Social Networking for Interpersonal Life: A Competence-Based Approach to the Rich Get Richer Hypothesis

2020 ◽  
pp. 089443932090950
Author(s):  
Brandon C. Bouchillon

Online and offline interactions are thought to draw from separate but complementary skill sets. This explains why individuals who are competent interpersonally tend to get more out of social networking. At least part of what they already know about interacting applies online. But whether computer-based competence has some bearing on real-world interactional capability is still open to debate. The present study tested associations between computer-mediated communication (CMC) competence and interpersonal competence over time. Results indicate that CMC competence was related to interpersonal competence and interpersonal contributed back to CMC competence. The forms of competence become mutually reinforcing. Using Facebook contributed to CMC competence as well, but not to interpersonal competence, at least not directly. Facebook use was related to interpersonal competence indirectly, through increasing CMC competence over time. Social networking is associated with feeling more capable of interacting through computers, and online proficiency has some application in the real world. This is good news for a withdrawn society that has become less competent socially. Developing either form of competence should contribute to its counterpart.

Author(s):  
Samantha Stinson ◽  
Debora Jeske

Computer-mediated communication offers a range of potentially appealing features, including selective self-presentation, social presence control, and simultaneous as well as asynchronous interaction tools. The study examines the influence of personality (introversion and extraversion) and personal variables (social anxiety and public self-consciousness) on online dating preferences from two competing perspectives: the “social compensation” (SC) hypothesis and the “rich-get-richer” (RGR) hypothesis. Survey results (N = 162) revealed that the SC and RGR hypotheses do not hold true within the context of online dating. The findings suggest a stronger role of social influence (e.g., peers) in the decision to online date. The SC and RGR hypotheses may be limited in terms of the extent to which these frameworks adequately explain this online behavior. This may also be due to the increasing popularity of online dating sites, which may make personality and personal traits less informative of whether individuals will opt to use such services.


2012 ◽  
pp. 944-959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stepan Konecny

Mass media often presents a warped image of the Internet as an unreliable environment in which nobody can be trusted. In this entry, the authors describe lying on the Internet both in the context of lying in the real world and with respect to the special properties of computer-mediated communication (CMC). They deal with the most frequent motives for lying online, such as increasing one’s attractiveness or experimenting with identities. They also take into account the various environments of the Internet and their individual effects on various properties of lying. The current methods for detecting lies and the potential for future computer-linguistic analysis of hints for lying in electronic communication are also considered.


Author(s):  
George Kontolemakis

In recent years, computer-mediated communication has been the enabling factor for connecting people to one another and establishing “virtual relationships” (Igbaria, 1999; Johnston, Raizada, & Cronin, 1996). Virtual communities evolved as users of the early networks utilized them mainly for informal rather than business-related communication. These communities were not planned development in the sphere of computer networking. As this form of interaction increased, the users began to demand better and improved technology and functionality which would assist them in their interactions. “Virtual Communities describe the union between individuals or organizations who share common values and interests using electronic media to communicate within a shared semantic space on a regular basis” (Schubert, 1999). This was one of the first definitions of Virtual Communities. Nowadays, in considering companies that are building or trying to build virtual communities, it seems that the up-to-date definition of Virtual Communities is that these “involve establishing connections on electronic networks among people with common needs so that they can engage in shared discussions that persist and accumulate over time leading to complex webs of personal relationships and an increasing sense of identification with the overall community” (Hagel, 2007).


1996 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Ross

Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) courses are attracting students with weak computer communication skills. This study examined what happened to these students when they enrolled in a CMC course that required high levels of peer interaction. It was anticipated that students with weaker skills would miss important instructional events, have lower levels of task-relevant contributions, have less influence on group products, and engage in less demanding learning activities. But lack of technical skill had a marginal effect on participation, much less than prior knowledge of course content. The generalizability of this good news is limited by several contextual factors that supported participation of students with weak communication skills: student maturity, provision of a CMC coach, the ethos emerging from the structure and content of the course, and the low skill threshold required for participation.


2019 ◽  
pp. 089443931989550
Author(s):  
Brandon C. Bouchillon

Social capital has been declining in America for the better part of a century, as citizens now find themselves connected to fewer people and resources. But computer-based modes of social contact have at the same time opened up new frontiers for expanding and developing personal relationships online. A two-wave U.S. web survey was used to examine the importance of computer-mediated communication (CMC) competence for social-resource development, measured in terms of occupational prestige. CMC competence related to acquiring more total resources over time. It also contributed to accessing a wider range of resources and having more valuable connections on average. When CMC competence was broken down into subscale measures, computer-based motivation contributed to total resources and range in resources, while computer-based attentiveness related to developing better resources. Findings speak to the value of CMC competence for social capital and the waning influence of interpersonal competence in general.


Author(s):  
Youjeong Kim

In computer-mediated communication (CMC) environments, users utilize their avatars as a communication channel to interact and connect with others, and they choose and create them accordingly to represent their self. As such, several major question areas arise: 1) As an extension of identity, how does a user customize his/her avatar? How is the avatar's appearance related to the avatar creator's self-concept? 2) How does avatar creation influence the avatar creator's psychological and behavioral consequences? To answer these questions, the current study leveraged a Korean social networking site, which currently provides avatars called “Minimis,” in a randomized experimental setting. This study found that the more the participants perceived their avatars to look like their desired selves, the more likely they evaluated their avatars as being attractive, credible, confident, cool, capable, and persuasive, but failed to find a significant relationship between avatar users' perceptions toward self-created avatars and their attitudes toward the social network site or ads.. The limitations and implications will be discussed.


2011 ◽  
pp. 1846-1855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Swan

Threaded discussion is a kind of computer-mediated communication (CMC). Specifically, it is an online dialog or conversation that takes the form of a series of linked messages organized topically. Threaded discussions are text based and asynchronous; they develop over time as participants separated in time and space read and reply to existing messages. Messages in a given thread share a common topic and are linked to each other in the order of their creation. Threaded discussions are particularly useful in online venues where multiple discussions develop at the same time. They grow like crystals, with multiple threads expanding simultaneously rather than evolving linearly. Without them, discussion participants would confront a chaotic, unsorted list of messages on many different topics. By linking responses to messages within a common subject line, threaded discussion makes it easier for participants to focus on one conversation and avoid the distractions of unrelated postings.


Author(s):  
Nava R. Silton ◽  
Alicia Ferris

This chapter delves into the intricacies of liking, attraction, online dating, successful marriage and the roots of divorce to better explicate the rich, but complex development and maintenance of romantic relationships. More specifically, the chapter explores familiarity, similarity, gender, short and long-term dating intentions, trustworthiness, positive partner attraction, dominance, attachment security and other factors that pertain to attraction and liking. The chapter introduces The Cues Filtered out Theory, Social Presence Theory and Media Richness Theory, and delineates the benefits and limitations of online dating as it relates to computer-mediated communication. The chapter delineates the importance of similarity, communication and equity for successful relationships and the detriments of dissatisfaction and conflicts in unsuccessful relationships. Finally, the chapter shows how the Prepare/Enrich Program offers valuable advice for resolving conflicts, recognizing partner strengths, and creating a financially stable and productive life with one's partner.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document