The effect of interaction topic and social ties on media choice and the role of four underlying mechanisms
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Emmelyn A. J. Croes
,
Marjolijn L. Antheunis
Abstract
This study employed a scenario-based approach whereby participants were asked to choose which communication channel they prefer in certain situations. The first aim was to determine the effect of the topic of interactions and social ties on channel choice. The second aim was to examine the underlying mechanisms (controllability, anonymity, co-presence, and affective understanding) in the relation between interaction topic and social ties and channel choice. A questionnaire was administered among 238 participants, who were presented five communication scenarios with topics of low and high intimacy and four social ties, ranging from weak to strong. Results revealed that preference for face-to-face (FtF) communication was highest, followed by audio-only computer-mediated communication (CMC) and text-based CMC. Preference for FtF communication was higher when people valued feeling co-present and decreased when people valued feeling anonymous. Our results showed that communication channel choice is strategic and the choice for FtF ommunication, audio-only and text-based CMC largely depends on controllability, anonymity and co-presence.
©2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Editorial 2018
- Articles
- The consequences of being on the agenda: The effect of media and public attention on firms’ stock market performance
- Issue ownership as a determinant of political parties’ media coverage
- The effect of interaction topic and social ties on media choice and the role of four underlying mechanisms
- Bias wanted! Examining people’s information exposure, quality expectations and bias perceptions in the context of the refugees debate among different segments of the German population
- Research in brief
- Vox pops in the news: The journalists’ perspective
- The way Syrian refugees in Turkey use media: Understanding “connected refugees” through a non-media-centric and local approach
- Book Reviews
- McQuire, S.: Geomedia: Networked cities and the future of public space
- Coleman, R., & Wu, D.: Image and emotion in voter decisions. The affect agenda
- Gruner, O.: Screening the Sixties. Hollywood cinema and the politics of memory
