Social Information Processing (theory) - A Theory of Online Communication

A Theory of Online Communication

The nature of online interaction is a highly studied field that has experienced both positive and negative media ecology. Various electronic media theories offer explanations for the difference between computer-mediated communication (CMC) and Face-to-Face communication, including the social presence theory, media richness theory, and lack of social context cues. Social presence theory suggests that CMC deprives users of the sense that another person is involved in the interaction. To the extent that we end up feeling like nobody is there, our communication becomes impersonal, individualistic and task-oriented. Media richness theory classifies each communication medium according to the complexity of the messages it can handle efficiently. It claims that CMC band-width is too narrow to convey rich relational messages. The third theory focuses on the lack of social context cues in online communication. The theory claims that CMC users have no clue as to their relative status, and norms for interaction are not clear, so people tend to become more self-centered and less inhibited. The result is increased flaming – hostile language that zings its targets and creates a toxic climate for relational growth on the internet. All of these theories share a cues filtered out interpretation of CMC that regards lack of nonverbal cues as a fatal flaw for using the medium for relationship development. More recent theories have developed an increasingly optimistic view of online communication, explaining how those who interact online are highly capable of creating and maintaining impressions and relationships with others online.

Now at Michigan State University, Walther claims that CMC users can adapt to this restricted medium and use it effectively to develop close relationships. He argued that if there was an opportunity for sufficient exchange of social messages and adequate relationship growth, as goes with face-to-face communication, so goes CMC. Walther built Social Information Processing (SIP) upon the larger notion of CMC or nonverbal communication transactions that occur through the use of two or more networked computers While the term has traditionally referred to those communications that occur via computer-mediated formats (e.g., instant messages, e-mails, chat rooms), it has also been applied to other forms of text-based interaction such as text messaging. Walther understood that the mediated nature of online communication required a new theory to describe it.