Military Review English Edition November-December 2015 | Page 21

COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES

Number of service members

as if shouting from the top of a pyramid to the masses
with what they learn from social, horizontal media.
of people at its base.5 This article labels such media
In this way, they create a highly personalized picture
vertical.
of the world, including determining the purpose and
Senior leaders who rely exclusively on such tradivalue of their work (as well as the fitness or ability of
tional vertical media to get their message across may
their leadership).
not appreciate how younger people at lower levels of
As vertical media, such as newspapers and local teletheir organizations readily gain information and form
vision, attempt to inform the civilian population about
social connections in virtual communities, influencing
the communities in which they live and work, likewise
one another through social media relatively unaffected
official military media strive to do the same thing for
by vertical media intrusion. In contrast to traditionmilitary personnel. Figure 1 demonstrates the general
al vertical media, social media provide users with an
shift by age in recent use of vertical media such as newsindividualized flow of information that does not pass
papers, network television news, cable television news,
through an editorial gatekeeper. It is as if people were
and a selection of social media.6
effectively communicating horizontally across the face
Notably, people who came of age before the Internet
of the previously mentioned pyramid at some level
tend to prefer traditional, vertical media. In contrast,
below the top. Hence, this article labels these horizontal digital natives—people who grew up with computers
media. Audiences construct their picture of the world
and the Internet—are more likely to meld information
and the organizations in which they work from both
sources without showing dominant vertical preferences.
vertical and horizontal media.
This principle applies equally to people within tradiSome senior leaders may be at a disadvantage because tional organizations such as the U.S. Army as well as the
they do not recognize the enormous influence (and
general public.
challenge to their reputation or moral authority) of
Figure 2 shows the age spread by rank with in U.S.
social communities that form around social media such
military forces.7 These age groups have been socialized
as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and
YouTube. Such social media provide
600,000
platforms for audiences to connect
559,342
to one another and to form virtual
communities in cyberspace centered
500,000
on shared interests and tastes without an editorial authority dictating,
400,000
or even being invited into, the virtual
community’s agenda-setting process.
300,000
The audience can choose.
254,399
Thus, senior military leaders
would be well advised to recognize
200,000
155,117
that social media provide for more
89,837
horizontal and individualized flow
100,000
62,770
of information. It is as if people
61,508
54,144
were communicating face-to-face
48,654
42,947
31,611
0
on one of the levels of the afore25 or younger
26 to 30
36 to 40
31 to 35
41 or older
mentioned pyramid.
Age groups

Social Media
Individualize Messages
Service members have freedom
to select and meld what they learn
from traditional, vertical media

Enlisted

Officers

Figure 2. Distribution of Military Service Officers
and Enlisted Members by Age

MILITARY REVIEW  November-December 2015

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