still not everyone is capable of accessing this type of communication.

- Shape public opinion

Collective communication has the particularity that it is capable of influencing in a very direct way the opinions, thoughts and ideas of a large number of people at the same time. As a consequence, it has the power to mark public opinion in a very simple way.

The media are well aware of this and usually try to maintain neutrality and objectivity to report what is happening in the least biased way possible.

On some occasions, however, certain media can manipulate their broadcasts to control the opinion of the general population and achieve certain objectives.

- Requires the use of technology

The vast majority of types of communication can be carried out face to face and therefore do not require any special equipment or conditions. In this sense, collective communication is quite different, since to reach a large number of people at the same time it is necessary to have some technological support.

Thus, collective communication as such appeared for the first time with the creation of the printing press, which allowed a message to be transmitted relatively quickly to a large number of people. Later, each new advance in telecommunications has expanded the scope and scope of this way of transmitting information.

- It is impersonal

By definition, collective communication is not directed at a specific individual, but attacks a more or less wide and personalized audience. One of the most important consequences of this is that unlike almost all other types of communication, this is totally impersonal.

When someone receives a message transmitted through collective communication, the information that reaches him is not exclusive to him. On the contrary, a large number of people around the world may be receiving the same message. As a consequence, the whole process is colder and usually has less impact than other types of closer communication.

Collective media

The mass media are closely linked to the technologies that have appeared throughout history. In this section we will see which are the most important media of this type in addition to their most important characteristics.

- Newspapers

One of the first types of collective communication to appear was the written press, made up of newspapers, magazines, and other similar publications.

Thanks to them, millions of people can access the same content easily and simply, in such a way that they have the possibility of knowing what is happening in the world and accessing new information.

- Radio

Radio was the first mass communication medium to appear. The printing press allowed to transmit information to many people at the same time, but even so its scope was limited and using this medium involved a significant expenditure of material means.

With radio this does not happen. A single speaker can convey your message to millions of people at the same time, as long as you have the right technology. At the same time, communication is slightly more personal, since the voice conveys much more information to us than the written word.

- TV

Television was a revolution in the world of collective communication. Today almost every household in the Western world has at least one television, and its programs have a great influence on our opinions and ways of thinking.

- Internet

The last great revolution in the world of communications appeared with the arrival of the Internet and all the tools that it has brought with it. Today, anyone with a little ingenuity and perseverance can build a good size audience and get their message across in a variety of ways, competing with traditional media.

Thus, today many of the collective communication methods have to do with the Internet: blogs, podcasts, YouTube videos, social networks… All of them allow us to transmit our ideas to millions of people around the world instantly, in addition to allow a certain reciprocity in communication that is not present in the rest of the types.

Examples

To finish we will see some examples of collective communication processes.

- A television presenter broadcasting the most important news of the day.

- A radio host talking about the release of a new album by a well-known artist.

- A youtuber publishing an opinion video and getting several million visits.

References

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