Immersive Communication: The Communication Paradigm of the Third Media Age

205 Pages·2019·4.514 MB·English

by  Qin Li

Immersive Communication:
The Communication Paradigm of the
Third Media Age
Communication, like the atmosphere itself, is ubiquitous and essential for humans,
and, with the development of new technologies, such as ubiquitous network, big
data, 3D printing, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence, it has become almost
impossible to live without it. In addition, means of communication have changed
immeasurably.
This book proposes a new research paradigm that incorporates new features
and factors of communication and a new theoretical framework named “immer-
sive communication.” Pointing out that communication today has moved beyond
the bidirectional mass communication of “the second media age” to ubiquitous,
immersive communication in “the third media age,” the author discusses the defi-
nition, characteristics, information structure, and models of immersive commu-
nication, using various examples including Fitbit, Apple, 5G, the Second Life,
smart planet, and biological communication technologies, while envisioning
future applications of the immersive communication mode.
Scholars and students of communication studies, especially those interested in
the manifestations of the new media age, will all benefit from this book. It will
also appeal to readers interested in new media and communication theories.
Qin Li is the director of the National Communication Strategy Research Center,
an associate professor at Renmin University of China’s School of Journalism
and Communication, and a research fellow at the China Journalism and Social
Development Research Center. Her famous publications include Immersive
Communication: The Communication Paradigm of the Third Media Age (2013)
and Bing Media: The Theory and Practice of Immersive Communication
(2019) [email protected].
China Perspectives
The China Perspectives series focuses on translating and publishing works by lead-
ing Chinese scholars writing about both global topics and China-related themes.
It covers Humanities and Social Sciences, Education, Media, and Psychology, as
well as many interdisciplinary themes.
This is the first time any of these books have been published in English for
international readers. The series aims to put forward a Chinese perspective, give
insights into cutting-edge academic thinking in China, and inspire researchers
globally.
Titles in media communication currently include:
The Patterns of Symbolic Communication
Sui Yan
China in Symbolic Communication
Sui Yan
Media Effects and Social Change
Ran Wei, Shuhua Zhou, Wenhui Luo
Communication and Community
Bin Wang
Epistemology of News Frame
Wei Xiao
Immersive Communication: The Communication Paradigm of the Third
Media Age
Qin Li
Immersive Communication
The Communication Paradigm of the
Third Media Age
Qin Li
This book is published with financial support from the Chinese Fund for the
Humanities and Social Sciences.
First published in English 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 Qin Li
The right of Qin Li to be identified as author of this work has been asserted
by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
English Version by permission of Social Sciences Academic Press (China).
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-0-367-37671-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-35553-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface to Chinese edition xi
Preface to English edition xxi
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Literature review: Theories on media evolution—from
interpersonal communication to immersive communication 1
1.1.1 The first media age and the second media age 2
1.1.2 Evolutionary trends of media morphosis: “Coevolution
and Coexistence” and “Anthropotropicness” 6
1.1.3 Media space, environment, and ecological theory define
the relationship between media, humans, and the environment 9
1.1.4 How ways and modes of communication evolve to
“vanishing boundaries,” and how communication
tools and communication relations are reconstructed 14
1.2 The origin and theoretical evolution of the concept of “immersion” 16
1.2.1 The origin of “immersion” concept 16
1.2.2 Immersion’s application in virtual reality 18
1.2.3 Remote presence and immersive communication 21
1.3 Media technology and social development: Conditions and
environment for the evolution of immersive communication 24
1.3.1 From “informational” survival to “post-information”
survival 26
1.3.2 From “localized” survival to “ubiquitous” survival 30
1.3.3 Human beings live not only in a physical world but
also in a virtual world 34
1.4 Limitations of existing theories and research significance 37
1.4.1 Media morphosis breaks through traditional spatial
categories 38
1.4.2 The concept of “presence” has undergone a qualitative
change 40
1.5 Summary 41
vi Contents
2 The definition of immersive communication 43
2.1 Logic of the new definition 43
2.1.1 “Technological determinism” “decides” immersive
communication as a new mode of communication 43
2.1.2 The “anthropotropic” trend leads people to choose the
most suitable things in order to survive 46
2.2 Definition of immersive communication 48
2.3 The breakthroughs of the new definition compared with
existing definitions of communication 49
2.3.1 Immersive communication reconstructs the three “spaces” 50
2.3.2 Immersive communication reconstructs the
relationship between media and the human being. It’s
the hottest and the coolest medium 53
2.4 Summary 55
3 Morphological characteristics of immersive communication 56
3.1 Immersive communication is human centered: Everything is
media, and humans are also a media form 56
3.2 Immersive communication is instant and anytime: The
present, past, and future are integrated, and the virtual world
and physical world coexist as integrated, instantaneous, and
long-lasting 58
3.3 Immersive communication is pervasive anywhere and
everywhere: In “remote” presence and “ubiquitous”
presence, fixed, mobile, and virtual coexistence converge 60
3.4 Immersive communication is all-powerful: Boundaries
between entertainment, work, and life vanish; cloud
computing integrates everything 62
3.5 Summary 63
4 The information content and movement mode of immersive
communication 66
4.1 Language form 67
4.1.1 Previous media languages 67
4.1.2 The pan-media language of the whole environment:
The monitoring camera and environmental
advertisements in the intelligent city 68
4.1.3 Humans as the source of media language and
information content 69
4.1.4 The language of the virtual world 70
4.2 The linguistic hegemony of immersive media 71
4.2.1 Presenting ideas in immersive communication:
Moistens everything softly and silently 71
Contents vii
4.2.2 Media advertisement and the social discourse power of
immersive communication 72
4.3 Information presentation 73
4.4 The paths and characteristics of information movement in
immersive communication 74
4.5 Summary 76
5 The model of immersive communication and its graphic forms 78
5.1 The main communication models in communication studies 78
5.2 The model of immersive communication 83
5.2.1 The communication process: Comprehensive
connectivity based on modern information technology 84
5.2.2 Communication relations: Human-centered
communication structure 86
5.2.3 Communication goals and effects: The Communication
Immersive Index 86
5.3 The model of immersive communication function: IC matrix 88
5.3.1 The IC matrix: Basic features 88
5.3.2 The meaning of the 25 intersections in the IC matrix 89
5.3.3 The theoretical breakthrough and research
contribution of the IC matrix 89
5.4 The model of immersive communication process: The IC
stereo helix 91
5.4.1 The explanation of the IC stereo helix 91
5.4.2 The significance of the IC stereo helix 91
5.5 The model of immersive communication relationship: The IC
schematic 92
5.5.1 The explanation of the IC schematic 92
5.5.2 The meaning of the IC schematic 92
5.6 Summary 92
6 Application and verification of the immersive communication models 97
6.1 Application of the immersive communication models 97
6.1.1 General application of the immersive communication
models 97
6.1.2 Dividing the three media ages with the immersive
communication model 104
6.2 Case verification of the immersive communication model 105
6.2.1 The first media age: Lobby leaflets and unidirectional
transmission 106
6.2.2 The second media age: Elevator television and focus
awareness 107
viii Contents
6.2.3 The third media age: Panoramic monitoring and
personalized service 110
6.3 Summary 116
7 How immersive communication guides the formation of
“the third media age” 121
7.1 The inevitable cause of the formation of “the third
media age” 122
7.1.1 The revolution of media ontology and changes in
social productivity 123
7.1.2 Changes in the media space and the transformation of
human living space 125
7.1.3 Changes in the social functions of media bring changes
to social relations 128
7.2 The concept and characteristics of “the third media age” 130
7.2.1 The concept of “the third media age” 130
7.2.2 The characteristics of “the third media age” 133
7.3 Summary 138
8 “Immersive communicators” and their production and
lifestyle characteristics 141
8.1 Information acquisition by immersive communicators 142
8.1.1 Enhanced identity as audiences/recipients 142
8.1.2 Enhanced identity as “we media” 143
8.2 The lifestyle of immersive communicators 144
8.3 The production mode of immersive communicators 147
8.4 The entertainment of immersive communicators 151
8.5 The future of immersive communicators: The commencement
of biological media 154
8.6 Summary 155
9 Conclusion: Immersive communication opens a new chapter in
human communication 157
9.1 Revolutions in human–media relations 158
9.2 Revolution of communication content 159
9.3 Revolution of communication methods 161
9.4 Revolution of media function 162
Afterword to Chinese edition 165
References 167
Index 174
Illustrations
Figures
5.1 The Lasswell formula (Lasswell, 1948) 79
5.2 Shannon–Weaver model (Shannon & Weaver, 1949) 80
5.3 DeFleur model (DeFleur, 1970) 80
5.4 Osgood and Schramm circular model (Schramm, 1954) 81
5.5 Dance’s helical model (Dance, 1967) 81
5.6 Maletzke’s model (Maletzke, 1963) 82
5.7 The display/attention model (McQuail, 1987) 83
5.8 The relationships between ubiquitous network, Internet of Things,
and Internet of sensors 84
5.9 The function model matrix of immersive communication
(media diagram) 93
5.10 The function model matrix of immersive communication
(media diagram) 93
5.11 The stereo helix model of the immersive communication process 94
5.12 The schematic of the immersive communication relationship model 95
6.1 The function model matrix of immersive communication
(three media ages) 105
6.2 Composition principle and functions of IOT 111
6.3 The elevator monitor recorded the fall of a 9-year-old boy 113
8.1 The old man is doing morning exercises in the park 145
8.2 A live sensor in the park reminds the old man: “Your heart rate is
higher than normal.” 146
8.3 The old man receives a remote diagnosis by a doctor 146
8.4 The doctor pulls up the man’s electronic medical records and
determines that excessive exercise leads to high blood pressure 147
8.5 Ubiquitous terminals tip (alert): the man’s granddaughter Shizuka
wants to talk with him 147
8.6 Shizuka wants to learn how to make a paper airplane 148
8.7 The old man teaches Shizuka how to make a paper airplane
through video 148
8.8 Shizuka waves goodbye to the old man 149
Table
5.1 Representative intersections in the function model matrix of
immersive communication 90