ITC105 - Assessment 3 - Part 1 (Blog 2)

“We live in an age of technological miracles.  Communication capabilities that were considered science fiction 25 years ago are now commonplace” (Chan et al., 2014, p. 79).  During a career spanning over thirty years in the Information Technology industry, I have witnessed the evolution of online communication from its beginnings in non-interactive, text only communications, through interactive text messaging, multimedia messaging and ultimately to fully interactive video conferencing.   I have also experienced the difficulties in communication that can arise as a result of the lack of non-verbal cues when using these digital communications media.   

Non-verbal communication (NVC) can be defined in a number of ways:

While in broad definitions NVC includes any kind of non-verbal messages (or non-verbal signs) proper to informative processes, more narrow definitions restrict it to non-language (or better non-linguistic) phenomena that are interrelated — often in an intricate way — with verbal language and can be found in interactive or communicative processes (Payrató 2009: 164, as cited in Dynel 2011, p423).

Dynel (2011) observed that non-verbal signs and signals are prevalent and abundant in practically all social encounters, whether the individuals involved interact consciously or not.  “Body language and facial expressions can sometimes tell more about what one is trying to express than what one actually says in face-to-face interactions.” (Park, Barash, Fink, & Cha, 2013, p. 466).  Krohn (2004, p. 322) stated that “An additional perspective on the use of non-verbal communication is that it is traditionally and commonly assumed to be unintentional. Consequently, non-verbal cues tend to be more believable than verbal”.  Krohn (2004) goes on to note that facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, body language and other traditional non-verbal dimensions of communications are lacking in Computer Mediated Communication (CMC).  

Given the lack of these non-verbal dimensions in most forms of digital communications, many people adapt their language and style to whatever system is at their disposal (Walther, Loh, & Granka, 2005). One of the mechanisms by which people attempt to insert non-verbal elements into text based communication is through the use of emoticons, which are often described as punctuation marks that can resemble certain facial expressions (Krohn, 2004).  “Emoticons are a key aspect of text-based communication, and are the equivalent of nonverbal cues to the medium of online chat, forums, and social media like Twitter” (Park et al., 2013, p. 466).

It has been my experience that, while these emoticons may work well between people with similar cultural backgrounds, their meaning can sometimes be lost when communicating with those from different cultures. Park et al. (2013) discovered that the types of emoticons used by people varied depending on the geography and culture of the user.  Over the years, my family has hosted a number of youth exchange students from a variety of countries.  One of the things that my children have found most challenging when interacting with their host brothers and sisters, is the way in which the interpretation of text only messages can differ from one culture to another.  Park et al. (2013) found that emoticons are a critical part of text-based communication, but even these cannot fully compensate for the loss of the non-verbal elements and in some cases the interpretation of emoticons vary greatly from culture to culture.

Reference List

Chan, A., Lehman, C. M., DuFrene, D. D., Cameron-Dow, J., Barrett, M., Murphy, W., . . . Charles Sturt, U. (2014). ITC105 : communication and information management for Charles Sturt University (First edition. ed.). Australia: Cengage Learning.

Dynel, M. (2011). Turning speaker meaning on its head: Non-verbal communication and intended meanings. Pragmatics & Cognition, 19(3), 422-447.

Jacobs, M. (2012). Playing “Nice”: What Online Gaming Can Teach Us about Multiculturalism Computer-Mediated Communication across Cultures: International Interactions in Online Environments (pp. 32-44): IGI Global.

Krohn, F. B. (2004). A generational approach to using emoticons as nonverbal communication. Journal of Technical Writing & Communication, 34(4), 321-328.

Park, J., Barash, V., Fink, C., & Cha, M. (2013). Emoticon style: Interpreting differences in emoticons across cultures. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the Seventh International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media.

St.Amant, K., & Kelsey, S. (2012). Computer-Mediated Communication across Cultures: International Interactions in Online Environments (Vol. Hershey, PA, USA): IGI Global.

Walther, J. B., Loh, T., & Granka, L. (2005). Let Me Count the Ways: The Interchange of Verbal and Nonverbal Cues in Computer-Mediated and Face-to-Face Affinity. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 24(1), 36-65. doi: 10.1177/0261927x04273036

Yee, N. J. N. U. M. F. D. (2007). The Unbearable Likeness of Being Digital: The Persistence of Nonverbal Social Norms in Online Virtual Environments. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 10(1), 115-121. doi: 10.1089/cpb.2006.9984