Revitalizing Eastern and Western Online Communication: A Micro-Meso-Macro Link of Temporal Digital Change

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Faust ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Temporal Change ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Smart Devices ◽  
Online Journalism ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Media Synchronicity ◽  
Eastern Culture ◽  
Pace Of Life

This paper explains in a de-westernized sense (Gunaratne, 2010) how internet-mediated communication changes the way we deal with and plan time both individually and culturally in Germany and China. Therefore, it blends Western and Eastern culture and media theories. The paper focuses on two distinct phenomena: temporal change due to social media, and Online journalism, as the core of Internet-mediated communication (for Germany 39% communication, media use 24% Projektgruppe ARD/ZDF-Multimedia, 2016; for China 90.7% instant messaging, 82% Internet news China Internet Network Information Center, 2017), with other temporal change via smart devices touched upon (Ash, 2018). General research on time in post modern societies, recently more focused on media’s temporal change phenomena (e.g. Barker, 2012; Barker, 2018; Castells, 2010; Eriksen, 2001; Hartmann, 2016; Hassan, 2003; Innis, 2004; Neverla, 2010a, 2010b; Nowotny, 1995; Rantanen, 2005; Wajcman, 2010; Wajcman and Dodd) has not yet linked the different societal and cultural levels of temporal change. Thus, we suggest the following to fill this research gap: For a micro perspective the notions of network theories (e.g. Granovetter, 1973; Schönhuth, 2013), media synchronicity (Dennis, Fuller, and Valacich, 2008) and the idea of permanent connectivity (Sonnentag, Reinecke, Mata, and Vorderer, 2018; van Dijck, 2013; Vorderer, Krömer, and Schneider, 2016) are linked. On a meso level, institutional change in Online journalism with a focus on acceleration is modeled (Ananny, 2016; Bødker and Sonnevend, 2017; Dimmick, Feaster, and Hoplamazian, 2011; Krüger, 2014; Neuberger, 2010). On a macro level, mediatization theory (Couldry and Hepp, 2017; Krotz, 2001, 2012) and recent acceleration theory (Rosa, 2005, 2012, 2017) is discussed. The levels are systematically linked suggesting a micro-meso-macro-link (Quandt, 2010) to then ask if and how many of the dimensions of the construct temporal understanding (Faust, 2016) can be changed through Internet-mediated communication. Temporal understanding consists of nine dimensions: General past, general future, instrumental experience (monochronicity), fatalism, interacting experience (polychronicity), pace of life, future as planned expectation and result of proximal goals as well as future as trust based interacting expectation and result of present positive behavior. Temporal understanding integrates the anthropological construct of polychronicity (Bluedorn, Kalliath, Strube, and Martin, 1999; Hall, 1984; Lindquist and Kaufman-Scarborough, 2007), pace of life (Levine, 1998) and temporal horizon (Klapproth, 2011) into a broader framework which goes beyond Western biased constructs through the theory driven incorporation of Confucian notions (Chinese Culture Connection, 1987).  Finally, meta trends are laid out.

scholarly journals The effects of text, audio, video, and in-person communication on bonding between friends

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren E. Sherman ◽  
Minas Michikyan ◽  
Patricia M. Greenfield
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Digital Communication ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Video Chat ◽  
Digital Environments

Considerable research on computer-mediated communication has examined online communication between strangers, but little is known about the emotional experience of connectedness between friends in digital environments. However, adolescents and emerging adults use digital communication primarily to communicate with existing friends rather than to make new connections. We compared feelings of emotional connectedness as they occurred in person and through digital communication among pairs of close friends in emerging adulthood. Fifty-eight young women, recruited in pairs of close friends, engaged in four conversations each: in-person, video chat, audio chat, and instant messaging (IM). Bonding in each condition was measured through both self-report and affiliation cues (i.e., nonverbal behaviors associated with the emotional experience of bonding). Participants reported feeling connected in all conditions. However, bonding, as measured by both self-report and affiliation cues, differed significantly across conditions, with the greatest bonding during in-person interaction, followed by video chat, audio chat, and IM in that order. Compared with other participants, those who used video chat more frequently reported greater bonding with friends through video chat in our study. Compared with other participants, those who spoke on the phone more frequently with their participating friend reported greater bonding during audio chat. Use of textual affiliation cues like emoticons, typed laughter, and excessive letter capitalization during IM related to increased bonding experience during IM. Nonetheless, a significantly lower level of bonding was experienced in IM compared with in-person communication. Because adolescent and emerging adults’ digital communication is primarily text-based, this finding has significant real-world implications.

Social anxiety is associated with similar emotional impairments during digital and face-to-face communication in daily life

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Doorley ◽  
Kristina Volgenau ◽  
Kerry Kelso ◽  
Todd Barrett Kashdan ◽  
Alexander J. Shackman
Keyword(s):  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Digital Communication ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Medium Study ◽  
Reconstruction Method ◽  
Communication Behaviors ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Emotional Impairments ◽  
Emotional Safety

Background:Retrospective studies have found that people with elevated social anxiety (SA) show a preference for digital/online communication, which may be due to perceptions of enhanced emotional safety. Whether these preferences for/benefits of digital compared to face-to-face communication manifest in the real world has yet to be explored. Methods: We recruited samples of college students (N = 125) and community adults (N = 303) with varying levels of SA, sampled their emotions during digital and face-to-face communication using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) (Study 1) and a day reconstruction method (DRM) (Study 2), and preregistered our hypotheses (https://osf.io/e4y7x/). Results: Results from both studies showed that SA did not predict the likelihood of engaging in digital compared to face-to-face communication, and SA was associated with less positive and more negative emotions regardless of communication medium. Study 2 also showed that whether digital communication was synchronous (e.g., in real time via phone/video chat) or asynchronous (e.g., texting/instant messaging) did not impact the association between SA and emotions. Limitations: EMA and DRM methods, despite their many advantages, may be suboptimal for assessing the occurrence of digital communication behaviors relative to more objective methods (e.g., passively collecting smartphone communication data). Using event-contingent responding may have also yielded more reports of digital communication, thus strengthening our power to detect small, cross-level interaction effects. Conclusions:These results challenge beliefs that digital/online communication provides a source of emotional safety for people with elevated SA and suggests a greater need to address SA-related emotional impairments across digital communication platforms.

scholarly journals The use of visual icons and signs: investigating the punctuation of text by emoticons and communication clarity in online professional communication environments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgia Marie Metcalfe
Keyword(s):  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Professional Communication ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Global Networks ◽  
Visual Semiotics ◽  
Communication Environments

Computer mediated communication (CMC) is becoming increasingly prevalent and relied upon as the Internet facilitates the rapid growth of global networks and expands communication boarders. Today, many individuals rely on CMC for professional purposes, such as connecting long distance with co-workers to collaborate and advance workplace tasks. These individuals often rely on professional online collaborative programs that allow them to connect with colleagues across cities, provinces, and around the world. Relying on CMC for the transmittal of important electronic messages places it at the forefront for understanding how technical communication devices and networks function. This also requires an understanding of how ambiguity with online conversations can be decreased through the use of the Internet. However, what professional collaborative programs currently lack is a singular professional software that integrates both collaborative on-screen practices and online chatting capabilities with visual icons; or professional emoticons. The following research aims to investigate the communicative value of emoticons within a structured sentence via a study involving professional communication graduate students from Ryerson University and senior marketing communication professionals from a marketing agency in Toronto, Canada. Using concepts from critical visual methodology and a theoretical framework of visual semiotics, emoticons will be examined to see whether or not these pictorial symbols act in a similar fashion to punctuation symbols within a given sentence structure. The goal of this research was to investigate the use and meaning derived from emoticons in relation to grammatical punctuation for sentence structures in online communication environments. Specific emoticons were selected and used to measure participants‘ interpretation of each symbol within the particular context of a given sentence.

scholarly journals Pregnancy-Related Information Seeking and Sharing in the Social Media Era Among Expectant Mothers: Qualitative Study (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengyan Zhu ◽  
Runxi Zeng ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Richard Evans ◽  
Rongrong He
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Expectant Mothers ◽  
Media Channels ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND Social media has become the most popular communication tool used by Chinese citizens, including expectant mothers. An increasing number of women have adopted various forms of social media channels, such as interactive websites, instant messaging, and mobile apps, to solve problems and obtain answers to queries during pregnancy. Although the use of the internet by pregnant women has been studied extensively worldwide, limited research exists that explores the changing social media usage habits in China, where the 1 child policy ended in 2015. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to (1) present the status quo of pregnancy-related information seeking and sharing via social media among Chinese expectant mothers, (2) reveal the impact of social media usage, and (3) shed light on pregnancy-related health services delivered via social media channels. METHODS A qualitative approach was employed to examine social media usage and its consequences on pregnant women. A total of 20 women who had conceived and were at various stages of pregnancy were interviewed from July 20 to August 10, 2017. Thematic analysis was conducted on the collected data to identify patterns in usage. RESULTS Overall, 80% (16/20) of participants were aged in their 20s (mean 28.5 years [SD 4.3]). All had used social media for pregnancy-related purposes. For the seeking behavior, 18 codes were merged into 4 themes, namely, gravida, fetus, delivery, and the postpartum period; whereas for sharing behaviors, 10 codes were merged into 4 themes, namely, gravida, fetus, delivery, and caretaker. Lurking, small group sharing, bad news avoidance, and cross-checking were identified as the preferred patterns for using social media. Overall, 95% (19/20) of participants reported a positive mental impact from using social media during their pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS It is indisputable that social media has played an increasingly important role in supporting expectant mothers in China. The specific seeking and sharing patterns identified in this study indicate that the general quality of pregnancy-related information on social media, as well as Chinese culture toward pregnancy, is improving. The new themes that merge in pregnancy-related social media use represent a shift toward safe pregnancy and the promotion of a more enjoyable pregnancy. Future prenatal care should provide further information on services related to being comfortable during pregnancy and reducing the inequality of social media–based services caused by the digital divide.

Social Media as a Communication Channel

2020 ◽  
pp. 115-131
Author(s):  
Yigit Yurder ◽  
Buket Akdol
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Smart Devices ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Shared Content ◽  
Online Platforms

In digital world, people spend most of their time on social media. Social media has gone beyond being just an online communication platform. It has become a channel that users prefer to other online platforms, such as websites, blogs, forums to get information about various businesses, events, and individuals. With Industry 4.0, all devices are connected to online platform, smart devices get more place in daily life. Instead of accessing information through individual applications, consumers prefer to obtain information from the company's social media pages and/or the company's internal and external customers' shared content. The purpose of the chapter is to indicate the importance of social media use, for organizations to interact effectively with all stakeholders, and to explain the benefits of social media usage of organizations in terms of different functions with examples from best cases and results of empirical researches.

Cyber Conflict and Management

2012 ◽  
pp. 1088-1095
Author(s):  
Kumi Ishii ◽  
Brittany R. Black
Keyword(s):  
Daily Life ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Cyber Conflict

With the diffusion of networked technology in our society, online communication has become an integral part of daily life, and conflict no longer occurs only in face-to-face (FtF) contexts. Many people experience cyber conflict (i.e., a perceived incompatibility of goals among two or more cyber parties over computer-mediated communication (CMC) or online communication) and manages it online. While research in this significant and emerged topic is scattered across contexts and disciplines, this chapter provides preliminary knowledge by discussing the antecedents and outcomes of cyber conflict as well as factors that affect cyber conflict management. The chapter also offers future research directions.

Virtual Team Effectiveness

2017 ◽  
pp. 687-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Carlson ◽  
Dawn S. Carlson ◽  
Emily M. Hunter ◽  
Randal L. Vaughn ◽  
Joey F. George
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Team Effectiveness ◽  
Survey Methodology ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Interpersonal Processes ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Main Effect

The work of virtual teams is increasingly important to today's organizations, work that is accomplished predominantly via computer-mediated communication. The authors investigate the moderating role of experience with instant messaging on the team interpersonal processes (cohesion and openness) to team effectiveness relationship in virtual teams. Data were obtained from 365 virtual team members using survey methodology and analyzed using hierarchical moderated regression and multilevel analyses. They found that team cohesion has a main effect on team effectiveness. Team openness has a main effect and is moderated by experience with instant messaging, i.e., strengthens the relationship. Understanding the role of team interpersonal processes and the role of the communication media will allow managers to more effectively build virtual teams and provide effective training and support. Using the theoretical lens of channel expansion theory the authors expand theoretical, empirical and practical knowledge of this area.

The World Wide Web and Cross-Cultural Teaching in Online Education

2009 ◽  
pp. 1020-1042
Author(s):  
Tatjana Takševa Chorney
Keyword(s):  
World Wide Web ◽  
World Wide ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Communication ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Cross Cultural Communication ◽  
The World ◽  
Interactive Nature

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) and the properties of the online environment in general are inherently suited to help educators reconceptualize their role and engage in constructive cross-cultural communication. This is due to the new technologies’ potential to enable collaborative teaching in an environment of diverse users and to support multiple learning styles. At the same time, the presence of collaborative technology itself does not guarantee that successful cross-cultural communication and learning will take place. The disembodied nature of online communication can sometimes add to the inherent challenges that accompany face-to-face cross-cultural communication. Instructors who teach in cross-cultural contexts online will need to engage with the new technologies in a more purposeful way and apply that engagement to program design and teaching practice. They will need to devote some time to designing for interaction and collaboration in order to overcome common challenges in cross-cultural communication. A more systematic study of the open-ended and interaction- enabling properties of the World Wide Web would help those who design for diversity in online educational environment. The open-ended and interactive nature of the World Wide Web, as the main platform for online crosscultural teaching, can serve as a conceptual model to help teachers overcome common challenges in cross-cultural communication.

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