Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) is said to have occurred when two or more networked computers are used for the purpose of communication (McQuail, 2005). CMC includes media like social networking websites, email, instant messaging, text messaging, and chat rooms. With recent introduction of new types of CMC such as blog and RSS feed, CMC has reached new heights. CMC has come to play a very important role in our lives as face-to-face communication is being replaced by computer-mediated formats in this digital age. This has also driven scholars to work on the effect of CMC on various elements of communications like relational dynamics, perception, conflict, identity etc.
The type of CMC chosen for this paper is email. It is method to send and receive messages through the use of computer servers. Email has reduced the need for face-to-face interactions. Because of people’s increased use of email, many email service providers have come up. Many people use email to maintain their social relationships online. The rest of the paper will discuss the implications of email on three elements of communication i.e. relational dynamics, perception, and conflict.
Relational Dynamics
A new era dawned in Customer Relationships Management (CRM) with the advent of email. Email has revolutionized the way a customer and a producer interact. There was a time when there was no internet and hence, no email. It was very difficult for a producer to get feedback for from customers. But in this era, if used properly, email can be a great way to get feedback from customers. Email has not only benefited the producer but the customer too. Customer can be better serviced with the help of email.
There was a time when relationships were only formed after the face-to-face talk of two people. But, that has changed with the coming of email. Email is a good way to communicate and build relationships online because even internet novices can use email, it is cheap, it is private, and one does not have to go through the hassle of posting letters. One of the effects of email on people is that they feel comfortable when expressing them through email and can easily say whatever is on their mind. Another benefit of email is that it is very quick. One can instantly send any message. Email makes it possible for partners to remain in touch always.
With these benefits, email has also brought with itself some challenges for relationships. It has also come to affect relations of people in a negative way. Some people just do not check their email inbox regularly and do not feel a need to reply which only serves to affect their relationships. Sometimes people are reluctant and convey things which are not meant to be conveyed through email. Sometimes a partner may misinterpret what is written in the email. This occurs because one cannot hear the voice or facial expressions of one’s partner. He/she only sees what is typed. So, acronyms and emoticons can be misinterpreted. There is a significant difference between verbal and non-verbal (email) communication. One of them is that non-verbal communication may not convey the exact tone and intent of the sender. This will only serve to increase misunderstandings.
Perception
Email is a powerful way to communicate but it does not reflect sender’s nonverbal expressions. This may lead to the wrong perception of email on the part of receiver. But, these days we are able to convey our emotions through emoticons. Some people also capitalize their words to show excitement. But, both of these can be misinterpreted by the reader. A study by Byron and Baldridge (2007) found that those who are introverted and emotionally unwell may come to dislike the sender of email with unnecessary capitalization and emoticons. The opposite was true of extroverted and emotionally well people.
Email communication also lacks the non-verbal cues that accompany face-to-face talk and give additional information about the other person. Our perception of other person depends on these cues. Therefore, in the absence of these cues, we can perceive other person in a way that is significantly different from what he actually is.
Conflict
Email also creates conflict among people. Gladwell (2002) says that email users will become immune to email in future. By this, he meant that when we start receiving many emails, our replies will be shorter, less frequent, and delayed. While, there will be other people who will expect the same traditional reply. This way some people will delay their responses while others will not. Some people’s replies will be pithy while others will take time and will have long replies. This will only serve to increase conflict and nothing else.
When trying to resolve a conflict, email negotiations most often fails. This is because people behave differently during face-to-face talk than through email. People are reluctant to share information through online forums like internet. Therefore, negotiators cannot workout the solution properly due to lack of information. It has also been found that people lie easily when communicating through email. So, email has many limitations when it comes to resolution of conflicts. Sometimes, because of improper communication through email, conflict arises.
References
Byron, K., & Baldridge, D. (2007). E-Mail Recipients’ Impressions of Senders’ Likeability: The Interactive Effect of Nonverbal Cues and Recipients’ Personality. Journal of Business Communication, 44(2), 137
Gladwell, M. (2000). The tipping point. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
Goessl, L. How email and texting affects relationships. Retrieved July 27, 2009
from http://www.helium.com/items/1272692-how-email-and-texting-affects- relationships-electronic-communication
Lenski, T. (2003). Face-to-Face Negotiation Better than Email. Retrieved July 27, 2009
from http://conflictzen.com/face-to-face-negotiation-better-than-email/
McQuail, Denis. (2005). Mcquail’s Mass Communication Theory. 5th ed. London: SAGE Publications.
Zelenka, A. (2007). Rising Email Immunity Leads to Conflict over Email Etiquette. Retrieved July 27, 2009 from http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/09/05/rising-email-immunity/
