Interpersonal Communication in the Information Age: Opportunities and Disruptions

Abstract

Starting from the interpersonal communication theories that have incorporated the use of information and communication technologies (Walther, 2007, 2011, 2017) and the perpetual interconnectedness to understand human behavior in interaction with others (Walther et al., 2015), the current paper approaches challenges brought by the network society in the way we bridge our online and offline self. Castells’ concepts are primarily used to explain macro-phenomena, for example, social movements (Castells, 2015), political and socio-economic transformation around the world (Castells, 2017), and to a lesser extent in discussing meso-phenomena, such as social isolation, exhaustion, the commodification of human interactions and interpersonal conflicts arise as part of individual’s adaptation to the Information Age. The current paper creates links between Castells’ main concepts of the network society theoretical framework and three meso-theories used in the interpersonal communication field to explain people’s online behavior in interaction by focusing on the characteristics of the communication medium: The social presence theory, Media richness theory, and the Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE). Sharing Castells’ optimism on how network society creates efficiency and innovation in human interactions, we draw attention to less optimistic aspects related to the constant pressure of constructing relationships through virtual reality.

Keywords

network society and interpersonal communication information age and social interactions interpersonal communication mediated by technologies

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abidin

(2016). Aren’t these just young, rich women doing vain things online?” Influencer selfies as subversive frivolity. Social Media &Society, 2(2), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305116641342

Baldassar

Kilkey

Merla

Wilding

(2014). Transnational families. In Treas

Scott

Richards

(Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell companion to the sociology of families (pp. 155–175). John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118374085.ch8

Bliuc

A.-M.

Faulkner

Jakubowicz

McGarty

(2018). Online networks of racial hate: A systematic review of 10 years of research on cyber-racism. Computers in Human Behavior, 87, 75–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.05.026

Borchers

N. S.

(2019). Social media influencers in strategic communication. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 13(4), 255–260. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118x.2019.1634075

Castells

(1996/2010). The rise of the network society, Volume 1. In The information age economy. Society and culture: Second edition with a new preface. Wiley-Blackwell.

Castells

(1997/2010). The power of identity, Volume 2. In The information age. Economy. Society and culture: Second edition with a new preface. Wiley-chapter.

Castells

(1998/2010). The End of the Millennium, Volume 3. In The information age economy. Society and culture: Second edition with a new preface. Wiley-Blackwell.

Castells

(2009/2011). Communication power (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Castells

(2014). The impact of the Internet on society: A global perspective. Change: 19 key essays on how Internet is changing our lives (pp. 127–148). OpenMind: BBVA

10.

Castells

(2015). Networks of outrage and hope: Social movements in the Internet age (2nd ed.). Polity Press.

11.

Castells

(2017). Another economy is possible: Culture and economy in a time of crisis. John Wiley & Sons.

12.

Chandler

Munday

(2016). A dictionary of social media. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acref/9780191803093.001.0001

13.

Daft

R. L.

Lengel

R. H.

(1986). Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design. Management Science, 32(5), 554–571. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.32.5.554

14.

D’Urso

S. C.

Rains

S. A.

(2008). Examining the scope of channel expansion: A test of channel expansion theory with new and traditional communication media. Management Communication Quarterly, 21(4), 486–507. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318907313712

15.

Fine

G. A.

(2012). Group culture and the interaction order: Local sociology on the meso-level. Annual Review of Sociology, 38(1), 159–179. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-071811-145518

16.

Fox

Bailenson

J. N.

Tricase

(2013). The embodiment of sexualized virtual selves: The Proteus effect and experiences of self-objectification via avatars. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 930–938. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.12.027

17.

Giddens

(1997). Sociology (3rd ed.). Polity Press.

18.

Hancock

J. T.

Thom-Santelli

Ritchie

(2004). Deception and design: The impact of communication technologies on lying behavior. In Dykstra-Erickson

Tscheligi

(Eds.), Proceedings of the acm conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI 2004, Vol. 6, pp. 130–136). ACM.

19.

Hargittai

Dobransky

(2017). Old dogs, new clicks: Digital inequality in skills and uses among older adults. Canadian Journal of Communication, 42(2), 195–212. https://doi.org/10.22230/cjc.2017v42n2a3176

20.

Hargittai

Hinnant

(2008). Digital inequality: Differences in young adults’’ use of the Internet. Communication Research, 35(5), 602–621. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650208321782

21.

Howard

J. A.

(2000). Social psychology of identities. Annual Review of Sociology, 26(1), 367–393. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.26.1.367

22.

Ivan

Hebblethwaite

(2016). Grannies on the net: Grandmothers’ experiences of Facebook in family communication. Romanian Journal of Communication and Public Relations, 18(1), 11–25.

23.

Kahn

K. B.

Spencer

Glaser

(2013). Online prejudice and discrimination: From dating to hating. In Amichai-Hamburger

(Ed.), The social net: Understanding our online behavior (2nd ed., pp. 201–219). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199639540.003.0011

24.

Lee

E.-J.

(2004). Effects of visual representation on social influence in computer-mediated communication. Human Communication Research, 30(2), 234–259. https://doi.org/10.1093/hcr/30.2.234

25.

Nimrod

(2017). Older audiences in the digital media environment. Information, Communication & Society, 20(2), 233–249. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118x.2016.1164740

26.

Postmes

Baym

(2005). Intergroup dimensions of Internet. In Harwood

Giles

(Eds.), Intergroup communication: Multiple perspectives (pp. 213–238). Peter Lang.

27.

Rainie

Wellman

(2012). Networked: The new social operating system. MIT Press.

28.

Rege

(2009). What’s love got to do with it? Exploring online dating scams and identity fraud. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 3(2), 494–512.

29.

Rice

R. E.

Case

(1983). Electronic messaging system in the university: A description of use and utility. Journal of Communication, 33(1), 131–152. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1983.tb02380.x

30.

Serpa

Ferreira

C. M.

(2019). Micro, meso and macro levels of social analysis. International Journal of Social Sciences Studies, 7(3), 120–124. https://doi.org/10.11114/ijsss.v7i3.4223

31.

Short

Williams

Christie

(1976). The social psychology of telecommunications. Wiley.

32.

Song

Kim

Lee

K. M.

(2014). Virtual vs. real body in exergames: Reducing social physique anxiety in exercise experiences. Computers in Human Behavior, 36, 282–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.03.059

33.

Tajfel

Turner

J. C.

(1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In Austin

Worchel

(Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Brooks/Cole.

34.

Tidwell

L. C.

Walther

J. B.

(2002). Computer-mediated communication effects on disclosure, impressions, and interpersonal evaluations: Getting to know one another a bit at a time. Human Communication Research, 28(3), 317–348. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2002.tb00811.x

35.

Turkle

(2017). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other. Taylor & Francis.

36.

Van Der Heide

Schumaker

E. M.

Peterson

A. M.

Jones

E. B.

(2013). The Proteus effect in dyadic communication: Examining the effect of avatar appearance in computer-mediated dyadic interaction. Communication Research, 40(6), 838–860. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650212438097

37.

Van Dijk

J. A.

(2005). The deepening divide: Inequality in the information society. Sage.

38.

Van Dijk

J. A.

(2006). Digital divide research, achievements and shortcomings. Poetics, 34(4–5), 221–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2006.05.004

39.

Walther

J. B.

(2007). Selective self-presentation in computer-mediated communication: Hyperpersonal dimensions of technology, language, and cognition. Computers in Human Behavior, 23(5), 2538–2557. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2006.05.002

40.

Walther

J. B.

(2011). Theories of computer-mediated communication and interpersonal relations. In Knapp

M. L.

Daly

J. A.

(Eds.), The handbook of interpersonal communication (4th ed., pp. 443–479). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

41.

Walther

J. B.

(2017). The merger of mass and interpersonal communication via new media: Integrating metaconstructs. Human Communication Research, 43(4), 559–572. https://doi.org/10.1111/hcre.12122

42.

Walther

J. B.

DeAndrea

D. C.

Tong

S. T.

(2010). Computer-mediated communication versus vocal communication in the amelioration of preinteraction stereotypes: An examination of theories, assumptions, and methods in mediated communication research. Media Psychology, 13(4), 364–386. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2010.524913

43.

Walther

J. B.

Van Der Heide

Ramirez

Burgoon

J. K.

Peña

(2015). Interpersonal and hyperpersonal dimensions of computer-mediated communication. In Shyam Sundar

(Ed.), The handbook of the psychology of communication technology (pp. 1–22). John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118426456.ch1

44.

Wang

(2015). From a marketplace to a cultural space: Online meme as an operational unit of cultural transmission. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 45(3), 261–274. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047281615578847

45.

Whitty

M. T.

Buchanan

(2012). The online romance scam: A serious cybercrime. Cyber Psychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15(3), 181–183. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2011.0352

46.

Yee

Bailenson

(2007). The Proteus effect: The effect of transformed self-representation on behavior. Human Communication Research, 33(3), 271–290. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00299.x

47.

Yus

(2018). Identity-related issues in meme communication. Internet Pragmatics, 1(1), 113–133. https://doi.org/10.1075/ip.00006.yus