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Monday, September 8, 2008
Interpreting the Effects of Organizational Communication Technologies (Ch 12)
One concept presented in chapter 12 caught my attention, the concept that "electronic media filter out nonverbal cues". While it is true that a written message would never convey emotions as well as a face to face interactions would, I still think that people have found a way to convey emotions nevertheless to a certain degree. For example, when I chat with my friends I use a lot of emoticons to express my emotions. If I am very surprised (WOW), happy (YEAH) or angry (!) I might use capital letters with appropriate punctuation. It seems that most people pick on these nonverbal cues and are able to deduct my mood. When I type an email it is more difficult to write down my emotions, not because I cannot insert emoticons, but because by the time the recipient reads the email, my mood might have changed so the email would have a the same tone as let's say a regular letter.
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3 comments:
This is why I like using yahoo messenger for work, even though we have an internal messenger program. Yahoo has a wide range of smilies that we use frequently. While most context and tone may be implied with words, smilies (or emoticons) ensure the message is conveyed accurately. While we can use emoticons on the internal messenger system... the smilies on yahoo are cuter. :)
In emails, there have been many cases where I've seen things taken the wrong way. This inclides (but not limited to) tasks not taken as serious as they should have, people hurt/offended by comments meant as a joke, and one co-worker who left work because she mis-understood our manager's joke and thought we literally were out of a job! :D
cathyblog08 and hapa, you both make good points that support the notion of a communication imperative. Media richness theory and cues-filtered-out hypothesis suggest that in person communication is the most robust form while online communication (text only) is lean or thin. These are both deterministic models--the technology determines how we use it. The communication imperative model suggests that communicators will make technology work for them. Hence the development of emoticons and the use of capital letters or other text (and now the ability to insert emoticon images). People developed these signs to get the communication technology to do what they needed it to do--indicate emotion. And altho the sender's mood may have changed since the message was sent, as cathyblog08 says, that the same thing that happens with in person communication. When you send an email message with emotion indicators, it's how you're feeling at that moment--just like when you interact with someone in person.
According to the Reader's Digest, September 2008 edition, a research firm found that 43% of people felt that mobile phones and texting improved family communications.
For most people texting forms a vital part of their interaction with friends and family. Same goes for chatting as well, which allows us to stay in touch with people we haven't met for ages. Voice tones that could be misinterpreted are now a thing of the past. To some the surging uprise in texting may seem as another nail in the coffin of human communication and interaction but to others it may be the life and soul of their relationship.
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