With one post at a time, the Communication Studies Department wants to set the record straight on the stereotype that “Communication is an easy major.”
The Pepperdine Communication Studies Department is making a social media splash, advocating for the utility and importance of a degree in communication. The Instagram initiative aims to reach out to prospective students and destigmatize the Communication Studies major.
Courtney Hook, assistant professor of Communication and the recruitment officer for the Instagram page, was the force behind the formation of this social media initiative.
“I think social media is not the future, it’s right now,” Hook said. “So we need to lean into that to do exactly what we’re meant to do in this major, which is connect.”
The Creation to Combat Misconceptions
Hook said she had a vision and recruited senior Communication Studies majors Elliana Johnson and Ella Coates to co-direct the Instagram page.
“The girls woke up this semester and said, ‘We are going to slay,’” Hook said.
Johnson and Coates shared that they are involved in completely different areas of campus life, but still came together to make a dream team.
“Ella and I work so well together and are able to bounce so many things off of each other,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the Instagram page started due to the misconceptions of Communication Studies as a degree.
“The idea that a Communication Studies major is learning how to talk is an uneducated view of a Communication Studies major,” Johnson said.
Hook said that Communication Studies are so much more than learning how to talk.
“Our major reconciles families and bridges a lot of gaps across cultures and produces really beautiful messages by really skilled messengers,” Hook said.
As a veteran in the field, Hook said she has learned how to deal with misconceptions over the years.
“I am so passionate about Communication Studies that the misconceptions don’t faze me anymore,” Hook said.
However, for students beginning to build their passion for communication, it is harder to face comments from their peers.
“Probably what frustrates students the most is that it’s ‘the easy major on campus.’ We’re not naive,” Hook said.
Johnson and Coates said they have always wanted to advocate for their specific passion and love for their Communication Studies major.
“When I was a freshman and I was taking these Com classes, I was the only person thoroughly enjoying my classes and the only person who was taking all these courses,” Johnson said. “And they were applicable to my life today and also in 20 years from now.”
Staying On-Trend
The Instagram page, or as Johnson calls it, “the Com–stagram,” includes trendy reels, alumni spotlights, faculty features and so much more. But above the likes and shares, Coates said the Instagram page highlights the reasoning behind the initiative.
“We want not only for people to know what happens in the Communication Division, but also for people to want to be a part of it,” Coates said.
Johnson, Coates and Hook meet once a week to brainstorm content for the page that balances being on trend while also advocating for the Communication Studies department.
“We’re just constantly brainstorming about content to post that relates and kind of invigorates our major,” Hook said.
In a Medium article, Dentsu Webchutney said that the majority of trends among Gen Z involve self-deprecation, and although they might be “viral-worthy,” Hook warns of the danger of following those trends on the Communication department’s Instagram page.
“We kind of can’t do that as Communication majors, because we are fighting harder than any other discipline against this misconception that we’re easy,” Hook said.
Coates said that as a team, they pivot and focus on the positive sides of trends that work hand-in-hand with their objective.
“So, there are things where we want to really showcase Communication Studies in a fun way, but ultimately always going back to our purpose,” Coates said.
Johnson said the Instagram page is more than just likes and follows — it is a tool to help prospective students step into the major with knowledge of what it truly entails, rather than its misconceptions.
“I think it’s a good way for students to envision themselves here and as a Communication major,” Johnson said.
The Future is Communication Studies
The social media initiative is only in its beginning stages, but the team behind the Instagram page has a bigger vision for the future of their social media brigade.
“If I’m really dreaming big, we move beyond Pepperdine and we’re known as that really cool Communication Studies major that has a hilarious Instagram,” Hook said. “But also under the guise of that, showing people how cool this discipline is.”
As Johnson and Coates prepare to graduate at the end of the spring semester, they explained how this social media initiative and the valuable lessons they have been gifted from their major will prepare them for their professional lives.
“If [future employers] understand the value of someone who understands how to communicate effectively, and they bring them onto their team, I think there’s a lot of value,” Coates said.
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Contact Haylie Ross via email: haylie.ross@pepperdine.edu
