Nonverbal Communication and Computer Mediated

Communication

NVC & CMC

In person communication differs from online communicationMedia richness

Message complexity, bandwidth, rate of exchange

Degree of formalitySlang, profanity,

misspellingsSynchronicity

synchronous vs. asynchronous exchanges

Response latency

Context cuesSituation, setting

Hierarchyvertical vs. flat

Anonymityposeurs,

pseudonymity, nonymity or nonymous

PrivacyControllability of

information about oneself

Face-to-face (FtF) interaction is nonverbally richFtF includes eye contact,

facial expression, gestures, vocal cues, posture, touch, and smell

All mediated communication impedes nonverbal cues in one way or another.

Some media are richer than otherschatroomstextingSkype

Mediated communication has fewer affective (emotion, feeling) cues

Varieties of CMCEmailTextingInstant MessagingChat roomsDiscussion forumsFan sitesOnline support groupsFacebookTwitterSkypeLinkedInMessage boardsSecond Life and other

virtual environments

Impersonal nature of CMC

To what extent does nonverbal communication operate online?Fewer nonverbal cuesFewer context cues

It is more difficult to develop closeness without nonverbal cuesSome scholars argue that

the lack of nonverbal cues in mediated channels limits the depths of relationships

Has Facebook diluted the concept of “friendship”?

Social Displacement, Disinhibition, and the Hyperpersonal modelSocial displacement

hypothesis (Kraut, 1998; Nie, 2001). time spent online

trades off with FtF interaction

most studies failed to confirm this; CMC does not alienate people from real-life relationships.

Disinhibition effect: internet users are more likely to disclose personal information than those in FtF settings.

The hyperpersonal model contends that “receivers stereotype and idealize their partners when they receive messages” (Walther, 2006, p. 465).Internet users project

their own anticipated nonverbal messages onto a conversational partner to compensate for the lack of cues

Social Presence TheoryThe degree of salience

(importance, awareness) of others; a sense of “being there” between two communicators

Online communication reduces social presence.

Nonverbal cues assist in establishing and maintaining social norms.

Absent social context cues, people act in less inhibited, less socially acceptable ways

YouTube video by a UCLA student complaining about Asians in the library.

The Dark Side of CMC CMC is less rule-governed

than FtF. Actual and perceived

anonymity of online environments encourages negative behavior. Infidelity; cyber-affairsGreater jealousy (Muise, et

al .2009)FlamingCyber-bullyingHate speechLoss of privacyWeb trackingCyber-stalkingTrollingScams, fraud, identity theftCyber-dumpingCyber-firing

Learning about perceived anonymity the hard wayAnthony Weiner

tweeted pictures of his “package” to everyone.

Massachusetts high school teacher was fired over Facebook comments about students.

CyberbullyingHigh profile cases:

2010: Tyler Clementi, a Rutgers University freshman, committed suicide after being “outed” as gay via streaming video.

2010: Phoebe Prince hanged herself after being tormented online by students at South Hadley high school.

2008: Jessica Logan, 18, hanged herself after an ex-boyfriend circulated nude cellphone pictures she “sexted” him.

2006: Megan Meier, age 13, killed herself after the jealous mother of a created a fictitious identity to harass her.

Tyler Clementi

Phoebe Prince

Cyberbullying and teen suicide

Overall, teen suicides have decreased 28% in recent years, however:A survey by Campus Pride

of 5,000 college students who are GLBT found that nearly one in four reported harassment.

victims of cyberbullying report that threats are as realistic and disturbing as face-to-face situations (Aricak 2009).

Email, TextingSalutations

None, personal, impersonal, too personal

Dr. Gass, Mr. Gass, Hey Doc

Clarity, writing styletypoes adn

misteaks can ruin you’re credability.How revealing are

grammatical and typographical errors?

“What is the floormat (format) for the paper?”

Important messages deserve a spell-check.

Font choice, ALL CAPS

Forwarding emailsResponse timeAutocorrect and auto-

completion:Hey boss, I’ll be aroused

(around) later this afternoonText-speak and LOL-speakReply to allReceipt requestedOut of office replyHigh importanceSignature, sign offs

Best regards, Cheers, Take care

quotationsLegaleeze

What is wrong with this email?

Legaleeze I received happy birthday

wishes from a friend who is a jury consultant with the following fine print at the end of the email.

Such legaleeze makes the message less warm, friendly, personable

PRIVACY RIGHTS OR EXPECTATIONS, THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT AND/OR THE ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT PRIVILEGES PROTECT THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS FACSIMILE MESSAGE.  IT IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE REVIEW AND USE OF THE INDIVIDUAL NAMED ABOVE, AND THE PRIVILEGES OR PROTECTIONS ARE NOT WAIVED BY VIRTUE OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVING BEEN SENT BY FACSIMILE.  IF THE PERSON ACTUALLY RECEIVING THIS FACSIMILE OR ANY OTHER READER IS NOT THE NAMED RECIPIENT, OR AN EMPLOYEE OR AGENT RESPONSIBLE FOR DELIVERING IT TO THE NAME RECIPIENT, ANY USE, DISSEMINATION, DISTRIBUTION OR COPYING OF THIS COMMUNICATION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.  IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS COMMUNICATION IN ERROR, PLEASE IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY US BY TELEPHONE AND RETURN THE ORIGINAL FACSIMILE TO US AT THE ABOVE ADDRESS BY FIRST CLASS MAIL.  YOU SHOULD DESTROY ANY COPIES THAT WERE MADE.  THANK YOU.

Compensating Internet users compensate

for the lack of nonverbal cues in other waysEmoticonsText-speak; LOL reports a

feeling or emotionHumor, irony, sarcasm are

easily confused absent nonverbal cues

But does it work? Is an e-card as meaningful

as a physical card? Emoticons

Limited range of emotions, lacking in nuance

May be disingenuous LOL

Gender differencesWomen use

emoticons far more than men

Contradictions between words and emoticonsWith the exception of

sarcasm, words tend to be more believable than emoticons

Cyber-dumpingPeople use CMC as

an easy way out for communicating negative informationHarder to be mean in

FtF communicationMessages can be

worded more carefully than in FtF contexts

Emotional reactions, backlash can be avoided

Asymmetrical nature of negative CMCIf Tammy dumps

Lloyd via a text, it will be easier on her, but harder on him.

Lloyd may be even more humiliated, may perceive Tammy is insensitive

The self vs. the virtual selfEmployers now access

Facebook to screen job applicants

70 percent of recruiters and hiring managers in the United States have rejected an applicant based on online information.Poorly written postsdrinking, drug userisqué picturesdiscriminatory

commentsBad-mouthing previous

employer or workplaceFlame wars on

discussion boards

Impression management on the web.

Email and user names are verbal (text, words) but the images they convey are nonverbal as well.nightstalker@aol.comhankypanky38@hotmai

l.comPhotographs may be

carefully selected and manipulated

Identity management onlineFacebook is a

computerized form of identity management

Users attempt to project a favorable self image

Online personas may differ from real life actors

Online deceptionOnline stalking, trollingPhishing scamsIdentity theftDating websites on

which people post old, inaccurate pictures of themselves.“You weren’t bald on

your web picture.”“You weren’t 30 years

old either!”