Media Niche of Electronic Communication Channels in Friendship: A Meta‐Analysis

The current landscape of communication technologies is characterized by a wide variety of choices. As each medium provides different affordances, each may occupy a different niche and be used in different relationships. Drawing on the theory of the niche, we did a meta‐analysis involving 27 effect sizes from 22 independent samples to test the correlation between media selection/use and friendship closeness. Results showed that the 5 communication channels filled 2 different friendship closeness niches. Mobile phone calls and texting had stronger positive correlations with friendship closeness than instant messaging, social network sites, and online gaming. Culture, but not gender, moderated some of these correlations: Friendship closeness had a stronger positive association with SNS use and online gaming in collectivist cultures.     

Determinants of emoticon usage in mobile instant messaging: a construal level theory perspective

Mobile instant messaging is experiencing immense growth, and using emoticons has become a prevalent and highly popular means of communication. The small digital images are ubiquitous, from smartphone applications to social media, and people delight in sending them. Drawing from construal level theory, the aim of this research is to examine the underlying mechanism that drives the usage of emoticons and its usage enjoyment. People with experience using mobile instant messaging were recruited to participate in an online survey, resulting in 202 usable questionnaires. The research model was tested empirically. Covariance-based structural equation modelling was used to analyze the data. The findings highlight that the determinants of individual’s emoticon usage are driven by a dual-route path. One is the self-concept route, where self-image congruity between emoticons and individuals drives psychological ownership, which in turn influences word of mouth (WOM) intention and perceived enjoyment of emoticon use. The other is the utility route, driven by emoticons’ familiarity and perceived synchronicity. The findings reveal the importance of emoticon usage through a contextual lens that shows that a dual-route path has a prominent impact upon these digital-based communication behaviours, which provides important managerial implications.     

Cultural determinants of media choice for deception

In today’s business environment, deception is commonplace ( and ). Historically, individuals were limited in their media options, however recent technological advances have given individuals more ways in which to communicate and deceive. The use of these new media change the communication dynamic substantially. Previous studies have found that deception detection differs across media, as media vary in their ability to transmit cues, convey emotion and reversibility, among others. Researchers are beginning to understand the dynamics between media characteristics, individual characteristics and media choice in a deceptive communication context.     

Using RSS to support mobile learning based on media richness theory

With the rapid development of mobile technologies, mobile learning has become a new trend in education. A better understanding of how to effectively use communication technologies to improve mobile learning is important. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the media richness of various message delivery methods in the proposed m-learning environment based on media richness theory. Regarding the implications of the media richness theory, this study has identified four factors to evaluate a content in respect to the media richness among SMS, Email, and RSS: timeliness, richness, accuracy and adaptability. By the repeated-measures one-way ANOVA analysis, the results show that: (1) SMS has better performance than Email and RSS on content timeliness; thus SMS may be appropriate for immediate information delivery such as notifying or reminding of some time-sensitive matters; (2) Email has better performance than SMS and RSS on content richness and so may be applied in exhaustive information delivery; (3) RSS has better performance than SMS and Email on content accuracy and adaptability; thus RSS is more appropriate for supporting various front-end mobile devices to access and present the content in a mobile learning environment. According to the results, this study suggests developer and designer of an m-learning environment could adopt suitable information delivery medium to support the corresponding learning activities in a mobile learning environment; moreover, current general e-learning systems, particularly those intending to provide a mobile learning environment, can take advantage of RSS techniques to support mobile access and achieve the goal of mobile learning anytime and anywhere.     

Individual differences in attachment are associated with usage and perceived intimacy of different communication media

Effective communication is vital to the health and functioning of romantic relationships. Technology use is becoming more pervasive, making it more important than ever to understand which forms of media enhance communication in close relationships. People differ in which communication methods they prefer, and it is important to understand how people perceive and use various media. Our study uses an attachment theory framework to explore how people perceive the intimacy of different media and their preferred methods of communication with romantic partners. We collected online survey data from partnered individuals regarding their romantic attachment orientation, perceptions of the intimacy of various media (face-to-face, phone call, text message, email), and preferred use of those media for communicating with romantic partners. People with a more avoidant attachment orientation (i.e., who prefer self-reliance over interdependence) were less likely to prefer communication methods that are generally perceived as more close and immediate (e.g., face-to-face); however, our findings suggest that avoidant individuals prefer not to use these methods because they perceive them to be less intimate and less likely to resolve interpersonal conflicts. Our findings suggest that certain forms of communication may be more beneficial for avoidant individuals and their romantic relationships.     

Understanding User Satisfaction With Instant Messaging: An Empirical Survey Study

The current article examines user satisfaction with instant messaging in building and maintaining social relationships with friends, family members, and others. The research model integrates motivation theory with media capacity theories to explain how the attributes of media capacity (e.g., social presence and media richness) and users' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations toward using instant messaging influence user satisfaction. Data were collected from a sample of 247 Chinese university students via an online survey. The results suggest that perceived enjoyment, perceived social presence, and perceived usefulness are key to user satisfaction. Perceived social presence and perceived media richness are positively associated with perceived enjoyment. It was also found that perceived enjoyment, perceived social presence, and perceived media richness have significant effects on perceived usefulness. Of interest, perceived enjoyment and perceived social presence have stronger effects on user satisfaction than perceived usefulness.     

Is communication competence still good for interpersonal media?: Mobile phone and instant messenger

The concept of communication competence has developed in the area of nonmediated interpersonal communication. With the advent of digital media, interpersonal communication has been heavily dependent on interpersonal media. The sharp distinction between theories for nonmediated communication and mediated communication is disappearing. The interconnectedness of face-to-face communication and mediated interpersonal communication is a salient current phenomenon. To explore the relation between two communication types this study investigated the relevance of the concept of communication competence with the interpersonal digital media; mobile phone, SMS, and instant messenger. Three facets were examined in particular: namely, the direct effects of communication competence and the indirect effects through individuals’ cognitive process for interpersonal media and individuals’ characteristics in interpersonal communication. The hypothesized model of mediated interpersonal communication competence was analyzed using structural equation model. The results revealed that communication competence was positively associated with mediated interpersonal communication competence. The indirect effects of communication competence through media efficacy and social presence were empirically supported. Relationship maintenance was found to mediate the effect of communication competence on mediated interpersonal communication competence. The links of two different communication fields and the theoretical implications of the findings were further discussed.     

Perceptions and use of electronic media: Testing the relationship between organizational interpretation differences and media richness

How do managers perceive and use media? Media richness theory (MRT) appears to provide persuasive answers to this, but does it work when electronic media is used? Surveys of Japanese managers showed that the perceptions of media, including electronic media, did not contradict MRT. But, even so, the use of rich media was found to be influenced more strongly by whether the media was traditional or electronic, with respect to organizational interpretation of its environment. The perception and use of electronic media may not correspond, though they have generally been assumed to do so.     

Social capital expectation and usage of social media: the moderating role of social capital susceptibility

This study aims to identify the motivations of social media users who click ‘like’ to the post of their friends. We posit that this behaviour is not solely based on an instant feeling or reaction to a post, but a more complicated action that involves calculation and expectation of the future social media use. We first apply social capital theories to identify the types of expectations, and then differentiate these expectations based on the communication styles of social media where private and public relationships coexist. From these, we develop a social capital expectation matrix in the context of social media. In the research model, we discuss how these social capital expectations motivate people to use social media, including the moderating effects of social capital susceptibilities, based on expectancy theory of motivation. To validate our model, data collected from 291 social media users are analysed. This result confirms that people click likes to share their interests and display their network to others. Conversely, the relational dimensions of social capital including capital recompense and social inclusion exerted significant interaction effects only when they were considered along with capital susceptibilities.     

Social media and relationship development: The effect of valence and intimacy of posts

Social media is becoming an increasingly common part of everyday life. Many social media sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) support new interpersonal interaction methods, some of which are neither directed nor reciprocated. For example, social media users can read online 'posts' (self-disclosures) of their friends without interacting with those friends. This is vastly different to traditional face-to-face communication. Our study investigated how reading online 'posts' affects relationship development. Using a longitudinal design sampling 243 participants, we focused on the effect of the posts' valence and intimacy. We found that high intimacy posts or negative posts decreased the social attractiveness of the self-discloser. The perception of the posts and the receiver's feelings of homophily to the self-discloser mediated this relationship. Studies of offline interpersonal interaction have found similar results. In offline communication, self-disclosure perception and homophily also mediate relationship outcomes. This suggests that reading posts on social media and interacting in real life trigger similar or identical relationship formation pathways. These results support the argument that passive consumption is a new method of interaction that does not fundamentally change human psychology. While novel, passive consumption is still based on the same principles as offline communication.     

The use and acceptance of new media entertainment technology by elderly users: development of an expanded technology acceptance model

Research on elderly people's ICT acceptance and use often relies on the technology acceptance model (TAM) framework, but has been mostly limited to task-oriented uses. This article expands approaches in technology acceptance and use by developing a model to explain entertainment-related uses of new media technology by elderly people. On a theoretical level, we expand the TAM perspective by adding concepts that act as barriers and/or facilitators of technology acceptance, namely technophobia, self-efficacy and previous experience and expertise with technology. We develop an expanded TAM by testing the role of these concepts in two studies on entertainment media technology. In Study 1, we investigate behavioural intention to use 3D cinema among N?=?125 German elderly media users (Age 50+). In Study 2, we focus the actual use of a computer game simulation by N?=?115 German and US elderly media users (Age 50+). Findings in both studies point towards the central role of perceived usefulness, here modelled as enjoyment, as the reason for elderly people's use and acceptance of entertainment media technology. Perceived ease of use is seen as a precondition for enjoyment, particularly for interactive media.     

The impact of media on how positive,negative, and neutral communicated affect influence unilateral concessions during negotiations

In the online environment, audio and instant messaging (IM) media are quite commonly used by people to communicate with each other and make offers as they negotiate. While we know much about how IM and audio differ, we know very little about how offers that are favorable to the recipient (termed unilateral concessions) are affected by what and how people communicate over these media. The purpose of this study is twofold – (1) to examine how such concessions are influenced by communication that is either neutral, or positive, or negative in affect; and (2) to determine how the use of IM, relative to the use of audio, influences the effects of these types of communication on unilateral concessions. We develop a research model based on prosocial theory, which suggests that negotiators using audio are predisposed to interpret their partners’ motivations and behaviors in a positive (prosocial) light while negotiators using IM are predisposed to interpret their partners’ motivations and behaviors in a negative (competitive) light. We manipulate the use of IM and audio in anexperiment designed to test predictions based on this theory. Our work provides theoretical and empirical support for the idea that communications other than concessions (such as positive, neutral, and negative affect) can lead to more or less self-sacrifice depending on the medium employed, and thereby motivate negotiators to make greater or fewer unilateral concessions. Specifically, we found that (1) positive affect comments can increase unilateral concession independent of the medium used by negotiators; (2) neutral affect comments can increase unilateral concession when negotiators use audio, but have little impact when they use IM; and (3) negative affect comments can decrease unilateral concession when negotiators use audio, but can increase unilateral concession when they use IM. These results provide insights to researchers and practical guidance for negotiators.     

A regression approach to testing genetic influence on communication behavior: Social media use as an example

A behavior genetics perspective suggests both social and biological forces influence human behavior, including highly specialized media and communication behaviors. In this paper, I use a behavior genetics framework and twin study data from the 2013 Midlife in the United States (MIDUS III) survey to examine how both environmental and genetic factors contribute to social media use. By applying a straightforward—and easily replicable—analytical extension to linear regression called DeFries-Fulker (DF) regression, I demonstrate that approximately one-to two-thirds of variance in social media use is attributable to additive genetic traits; unique and shared environmental factors account for the remainder of variance. In addition to showing social media use is partially motivated by underlying genetic traits, this paper, more importantly, provides an analytical blueprint for using DF regression in future investigations of genetic influence on communication behaviors and media effects.     

From social anxiety to interpersonal connectedness: Relationship building within face-to-face,phone and instant messaging mediums

The present research examined whether social anxiety moderates the potential relationship between conversation medium and interpersonal connectedness. Hypotheses predicted that individuals with high social anxiety would demonstrate greater interpersonal connectedness following instant messaging conversations; whereas, individuals with low social anxiety would report greater interpersonal connectedness following face-to-face and phone conversations. Undergraduate participants (N = 165) were randomly assigned to one of three conversation mediums (face-to-face, phone or instant messaging) during which they engaged in an interaction with an unfamiliar partner. Participants completed a measure of social anxiety before the interaction and measures of interpersonal connectedness prior to and following the interaction. Results revealed that level of social anxiety is a significant contingent condition for the association between type of conversation medium and attitude homophily (i.e., a measure of interpersonal connectedness). For individuals with low social anxiety, scores on the attitude homophily measure were significantly lower in the instant messaging condition, compared to the face-to-face and phone conditions.     

as social support: Relational closeness,automaticity, and interpreting social support from paralinguistic digital affordances in social media

Many social media facilitate paralinguistic digital affordances (PDAs): one-click tools for phatic communication to which senders and receivers alike ascribe meaning. This research explores the nature of social support perceived from the receipt of PDAs within social media, seeking to understand how individuals ascribe supportive meaning to PDAs based on (1) their goal in the post to which the PDA was used as a reply, (2) relational closeness with the PDA provider, and (3) the perceived automaticity of the PDA received. A national survey (N = 325) explored the receipt of PDAs across five social media, and facilitated cross-platform analysis. Analyses reveal both main and interaction effects among the three proposed antecedents, so that intentional PDAs from relationally close providers to messages seeking social support were perceived as most supportive. Findings reveal individuals heuristically make idiosyncratic sense of the same cue from different senders in different situations.     

Group-Based Mobile Messaging in Support of the Social Side of Leisure

Communication on mobile devices plays an important role in people’s use of technology for leisure, but to date this communication has largely been one-to-one. Mobile internet connectivity can support a variety of group-based messaging and media sharing scenarios. Switching to group-based messaging should enhance the social and leisure aspects of the communication, but in what ways and to what extent? An experimental system for text and photo messaging on mobile devices was tested in a research deployment to four groups of 6–8 participants who used both a group-based and one-to-one version of the system. Results highlight a significant increase in message sending, in mobile device “fun”, and in the social qualities of mobile communication when messaging group-wide, along with a few minor costs. Qualitative feedback provides further explanation of the social benefits.     

Social media and online health services: A health empowerment perspective to online health information

This study investigates how differences in the use of online health information and social media affect the use of online health services. We attempt to predict the extent to which the use of social media and online health information prompt individuals to use online health services. We draw upon a combination of sociology and communication studies and integrate relational maintenance assumptions regarding the quality of online social relationships to promote the importance of health empowerment factors–socio-demographic characteristics, internet attitudes and health status models to predict the likelihood of using online health services. The study’s sample consists of 1406 individuals using the Internet, including 633 individuals using the Internet and social media to look for health information. The study’s results provide evidence that (a) online health information empowers most of the examined individuals to use online health services; (b) among all social media only those that offer consulting have a significant effect on the likelihood of using online health services. The implications of these findings support that a conceptual integration of CMC and social media use theories along with health empowerment assumptions, is a promising theoretical framework to test the effectiveness of social media use in prompting use of online health services. The practical applications for health management are highlighted as well. Finding practical and affordable ways to support the use of social media and encourage access to online health information and use of online health services could improve health literacy and self-management of health at the individual level and increase the efficiency in the provision of health services at the institutional level.     

Understanding factors influencing information communication technology adoption behavior: The moderators of information literacy and digital skills

Digital inequality is one of the most critical issues in the “information age”, few studies have examined the social inequality in information resources and digital use patterns. In the rural areas, such information communication technology (ICT) facilities could not guarantee that users can easily access information technology and overcome the so-called “digital divide.” This research aims to discover the psychological factors that influence information and communication technology (ICT) adoption behavior, as well as confirm whether “information literacy” and “digital skills” have moderator effects in the research model. Using a survey of 875 participants and a structural equation modeling approach, we find that task characteristics and social interaction improve media richness, media experience, and media technostress, which in turn enhance ICT adoption behavior. The proposed theoretical model shows that the impact of ICT adoption behavior is moderated by information literacy and digital skills. The findings of this research can offer guidelines for policy makers and educators who evaluate a community's ICT adoption behavior so as to provide proper access to ICT and promote its visibility by incorporating ICT in educational activities.     

“Snapchat is more personal”: An exploratory study on Snapchat behaviors and young adult interpersonal relationships

Snapchat is a social media platform that allows users to send images, videos, and text with a specified amount of time for the receiver(s) to view the content before it becomes permanently inaccessible to the receiver. Using focus group methodology and in-depth interviews, the current study sought to understand young adult (18–23 years old; n = 34) perceptions of how Snapchat behaviors influenced their interpersonal relationships (family, friends, and romantic). Young adults indicated that Snapchat served as a double-edged sword—a communication modality that could lead to relational challenges, but also facilitate more congruent communication within young adult interpersonal relationships.     

To email or not to email: The impact of media on psychophysiological responses and emotional content in utilitarian and romantic communication

Lean asynchronous computer mediated communication is often considered poor for communicating emotion, yet individuals continue to use it for business, personal, and even romantic communication. We used a lab experiment to investigate the influence of media (email and voicemail) and task type (romantic and utilitarian) on both the psychophysiological responses of senders and the content of the resulting messages. Message senders had more arousing physiological responses when sending emails than when leaving voicemails. An interaction exists between media and task such that the content of romantic email messages was more positive than romantic voicemails; while the opposite was true for utilitarian tasks. Thus the choice of media triggers different emotional responses in the sender and leads to different message content.