Why Focus Explicitly on Communication Theory Today?
The leading theories of any age are determined by the central problems people have to confront in any historical period. Many human problems recur throughout time, but their specific nature arises in the practical problems of the age. While for all of history people have developed and used implicit theories of communication, only in our own age has a discipline arisen to explicitly examine a full range of communication issues. An understanding of social problems central to our age is essential to understanding today’s theories of communication and serves as a vantage point to see how well these theories help. Essentially, I wish to argue that significant changes have happened to individuals and in the society and that these changes have led to a greater need to look explicitly at communication and at social consequences of theories.
