Technology-mediated Communication Research Articles

Communicative Tensions in Remote Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Environmental changes can render latent organizational tensions salient, and tensions can be viewed as a lens through which to study the social interactions of organizational actors. This study aims to uncover what kinds of tensions and their entanglements arise in knowledge workers’ collaboration and technology-mediated communication practices during a transition to remote work. The qualitative dataset was collected through an open-ended online survey at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 from 569 remote workers, and the data were analyzed iteratively according to thematic content analysis methods and applying elements of contrapuntal analysis. The findings indicate emerging tensions and their entanglements in knowledge workers’ remote work and technology-mediated communication practices, here manifesting in process-, task-, and relationship-oriented interactions. The findings provide theoretical and practical implications for how entangled tensions in remote work could be managed to support effective communication, collaboration, and employee well-being during and beyond the pandemic situation.

Artificial intelligence and perceived effort in relationship maintenance: Effects on relationship satisfaction and uncertainty

Maintaining satisfying close relationships is important for individuals’ well-being. In the digital age, artificial intelligence (AI) has growing applications for relationship maintenance and thus implications for relational well-being. We hypothesize that although using AI to help with relational maintenance may reduce an individual’s effort, their partner may perceive AI-augmented activities negatively. According to the investment model and equity theory, perceptions of diminished effort in a relationship may lead to less satisfaction and greater uncertainty about the partner’s involvement in the relationship. In an online experiment, we presented participants ( N = 208) with hypothetical scenarios of relational maintenance initiated by a fictional close friend, with a 3 (agency: self-without-augmentation vs. AI-augmented vs. human-augmented) × 3 (relational task: support-giving vs. advice-giving vs. birthday celebration) between-subjects design. Compared to the self-without-augmentation condition (i.e., the control condition) where the friend completed a relational task with no external aid, using AI assistance led participants to perceive the friend expended less effort, reducing participants’ relationship satisfaction and increasing uncertainty. Getting help from another person was not significantly different from using AI in terms of perceived partner effort, relationship satisfaction, uncertainty, and perceived appropriateness. We discuss the implications of the findings for relational maintenance and technology-mediated communication.

Communication technologies in older people’s long-distance family relationships, and the impact on isolation and loneliness

ABSTRACT The concept ‘performance expectancy’ is used to theorize about older people’s day-to-day use of technology mediated communication (telephone, text/emails and video calls) in family relationships and the impact on social isolation and loneliness. Using theoretical and methodological triangulation six mediation models are conceptualized, followed by empirical validation using a nationally representative dataset of older people (≥ 65 years) living in Wales, UK (N = 2,099). The results reveal that frequency of telephone and video calls mediate the relationship between proximity of family and social isolation, and telephone calls mediate the relationship with loneliness. Text/emails have no significant mediating effect. Qualitative data analysis provides a deeper understanding of conditions that facilitate technology mediated communication. Demonstrating the impact of lifecourse habits, social context and environment on technology mediated communication shifts the focus from individual deficits to other reasons for non-adoption. Understanding the link between the individual, the social-cultural and social structural environment, social interaction, and loneliness requires an understanding of what is important to older people. For example, knowledge concerning the role of embodied presence in alleviating loneliness can be used to better understand the likelihood of implementing successful interventions.

Consequences of Social Listening via Mediated Communication Technologies (MCTs)

As mediated communication technologies, or MCTs, are increasingly used to interact, consequences across levels of communication arise. The social listening process using MCTs has positive and negative implications. The process of social listening exists within four levels of communication. The pervasiveness and determinism of MCTs and their impact on communication and social listening are supported by existing and developing research, practical examples, and theoretical frameworks. This critical review of literature discusses potential consequences of social listening via MCTs. These findings (1) demonstrate alignment among levels of communication, relevant theories, and resulting social consequences, such as big data and mediated deception, and (2) support exploratory research investigating mediated deception, which may contribute towards future studies of social listening and MCTs. In closing, a matrix to visualize the communication contexts, theories, and social consequences related to social listening via MCTs is presented.

Together, at a distance: experiences with a novel technology for social contact among older people and their relatives in Norway during the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundThe recognition that people are social beings is fundamental for person-centered care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the lives of older people were restricted in ways that dramatically reduced their opportunities for face-to-face contact. Limited contact with family members due to social distancing raised concerns about the well-being of older people. In Norway, interactive technologies were therefore introduced to older people to help them maintain social contact while practicing physical distancing.ObjectivesThis study was designed to examine how older people and their relatives experienced the use of technology-mediated communication through KOMP, a tablet-like device for supporting social contact in care facilities and homes during the pandemic.MethodsWe adopted an open phenomenological approach inspired by Kvale and Brinkmann (2009) to explore how the use of KOMP became meaningful during the pandemic. The study was based on individual interviews with 4 residents in care facilities and 13 relatives.ResultsThe lived experiences of using KOMP among older people and their relatives revealed that adopting digital communication helped older people, and their families mitigate social distancing and maintain relationships with each other, despite the restrictions imposed by the government. Virtual involvement through KOMP afforded meaningful interconnections in the social lives of the users and their distant family members, thereby supporting their roles as parents and grandparents despite the distance, and promoting cross-generational connections among family members. Digital meetings also provided opportunities for older people and their relatives to enjoy each other’s presence in favored places, by conveying a homely atmosphere, for instance. These virtual encounters did not rely exclusively on talk as the only means of communication.ConclusionThis study suggests that communicating via KOMP was a meaningful activity for the participants. Technologies for social contact can, to some extent, facilitate person-centered care for older people in care facilities and their private homes, despite circumstances requiring social distancing.

Exploring Family Communication Patterns and Interpersonal Technologies in United States-Based Grandparent-Grandchild Relationships

ABSTRACT Grandparents increasingly use both technologically-mediated and in-person communication to nurture relationships with their grandchildren. Framed using the communication interdependence perspective (CIP), this study examined associations among family communication patterns (FCPs), integration of face-to-face and technologically-mediated communication, and relationship satisfaction to explore grandparent-grandchild relationships. Analysis of survey responses from 379 grandparents in the United States indicated that conversation orientation was positively associated with constructive integration, whereas both warm and cold conformity orientations were positively associated with destructive integration. Constructive integration was positively associated with relationship satisfaction and destructive integration was negatively associated with relationship satisfaction. Significant indirect effects between FCPs, integration, and relationship satisfaction also were identified.

Machine Talk: How Verbal Embodiment in Conversational AI Shapes Consumer–Brand Relationships

Abstract This research shows that AI-based conversational interfaces can have a profound impact on consumer–brand relationships. We develop a conceptual model of verbal embodiment in technology-mediated communication that integrates three key properties of human-to-human dialogue—(1) turn-taking (i.e., alternating contributions by the two parties), (2) turn initiation (i.e., the act of initiating the next turn in a sequence), and (3) grounding between turns (i.e., acknowledging the other party’s contribution by restating or rephrasing it). These fundamental conversational properties systematically shape consumers’ perception of an AI-based conversational interface, their perception of the brand that the interface represents, and their behavior in connection with that brand. Converging evidence from four studies shows that these dialogue properties enhance the perceived humanness of the interface, which in turn promotes more intimate consumer–brand relationships and more favorable behavioral brand outcomes (greater recommendation acceptance, willingness to pay a price premium, brand advocacy, and brand loyalty). Moreover, we show that these effects are reduced in contexts requiring less mutual understanding between the consumer and the brand. This research highlights how fundamental principles of human-to-human communication can be harnessed to design more intimate consumer–brand interactions in an increasingly AI-driven marketplace.

“My granny lives in a computer”: Experiences of Transnational Grandparenthood

Emigration is increasingly becoming a reality for South Africans. To date, research on emigration has largely focused on the economic effect and the associated loss of expertise on the country. To a lesser degree research has focused on the devastating effects of distance and the lower intimacy levels on intergenerational relationships of transnational families. The relationship as it was known has changed, face to face communication is replaced by technology-mediated communication (TMC). Using open-ended interviews, this qualitative study used a thematic analysis to explore the personal experiences of South African grandparents, as they transitioned into their role as transnational grandparents (TNGs). The theoretical framework underpinning this research was ambiguous loss. “Missing out” was a central theme identified, which featured throughout the study like a golden thread.

Predicting Openness of Communication in Families With Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome: Natural Language Processing Analysis.

In health care research, patient-reported opinions are a critical element of personalized medicine and contribute to optimal health care delivery. The importance of integrating natural language processing (NLP) methods to extract patient-reported opinions has been gradually acknowledged over the past years. One form of NLP is sentiment analysis, which extracts and analyses information by detecting feelings (thoughts, emotions, attitudes, etc) behind words. Sentiment analysis has become particularly popular following the rise of digital interactions. However, NLP and sentiment analysis in the context of intrafamilial communication for genetic cancer risk is still unexplored. Due to privacy laws, intrafamilial communication is the main avenue to inform at-risk relatives about the pathogenic variant and the possibility of increased cancer risk. The study examined the role of sentiment in predicting openness of intrafamilial communication about genetic cancer risk associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) syndrome. We used narratives derived from 53 in-depth interviews with individuals from families that harbor pathogenic variants associated with HBOC: first, to quantify openness of communication about cancer risk, and second, to examine the role of sentiment in predicting openness of communication. The interviews were conducted between 2019 and 2021 in Switzerland and South Korea using the same interview guide. We used NLP to extract and quantify textual features to construct a handcrafted lexicon about interpersonal communication of genetic testing results and cancer risk associated with HBOC. Moreover, we examined the role of sentiment in predicting openness of communication using a stepwise linear regression model. To test model accuracy, we used a split-validation set. We measured the performance of the training and testing model using area under the curve, sensitivity, specificity, and root mean square error. Higher "openness of communication" scores were associated with higher overall net sentiment score of the narrative, higher fear, being single, having nonacademic education, and higher informational support within the family. Our results demonstrate that NLP was highly effective in analyzing unstructured texts from individuals of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds and could also reliably predict a measure of "openness of communication" (area under the curve=0.72) in the context of genetic cancer risk associated with HBOC. Our study showed that NLP can facilitate assessment of openness of communication in individuals carrying a pathogenic variant associated with HBOC. Findings provided promising evidence that various features from narratives such as sentiment and fear are important predictors of interpersonal communication and self-disclosure in this context. Our approach is promising and can be expanded in the field of personalized medicine and technology-mediated communication.

FENOMENA KOMUNIKASI KAUM GAY DI ERA DIGITAL

Deviant sexual orientation makes it difficult for gays to interact and communicate like a dominant society, this makes gays need an alternative media in order to interact and communicate with the aim of meeting their social and sexual needs. Gays also use blued applications to meet these needs. This study aims to determine the phenomenon of gay communication on the blued application in the city of Ambon. The theoretical basis used in this research is the theory of social penetration and computer mediated communication (CMC). This research is a qualitative descriptive study with an individual unit of analysis, namely gay people who use the blued application. This study uses data collection techniques in the form of interviews with six resource persons, participatory observation, and documentation. Data analysis techniques used in this study were data reduction, data presentation, conclusion drawing and data triagulation. The results of this study indicate that gay users of the Blued application in Ambon City have different goals and ways when using the application to fulfill their personal needs. gay people also have different special criteria when they start a communication with each other in the application. So it is undeniable that technology-mediated communication is very helpful for gay people to be able to interact and communicate with each other. Although to improve relationships, it must still be done with several other supporting social media platforms in order to create better relationships. Based on the results of the study, mediated communication is very helpful in meeting the needs of gay people, but the communication that exists between gay people face to face is still the final achievement of developing a relationship that has been built for the better.

Unpacking Virtual Work's Dual Effects on Employee Well-Being: An Integrative Review and Future Research Agenda

Virtual work arrangements, whereby dispersed employees interact with each other using technology-mediated communication, can both positively and negatively impact their psychological well-being. Yet, research on these dual effects in different virtual work research domains (e.g., telecommuting, virtual teams, and computer-mediated work) is not well integrated, which limits insights into how their findings overlap and inform each other. Using a work design theoretical lens to synthesize findings from 115 empirical articles, we develop an integrative framework that advances understanding of how virtual work both helps and harms employee well-being. The framework explicates different pathways linking subdimensions of technology dependence and dispersion—two core dimensions underlying different types of virtual work—to well-being through employees’ perceived work characteristics. We identify four technology dependence and three dispersion subdimensions that differ in their degree of positive versus negative impact on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being outcomes as well as in the work characteristics that explain these effects. These findings suggest that employees’ well-being experiences in virtual work depend on the subdimensions involved and that the same subdimension can influence well-being both positively and negatively. Across the subdimensions, a dominant set of work characteristics in four categories (task, knowledge, social, and work context) explain virtual work’s dual effects on well-being, moderated by contingencies at different levels (individual, team, organization, and external context). These multilevel contingencies point to potential interventions for enhancing the benefits and mitigating the downsides of virtual work for employee well-being. Based on these insights, we develop a future research agenda and discuss practical implications.

Technology-Mediated Communication and Representations of Islam in Northwest China: Insights from Visual Postings on Weixin

Abstract During the last few decades, Muslim communities in China have experienced a religious revival in which belonging to a global Muslim community has been a central element. At the same time, in recent years, the State’s campaign of Sinicization of Islam (yisilan zhongguohua) has supported Chinese nationalism and targeted symbols of Islam that are alleged to distance the believers from patriotism. This study explores the capacity for texts, language, and visual choices to build and shape sociality and forms of devotion and to reflect social and political changes. The research examines visual posting on the multipurpose app Weixin (WeChat), providing insights into local forms of religiousness, self-representation, and aspirational identities of part of the Muslim community in Xining (Qinghai province, Northwest China).

The influence of text-based technology-mediated communication on the connection quality of workplace relationships: the mediating role of emotional labor

Teleworking experienced exponential growth worldwide during the Covid-19 lockdown. It is very likely that once the limitations for travelling and gathering are over, an important share of the work of organizational members will still be done remotely. We offer a new set of considerations for employees that communicate remotely via text-based technology-mediated communication (TMC) by focusing on the emotional labor challenges associated with TMC and how these challenges influence the connection quality of workplace relationships. We also delineate the mediating effects of two outcomes of TMC, decreased co-presence and informational and interactional demands, in this process. We build on previous literature, especially Walther’s (1996) triadic theory of impersonal/interpersonal/hyperpersonal TMC, to support our theoretical assertions. We develop specific propositions and a theoretical model related to the mediating effects of decreased co-presence, informational and interactional demands, and emotional labor on the link between text-based technology-mediated communication (TMC) and the connection quality of workplace relationships.

Nonverbal Synchrony in Technology-Mediated Interviews: A Cross-Cultural Study.

Technology-mediated communication has changed the way we interact. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, this trend became even more pronounced. Media interviews are no exception. Yet, studies on nonverbal behaviors, especially nonverbal synchrony during such mediated settings, have been scarce. To fill the research gap, this study investigated synchronized patterns between interview hosts’ and guests’ facial emotional displays and upper body movement during mediated interviews recorded in the countries in Western (mainly the US, with the addition of the UK) and Eastern cultures (Japan). The interviews were categorized into information- or entertainment-driven interviews, depending on the social attributes of the guest. The time series of the valence in facial displays and upper body movement was automatedly measured using FaceReader and Motion Energy Analysis software, respectively, which was analyzed in terms of simultaneous movements, a primary component of synchrony. As predicted, facial synchrony was more prevalent in information-driven interviews, supporting the motivational and strategic account of synchrony. In addition, female-hosted interviews had a higher degree of synchrony, especially in information-driven interviews. Similar patterns were seen in movement synchrony, although not significant. This study is the first evidence of synchrony in technology-mediated interviews in which a host and a guest appear on split-screen to inform or entertain audiences. However, no cultural differences in synchrony were observed. Situational demands in front of the interactants and the goal-driven nature of communication seemed to play a more prominent role than cultural differences in nonverbal synchrony.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10919-022-00416-3.

Social media addiction profiles and their antecedents using latent profile analysis: The contribution of social anxiety, gender, and age

The prevalence of social media addiction has increased with the intensive use of technologically-mediated communication in everyday life. Most studies on social media addiction are based on the variable-centered approach with very few taking a person-centered approach. Since only one previous study has investigated the profiles of social media addiction based on a psychopathological model, it is important to bring a complementary view by exploring psychosocial traits associated with the different levels of maladaptive social media use, as well as antecedents of these profiles in terms of sociodemographic variables. To fill this gap, the present study explored social media addiction profiles based on a psychosocial model. The profile indicators were social media addiction, need to belong, anxious attachment, and social media intensity use (SMIU). Data were collected from 705 participants (61% females, age range 18–54 years, Mage = 30.2 years). Latent profile analysis (LPA) showed three distinct profiles: ‘low risk of addiction’ (61.3%), ‘moderate risk of addiction’ (29.6%), and ‘high risk of addiction’ (9.1%). Social anxiety, gender, and age were antecedents of the profiles. These results based on mixture modeling approach are meaningful to the field, bringing a complementary view to the previous findings obtained in a psychopathological framework. The findings could aid practitioners in the development of targeting at-risk social media users, namely social anxious young adult females with an unmet need to belong and anxious attachment, and designing programs to help them to develop rewarding social relationships and healthy social media use.

Connected Despite Lockdown: The Role of Social Interactions and Social Media Use in Wellbeing

Humans are social beings, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, people around the world were periodically in lockdown and were required to try to physically distance themselves from others. The resultant limitation of face-to-face interactions presented a challenge to wellbeing. During periods of lockdown, people could, however, still connect to others via technology, but it is unknown whether such interactions offer benefits comparable to face-to-face interactions. In the present study, we examined how different ways of interacting with others impacted wellbeing during a period of lockdown in the United Kingdom. In a 30-day diary study conducted in April-June 2020, 110 adults reported the time they spent daily on face-to-face interactions and technology-mediated communication (video, phone, text) with different interaction partners. They also indicated the time they spent on active and passive social media use and their end-of-day wellbeing. Multilevel regressions indicated that more face-to-face interactions both within and outside of one’s household positively predicted wellbeing, while technology-mediated communication had less consistent positive effects. Additionally, more active and less passive social media use predicted better wellbeing. These results highlight the complexity of benefits of different kinds of social interactions during lockdowns in the COVID-19 pandemic and point to the importance of taking into account communication channels, interaction partners, and how people use social media when studying the effects of connecting to others.

Charisma in the gig economy: The impact of digital leadership and communication channels on performance

Remote and gig work is prevalent in today’s labor market and calls for skilled digital leaders. Signaling charisma using charismatic-leadership-tactics (CLTs) to increase follower performance works in face-to-face communication. However, technology-mediated communication reduces the signaling opportunities, thereby calling the effectiveness of charismatic signaling into question. In Study 1, I conducted a large field experiment investigating the impact of charismatic signaling (neutral or charisma) and the chosen communication channel (text, audio, video), on follower performance in the gig economy. Video messages led to lower output than text or audio communication in the neutral set-up. In contrast, the output was not significantly different between the communication channels in the charisma set-ups. The data revealed a positive interaction between video communication and CLT presence. The charismatic video led to higher output than the neutral video indicating that leaders need to deliver a coherent picture, especially when using the video channel. In Study 2, I investigated if traditional questionnaires (MLQ) measuring perceived charisma and unrelated participants’ forecasts predict Study 1′s outcomes. Although CLT presence led to higher scores in perceived charisma, follower performance was not predicted by the scores. Thus, the MLQ is not an appropriate instrument for predicting follower behavior.

PEMANFAATAN MEDIA SOSIAL DALAM KEHUMASAN DIGITAL KEMENTERIAN LUAR NEGERI

As a mode of technology mediated communication, the advent and development of social media has provided a vast array of interaction, which may lead to the attainment of understanding between public and government. Using Kent & Taylor’s model on dialogic two-way models, an organization could deliver an effective, sophisticated, and effective public relation programs using social media. Social media plays a significant role in providing avenues for such a high degree interaction. A successful public relation campaign, in the end, would contribute greatly in an organization’s efforts to manage its image. This article is aimed at providing elaboration on ways through which a government institution could effectively utilize social media in its public relations campaign, using a qualitative descriptive approach. This article found that the degree of social media utilization by a government institution would very much be depended on their respective social media adoption stage.

Promoting EFL learners’ willingness to communicate through transmediation in a digital storytelling workshop

ABSTRACT Technology-mediated communication has become ubiquitous and digital multimodal learning has been increasingly integrated into second language education. Drawing on the concepts of transmediation and interpretant in social semiotic theories, this study explores the potential of digital storytelling (DST) in promoting EFL learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC) through transmediation. A DST workshop was offered to 69 undergraduate students in China, and the workshop was intentionally designed to consist of prescript writing, video making, and postscript writing, which induced transmediation. Data sources included DST videos produced by the participating students, their prescripts and postscripts, and interviews, with a micro-level analysis conducted on two focal students. The results showed that the participants’ L2 WTC significantly increased in the writing of the postscripts than the prescripts. Three interpretants generated through transmediation were identified to be associated with students’ increased L2 WTC: expanded retrospective narratives, deepened perception, and evoked sentiments. Based on these findings, pedagogical implications for implementing DST projects as a fine example of multimodal composing practices in promoting EFL learners’ L2 WTC and multimodal communicative competence are provided.

The effects of age-morphing technology on older adult issue campaigns: The interplay of construal level, perceived probability, and message appeal

The current research examined the potential effects of age-morphing technology as a communication tool on reducing ageism and promoting positive attitude and behavioral intention to address issues affecting older adults. Two competing theoretical frameworks—construal level theory (CLT) and perspective taking (PT)—were tested as underlying mechanisms to understand the technology’s effects. In two online experiments, we examined the main and interaction effects of construal level manipulated using the technology and perceived probability of getting Alzheimer’s Disease on ageism, attitude toward helping older adults, behavioral and donation intentions (Study 1) and explored message appeals as a boundary condition to improve the potential negative outcomes of technology-mediated communication (Study 2). The findings revealed that an age-morphed image led to more concrete construal of one’s future life as an older adult. An age-morphed image combined with high perceived probability led to less stereotypical thoughts about older adults and more supporting intentions to address the issue. However, it showed that for low perceived probability, an age-morphed image resulted in less favorable outcomes. The findings showed that a model based on CLT can explain the effects as an underlying mechanism. This research indicates that the effects of age-morphing technology vary but that the technology still can be used as a strategic communication tool that might elicit favorable outcomes depending on how it is combined with perceived probability and message appeals.