Impersonal, Interpersonal, and Hyperpersonal
According to Walther's research(1996), the study of CMC went through three phases: from impersonal, to interpersonal, and finally to hyperpersonal. First, because CMC shows no nonverbal cues, some argued that CMC was more task-oriented than was FtF. The reasons are: 1) The concentration on the content of communication will not be distracted by social or emotional influences, so that CMC can “promote rationality by providing essential discipline.” 2) CMC is also advantageous in group decision making since it avoids the influence of pressure of peers and status. 3) CMC can facilitate the efficiency of group work since it saves time when irrelevant interpersonal influence decreases. 4) Group members can enjoy more “democratic” atmosphere in CMC than that in FtF communication. In addition, anonymity, which can result in more freedom for members to verbalize without feeling pressure from high-status members, is one of the most important features of CMC.
Early CMC group research suggested that CMC groups were better for task-oriented interactions than their FtF counterparts. In task-oriented situations, where overly personal interpersonal interaction is not desired, then impersonal interaction is the appropriate kind of interaction, because the communication exchanges are more focused on the group’s task. For example, a geographically dispersed technology team tasked with solving a software application bug may be more productive when the communication is task focused rather than interpersonal in nature. This doesn’t mean that all CMC is impersonal, but points out that specific contexts may be better suited for impersonal interaction rather than personal exchanges.
Then, Walther stated that CMC is not always impersonal; instead, it can also develop social relationships. Although, there is less social information exchange in CMC because of the absence of nonverbal cues, as the communication time increases, the exchange of social information is increasing accordingly. And the anticipation of future communication may make communicators to look for more information about the other. This mechanism leads to similar immediacy, similarity, composure, and receptivity as in FtF communication. However, there is a shortcoming. Since it takes time for CMC to achieve consensus, if the time for CMC is limited, the information exchanged will be much less than do FtF, which may impact the efficiency of group work.
Finally, Walther brought up the concept of hyperpersonal communication, which demonstrates that “CMC that is more socially desirable than we tend to experience in parallel FtF interaction.” Walther proposes that CMC users do take part in hyperpersonal communication. Senders and receivers engage in the process of selective-self presentation through the message they create and send. This can lead to the idealization of the sender by the receiver based on making attributions from available paralingual cues found in the message. This process is enhanced with asynchronous exchanges, letting both sender and receiver have ample time to consider the messages sent and received. Hyperpersonal interaction would be excessively or above normal personal interaction. In other words, online relationships can develop into hyperpersonal that is excessively personal. When users experience commonality and are self-aware, physically separated, and communicating via a limited-cues channel, they can selectively self-present and edit their communication, enabling them to construct and reciprocate representations of their partners and relations without the interference of environmental reality. Hyperpersonal communication can thus be defined as computer-mediated interaction that is more attractive than experiences in similar FtF exchanges. The hyperpersonal model can be understood by looking at the established communication processes that include sender, receiver, channel, and feedback. The sender uses the process of selective self-presentation; this refers to CMC users’ ability to manage their online image. Being able to self-censor and manipulate messages is possible to do within a CMC context to a greater extent than in FtF interactions, so individuals have greater control over what cues are sent.
He made this argument in four aspects of the communication process: receivers, senders, characteristics of the channel, and feedback processes.
Read more about this topic: Hyperpersonal Model