Mediated Communication and Online Communities Flashcards
Major point of difference when talking about Mediated Communication vs. F2F
presence or absence of social cues has a large effect on perceived intimacy
- More personal, intimate
- You can see the person’s facial expressions,
hear their voice, convey tone (attitude, feeling) – social cues
F2F
- Least personal
- Can’t get a true sense of the person
- Cannot convey verbal/non-verbal social cues
- (+) Always available
Mediated Communication
When did the research regarding Mediated Comm vs F2F started?
1970s
Research during the 1970s were focused on what kind of concerns?
Managerial concerns as audio conferencing, video conferencing, and network computer system were being installed in large organizations. They wanted to know when they could hold teleconferences and when face-to- face would be better suited
What are the two theories of Media Choice?
- Social Presence Theory (Short, Williams, &
Christine, 1976) - Media Richness Theory (Daft & Lengel, 1984)
if you know what social cues served which function and you know what social cues can be transmitted through what media, then we can predict how much social presence a person feels using a specific medium
Social Presence Theory (Short, Williams, &
Christine, 1976)
With regards to Social Presence Theory, tasks involving maintaining social relationships should require the use of
media that would convey more social cues
With regards to Social Presence Theory, simpler tasks should require the use of
voice mail, text, email
With regards to Social Presence Theory, media with the least social presence is
audio meetings
information-carrying capacity
Medium Richness
- Speed of feedback
- Ability to communicate multiple cues
- Use of natural language
- Ability to convey feelings/emotions
Media Richness Theory (Daft & Lengel, 1984)
Compare rich and lean media for their suitability for solving different tasks
Focuses more on asynchronous communication
Media Richness Theory (Daft & Lengel, 1984)
With regards to Media Richness Theory (Daft & Lengel, 1984), tasks that are high in uncertainty would fit better in…
rich media (video conferences)
With regards to Media Richness Theory (Daft & Lengel, 1984), simple straightforward tasks would require the use of…
lean media (email, text, etc)
The Two Theories of Media Choice may also be called
“cues filtered out approaches”
o Make it more difficult to maintain conversational alignment and mutual understanding
o Provide greater anonymity > depersonalization, impersonal environment, redistribution of social power
o Lack of social cues = context w/o social norms
“Cues Filtered Out” Approaches
- Messages that include swearing, insults, name- calling, negative effect, and typographic energy.
- Behavior that is expected through the “cues filtered out approaches” Lack of social presence, social norms, and accountability in a reduced cues medium can be seen as a platform to attack other people
Flaming
She argues that flaming happens because of norms rather than its absence (o Context matters
o Argumentative groups o Civil groups)
Martin Lea
- Can be used to discipline people for behaving inappropriately and to maintain group norms
Flaming
Introduced by Scott E. Fahlman in 1972, the use of punctuation to form a smile : - ) J
Emoticons
o Asterisk as bracket: Emphasis
o Capslock: HAHAHA, Emphasis
o Punctuation: Oh no!!, What??!!
o Repetition: Hellooooooo
o Descriptive language that appeal to senses o Acronyms: LOL, ROFL, IMO, IDC, ILY, Brb
Text to convey nonverbal social cues:
reduce Psychological Distance, create own individual identities
Immediacy Cues
Types of Immediacy Cues
Informal language
Non-standard spellings: ”u” |“you” Deletions (shortening messages because of time constraints/ physical discomfort of typing for a long period of time)
Casual and slang vocabulary: Marites, Lodi, Naol, Dasurv, Tulfo
Greetings and sign-offs
Links, memes, gifs (insider jokes, reveal emotional states, provide additional context)
blend of written speech and oral speech
Online language
Combines communication practices in conversation and in writing
Digital Communication as a Mixed Modality
Async or Sync:
E-mail, IM, Text
Asynchronous Textual OL Interaction
Async or Sync:
Audio/video calls (Synchronous)
Synchronous Textual OL Interaction
More like writing than speech, can be edited
Can be read by people who may not reply
Context is created through content that is
explicit and complete
Asynchronous Textual OL Interaction
o No overlap between communications / no
disruptions
o No shared physical context
o Replicable and can be stored
Asynchronous Textual OL Interaction
o More like speech
o In real time, fast response
o Immediacy: misspellings, deletions
o Talking in-turns, but can overlap
o Topics change rapidly (don’t stick to one topic) o Messages aren’t stored by recipients despite
capacity for storage
Synchronous Textual OL Interaction
Contextual Influences
Relational dimension
Women
Contextual Influences
Informative dimension
Men
o Social softening, extra words
o Sharing emotional experiences
o Talk about “why” something happened o Use openings/endings more often
o Supportive language
o Longer messages
o More nonverbal cues
Women
o Factually-oriented language
o Calls for action
o Less self-disclosure
o Fewer attempts at tension prevention and reduction
o More likely to use an adversarial/aggressive style of communication (MAS: Male Answer Syndrome)
Men
o Women attacked for being women
o Women are objectified more often than
men
o Men attacked for their views/ideas
Sexism
online spaces offer highly stereotypical
portrayals
Racism
Social identities which affect the way people act online and how they are perceived by others.
Gender and culture
