What is Computer Mediated Communication? & How does CMC (a)effect interpersonal communication?

What is Computer Mediated Communication?

“Computer-mediated communication” – CMC, means communication mediated by machine, such as a computer. CMC is a relatively indirect way of interaction, compared to FtF communication. Usually the medium in existing CMC studies is text based rather than based on visual or verbal communication channels. According to Rafaeli, CMC could be either interpersonal or group, but not mass (Rafaeli & Sudweeks, 1997), since the computer is mainly considered as an individual communication tool rather than a medium for mass distribution such as the broadcast media (TV or radio). Especially, computer-mediated interpersonal communication (CMIC) means person-to-person interaction where the computer has been interposed to transcend the limitations of time and space (Cathcart & Gumpert, 1983).”

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Junghyun, Kim. "Interpersonal Interaction in Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) : Exploratory Qualitative Research based on Critical Review of the Existing Theories." Conference Papers -- International Communication Association (2003): 1-26. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 13 Feb. 2010.

**This was the definition of CMC that I most understood and used to support “How does CMC (a) effect interpersonal communication?”**

How does CMC (a) effect interpersonal communication?

Computer-Mediated Communication affects interpersonal communication in several ways, although one way most popular with today’s generation is communication through Social Networking Sites (SNSs). According to the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Social Networking Sites are defined as “web-based services that allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users to who they share a connection, and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system.” Personally, before taking Interpersonal & Intercultural Communication this semester, I never thought of the definition of Computer Mediated Communication or the definition of Social Networking Sites. To me, my favorite Social Networking Site was and still is Facebook and updating my status is a daily necessity, but now I am beginning to realize how it is affecting my interpersonal communication and interpersonal relationships with others.

Using Facebook as my main source of Computer-Mediated Communication, I would like to focus on the “friend’s list” which really does affect my interpersonal relationships. I currently have 764 “friends.” The negative aspect of this grouping of “friends” is that it gives me a false identity. And what does the term “friends” mean anyway? “The term friends can be misleading, because the connection does not necessarily mean friendship in the everyday vernacular sense, and the reasons people connect are varied (boyd, 2006).” There could not be a truer statement said. My Facebook “friends” vary from classmates, people’s parents, relatives, and only a very few close friends. Many of my Facebook “friends” and I have nothing in common and sometimes I wonder if my true friends wonder why I am associated with them. Some of them I share no common interests with and they belong to different social organizations than I do and most likely ever will. Some of them are parents, teen-mothers, married, jocks, or even in middle school which is impossible to relate to college life at all.

Another problem created by Computer-Mediated Communication is that being “friends” with people I don’t know or maybe dislike on Facebook, changes my persona. This affects the interpersonal relationships that I have the ability to have with some of these “friends” because they receive a false sense of me when chatting, messaging, or even commenting on my pictures. A Communications Textbook published an article entitled “I’m there, but I might not want to talk to you.” This happens to me rather often when people message me on Facebook and I can actually escape them. With Computer Mediated Communication, I would have to have a face-to-face conversation with people that I don’t know or dislike or I would never associate with them as “friends” in real life. I wonder if they have ever stopped to think about my pictures or my status updates. I can’t always say how I’m feeling in certain situations on Facebook and I don’t always put all my pictures on Facebook because I don’t want to be deemed as silly, stupid, or immature to my “friends” or most importantly, future employers.

Another aspect of Social Networking Sites and Interpersonal Communication discussed in an article in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication is the difference between “groups” and “networks.” In the past, at the beginning of the Internet generation, Social Networking Sites were divided into “networks” many of which were divided into discussion questions that brought people together. These Social Networking Sites are not considered to be “personal networking sites”, but rather “networking” sites to connect with other through a person’s profession, for example. Today, Social Networking Sites like Facebook encourage users to join “groups” which could be considered social organizations of identity to someone studying Interpersonal Communication. The article argues that “networking” is more like the real world and its interpersonal relationships where as “groups” are separate people by aspects of life such as the brands they like, but they ultimately are unable to have an interpersonal relationship with the people in the group. “The world is composed of networks, not groups (Wellman, 1988. P. 37).” I can also agree with this based on my own Facebook group list. Currently on Facebook, I am a member of 122 groups and I am not “friends” with anyone in the groups that I was not “friends” with before joining the group. At least in interpersonal relationships without Computer-Mediated Communication, a person is able to further discuss the subject, but generally I am unable to make a meaningful relationship with someone that I have never met just because they buy Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups too.

Some people could oppose the argue the ideas and studies published in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, but I completely agree with the ideas although I had never quite seen Facebook in the same light before. I do not take Facebook messages as important as other forms of communication in my life. I would prefer to get a telephone call than a Facebook message saying “Hey, What’s up?” And truth is my true friends still are my friends on or off of Facebook. Computer-Mediated Communication directly effects interpersonal communication and may continue to effect interpersonal communication in the future. Future articles will be published and future case studies will be done by the Journal of Computer-Mediated on the effects Computer-Mediated Communication has on interpersonal communication.

Sources:


Boyd, Danah M., and Nicole B. Ellison. "Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship." Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13.1 (2007): 210-230. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 12 Feb. 2010.
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Catlett, Jenna. "An Analysis of Female University Students' Communicative Management of Privacy Online via Facebook." Conference Papers -- National Communication Association (2007): 1. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 13 Feb. 2010.
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Quan-Haase, Anabel, and Jessica L. Collins. "'I'M THERE, BUT I MIGHT NOT WANT TO TALK TO YOU'." Information, Communication & Society 11.4 (2008): 526-543. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 13 Feb. 2010.
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Ramirez, Artemio. "The Effect of Interactivity on Initial Interactions: The Influence of Information Seeking Role on Computer-Mediated Interaction." Western Journal of Communication 73.3 (2009): 300-325. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 14 Feb. 2010.
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