Browsing by Subject "Instant messaging -- Psychological aspects"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Computer-mediated communication: a study of linguistic variation in Instant Messenger
    (2002) Miller, Rashidah N.; Davis, Douglas A., 1943-; Perloe, Sidney
    In a two-part study of AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), researchers examined patterns of use by over 200 college-aged subjects. In the first study, a questionnaire on overall AIM use was administered, in which researchers found that AIM users spent on average 75 minutes a day actively using Instant Messenger. Of these conversations, approximately 31% were reported as "serious" while 50% were considered "casual." Observations of sex differences showed that a larger percentage of males than females agreed that discussing intimate issues and engaging in arguments online were appropriate. In the second study conducted, logs of AIM conversations were collected, and manual and mechanical coding processes employed to determine the frequency of use of features such as emoticons, abbreviations/slang, and profanity by males versus females. Based on prior research, it was hypothesized that significant differences would be found indicating more frequent use of emoticons by females than males, more frequency of profanity use by males than females and differences in the use of abbreviations/slang with unspecified directional effects. No significant results were found for the first two hypotheses, but significant results did indicate that males not only used abbreviations/slang more than females but that they are highly affected by the sex of their interlocutor in their frequency of use. Hypothesized gender differences in communication style were not found in the collected logs, perhaps because the sample was composed primarily of U.S. college students who communicated mostly with friends. Future studies on this phenomenon should broaden the sample population to include subjects of varying ages, socio-cultural backgrounds and degrees of affiliation.
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    IM ok, you're ok AIMing for Communication: A study of Instant Messenger
    (2002) Rounsaville, Daniel
    A study of mostly college-aged users of Instant Messenger (IM) collected survey data from over 200 IM users. The typical IM user in this population chats mostly with real-life friends and uses IM both to feel casually in touch with those on the buddy list and sometimes for serious conversation. Males reported having more frequently made flirtations or harassing gestures on IM than did females. More active IM users were shown to be more extroverted, and less conscientious overall. Most subjects also reported using IM to keep in touch with people they would not ordinarily have.
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    Influence of Sex on Language in Synchronous Computer-Mediated­ Communication
    (2002) Grayer, Joanna; Davis, Douglas A., 1943-
    Instant Messenger is quickly becoming a popular mode of communication throughout our society. Two studies of mostly College-aged users of AOL Instant Messenger examined characteristics of this medium. The first study collected survey and self-report data from over 200 users of Instant Messenger, while the second study examined saved Instant Messenger logs from a sub-set of those who participated in the initial portion of the study. The typical IM user in this population chats mostly with real-life friends and indicated that the medium is conducive to both serious and casual conversations. Subjects reported actively using Instant Messenger for an hour and 15 minutes a day and indicated having IM conversations that average just over 20 minutes in length. A few sex differences were found in the first part of the study, with males indicating that they both have asked someone out and argued more often over IM than females. In logged conversations, the average length of one person's contribution to a conversation was just over 250 words. Emoticons and profanity were found to make up less than 1% of a conversation, while logs consisted nearly 9% of abbreviations/slang. Fewer sex differences were found when analyzing the Instant Messenger logs than were expected. The only significant sex difference detected in this portion of the study was that the influence of the sex of the person they were talking to was significantly greater for males than it was for females in terms of their use of abbreviation/slang. Instant Messenger is a relatively new mode of communication and much more research will certainly soon be conducted in this area.
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    Instant Messenger: A Foundation
    (2002) Klevansky, Robin; Davis, Douglas A., 1943-
    The synchronous, peer-to-peer chat software called Instant Messenger has become a major mode of computer-mediated communication in the last few years, but little if any research has been performed to gauge how people use the program. The present study collected self-report and personality data on IM use from over 250 subjects. The typical user here is a college student who chats with mostly real-life friends for about an hour a day, in both casual and more intimate or serious conversations, and who uses the program's features as a form of self-representation. A number of sex differences were found, in particular that males are more apt to harass friends over IM and to chat with strangers and acquaintances known only online. There were also personality differences: extraverts have more chat partners, harassers are less agreeable, and less conscientious people are more comfortable using the medium for intimate conversation.
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    Language Styles in AOL Instant Messenger as a Reflection of Self
    (2002) Wright, Natalie P.; Davis, Douglas A., 1943-
    Two studies of mostly college-aged users of AOL Instant Messenger (IM) collected survey and self-report data from over 250 IM users and also collected text logs of IM conversations for language analysis. Study one provided user demographics and background information on IM use. The average user was 19.5 years old and used IM for well over an hour each day to talk with close friends and acquaintances. Most subjects reported that they are usually using IM "just to say hi," and that IM has allowed them to keep in touch with people that they would not have kept in touch with otherwise. Study two examined individual and group differences in language use. Gender differences were smaller then expected in both studies, though an analysis of IM logs revealed that males used significantly more profanity than females. Other variables such as age and context of conversation were examined as with gender, yielded no significant differences in use of profanity, use of abbreviations or slang, or use of emoticons.
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    Language Use in AOL Instant Messenger
    (2002) Hufford, Diana Dezube; Davis, Douglas A., 1943-
    Two studies of mostly college-aged users of America Online Instant Messenger (AIM) collected survey and self-reported data from over 200 AIM users and saved logs of AIM chat sessions from a subset of similar subjects. The typical AIM user in this population chatted mostly with real-life friends and felt that AIM helped maintain connections with friends that would be severed if AIM was not used. The average AIM user in this sample was actively connected to AIM for 75.3 minutes a day and the average AIM conversation lasted 21.3 minutes. Sex differences were smaller than expected, but males were more likely to have reported use of AIM just to harass than were females and males were also more likely to have initiated chat with a stranger over AIM than were females. In logged conversations, sex of the AIM conversation partner appeared to have more effect on male than on female AIM users with males using more slang, abbreviations, and profanity when conversing with other males.
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    The Rise of the Social Technology: Evaluating the Impact of the Instant Messenger Culture
    (2002) Welles, Marcus
    This study evaluated the impact of Instant Messenger technology (IM)--namely American Online Instant Messenger (AIM)--on American youth. Stemming from previous research in the field of computer-mediated communication and more specifically real-time chat, it was predicted that one's personality and a number of individual differences would affect the way that the IM technology is used. Furthermore, we expected to find data showing IM as a key tool and factor in a college student's social network. The experimenters recruited college students and young adults to complete an online questionnaire with questions concerning subjects' background information, experience with technology, patterns of IM use, and personality information (Five Factor Inventory). Results showed a wealth of significant results concerning relations between individual differences and patterns of IM use. Specifically, a number of significant gender and personality differences were noted, with extraversion and agreeableness producing some of the most relevant findings. It was concluded that IM is an integral part of many young Americans' social networks, and that it is changing the dynamics of communication. Furthermore, males are concluded to be more transformed socially by this technology, with females simply transferring their social habits to this new medium. Future research is imperative in further exposing the effects--both long-term and short­ term--of IM culture on our youth. Future studies should be more directed and focused on specific aspects of IM use, and should especially target younger high school populations of IM users.