Computer-Mediated Communication
Eleri Giem
Boyne City High School
Everybody communicates. We talk and sign and make faces. But what happens when we take away the physical aspect of communication? What happens when we can no longer see these gestures, or hear the tone of voice, or react to what is being said on the spot? That’s what we’re here to talk about today; Computer-Mediated Communication, or CMC. CMC covers all online communication ranging from dating sites and social media to simply texting a friend about plans. We’ll cover the ideas of anonymity on social media, romantic relationships online, and many other aspects related to CMC.
Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) has many advantages, including its ability to transfer messages quickly to places you are not physically at. Through the Internet, we are able to text and email a message to another person that could arrive in seconds, as opposed to sending a letter that could take days, or even weeks to arrive. “One [dimension of electronic communication] is synchronicity: Does communication happen in real time (synchronous), or do senders ship off their messages for recipients to open at their convenience (asynchronous)” (Baron, 2010). An example of synchronous CMC could include Skype, where the messages are exchanged back and forth simultaneously. Asynchronous examples could include emails or texts. This ability allows us to communicate with people all across the world. On the flip side, when compared to talking physically with another person, CMC can seem slow and impersonal. For instance, the message may arrive at one time, but the person might not check or respond for however long they see fit (aforementioned as asynchronous). This type of communication can also be interrupted by technological issues. The person may not have access to the internet right away, or a computer might be malfunctioning, and the message will fail to be received for a long time. That being said, CMC can work to your advantage, but you have to know when to use it, and when it just won’t be as efficient.
Another advantage of CMC is the opportunities it offers. As I mentioned before, you can communicate with almost anyone through the Internet. This can be especially helpful when looking for a job. Using the Internet, you can access multiple different jobsites where you can fill out applications, read about working conditions, and compare wages without leaving your house. Many people also use social media to connect with their favorite athletes and musicians to see where they’re going next, or to get advice. CMC offers the opportunity to communicate with anyone with just the click of a button.
When communicating through CMC, you often have the option to stay anonymous. You don’t have to disclose any information about yourself, or you can use false information so that no one knows anything about you that you don’t want them to. Using this feature, teenagers can pose as adults, adults can pose as children, and bots can pose as people. According to the Digital Information World, 61% of internet traffic consists completely of bots, including search engine frauds, scammers, and hacking tools. These things can not only slow down your connections, but also intercept your messages to gather information about you without you knowing about it. Another way this anonymity can be used for the worse is cyberbullying. People can gang up on another person in chat rooms, or through fake numbers and there’s no way to tell if they’re really who they say they are. Without a physical aspect, there’s no way to make sure that someone is being completely truthful. On the other hand, people can use this aspect of anonymity to their advantage harmlessly. For instance, a site may insist that you must be over 18 to join and ask for your birthday for proof, people are welcome to enter whatever birthday they want. Another common example is giving emails. Many people use a spam email that they don’t check when signing up for programs, so that they don’t clutter their personal email. Although this anonymity is perfectly normal, articles warn that there is always a way to recover your information.
Self disclosure is the information that a person reveals about themselves when communicating with another. These can include things you actually say, things you may hint at, or information gathered from your body language. Many times, there are things that you want to share with a person, but don’t, because you don’t know how they’ll react to it. I’ve found these things to be easier to say through a screen. This makes the message almost less personal, because you can’t see the other’s face, and they can’t hear the tone of voice you’re using, which can make it easier to tell people something very personal. This is part of the reason why sexting has become a bigger part of society. People are willing to do things over text that they wouldn’t really do in person, because you are merely going through the words, not physically doing it.
Everyone always says that when you’re communicating, you can’t take back what you’ve already said. This applies to CMC as well. Nothing you say can be simply unread or unseen. It’s out there. And just like your parents always told you, even if you delete it, it’s still out there somewhere. “People continue to discover that using the Internet leaves forensic evidence–evidence which, if someone want it, can be easily collected…” (Loshin, 2013). These pictures, these messages are never going to disappear for good. On top of being irreversible, as opposed to physically talking with someone, these messages are there written out. What this means is that someone can screenshot or show your texts to someone else and it’s exactly what you said, you can’t deny it.
The aspect that will have the biggest effect on your online communications is the lack of nonverbal cues (including hand gestures, facial expressions, and other body language). According to a study conducted in 2015, nonverbal cues can take up 75-95 percent of communication. That leaves you with the ability to communicate less than half of the message intended. “I cannot expect that you will understand everything I tell you; and I cannot expect that you will understand only what I tell you.” (Barker, 2013) This means that try as you might, there are only so many words you can use to relay a message over texts or the like. You can’t see them pointing to an object so they have to change their phrasing. You can’t see their new hair cut, so a picture might be sent. You can’t use a sarcastic tone, so you might have to send an emoticon. All of these things are ways of trying to make up for the nonverbal cues. As I mentioned before, people will use emoticons, or emojis, to try to get their mood across. This may sound like a great idea, but if you think about it, it can’t quite make up for lost facial expressions. Different people may take emojis as having different meanings. For instance, two friends might always send the angel emoji to each other as an inside joke and completely understand it. But if one of those friends were to send it to a different friend, the friend might not get the joke and instead be offended. You must be careful what you say through CMC, because words alone can often be misinterpreted.
Another use of CMC includes dating sites. These are a common way that people interact through the internet. They require you to fill out a profile about yourself, including pictures, for others to use to determine whether or not they’d like to date you. Some sites however, such as eHarmony simply have you take a test and then they make your profile out of your answers. “Now what happens if you take one look at this [personality test] and can tell that it is wrong? Suppose you know yourself pretty well and you can just see that they have described someone very different from you…Can you ask eHarmony to correct the profile? No” (Kearns, 2007). Sites such as these may think they are doing you a favor, but in reality they could be communicating false information about you to viewers. These sites can be very misleading if people aren’t careful, but can also offer wonderful opportunities to meet, and talk to, people you wouldn’t have known otherwise.
Overall, computer-mediated communication offers a lot of opportunities that would otherwise be difficult. It allows you to talk to people who live far away, meet people you wouldn’t normally meet, and get information quickly. At the same time, messages can be misinterpreted if you’re not careful, and you can never undo anything you say. It can be an extremely helpful resource, but only if you use it the right way.