Editing Computer-mediated communication (section)

== Characteristics ==
Communication occurring within a computer-mediated format has an effect on many different aspects of an interaction.  Some of those that have received attention in the scholarly literature include impression formation, deception, group dynamics, disclosure reciprocity, disinhibition and especially relationship formation.

CMC is examined and compared to other communication media through a number of aspects thought to be universal to all forms of communication, including (but not limited to) [[synchronicity]], [[persistence (computer science)|persistence]] or "recordability", and [[anonymity]].  The association of these aspects with different forms of communication varies widely. For example, [[instant messaging]] is intrinsically synchronous but not persistent, since one loses all the content when one closes the dialog box unless one has a message log set up or has manually copy-pasted the conversation. E-mail and message boards, on the other hand, are low in synchronicity since response time varies, but high in persistence since messages sent and received are saved. Properties that separate CMC from other media also include transience, its [[Multimodal interaction|multimodal]] nature, and its relative lack of governing codes of conduct.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McQuail |first1=Denis |title=McQuail's Mass Communication Theory |date=2005 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=978-1-4129-0372-1 }}{{page needed|date=April 2021}}</ref> CMC is able to overcome physical and social limitations of other forms of communication and therefore allow the interaction of people who are not physically sharing the same space.

Technology would be a powerful tool when defining communication as a learning process that needs a sender and receiver.<ref name=":0" /> According to Nicholas Jankowski in his book The Contours of Multimedia, a third party, like software, acts in the middle between a sender and receiver. The sender is interacting with this third party to send. The receiver interacts with it as well, creating an additional interaction with the medium itself along with the initially intended one between sender and receiver.<ref name=":0" />

The medium in which people choose to communicate influences the extent to which people disclose personal information. CMC is marked by higher levels of self-disclosure in conversation as opposed to face-to-face interactions.<ref name="Jiang, C. 2011">{{cite journal |last1=Jiang |first1=L. Crystal |last2=Bazarova |first2=Natalya N. |last3=Hancock |first3=Jeffrey T. |title=From Perception to Behavior: Disclosure Reciprocity and the Intensification of Intimacy in Computer-Mediated Communication |journal=Communication Research |date=1 February 2013 |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=125–143 |doi=10.1177/0093650211405313 |s2cid=31617444 }}</ref> Self disclosure is any verbal communication of personally relevant information, thought, and feeling which establishes and maintains interpersonal relationships.<ref name="Jiang, C. 2011"/> This is due in part to visual anonymity and the absence of nonverbal cues which reduce concern for losing positive [[Face (sociological concept)|face]]. According to Walther’s (1996) [[Hyperpersonal model|hyperpersonal communication model]], computer-mediated communication is valuable in providing a better communication and better first impressions.<ref name=Walther96 /> Moreover, Ramirez and Zhang (2007) indicate that computer-mediated communication allows more closeness and attraction between two individuals than a face-to-face communication.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dunn |first1=Robert Andrew |chapter=Identity Theories and Technology |pages=26–44 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wutGAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA26 |editor1-last=Rocci |editor1-first=Luppicini |title=Handbook of Research on Technoself: Identity in a Technological Society: Identity in a Technological Society |date=2012 |publisher=IGI Global |isbn=978-1-4666-2212-8 }}</ref> Online impression management, self-disclosure, attentiveness, expressivity, composure and other skills contribute to competence in computer mediated communication.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Spitzberg |first1=Brian H. |title=Preliminary Development of a Model and Measure of Computer-Mediated Communication (Cmc) Competence |journal=Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication |date=1 January 2006 |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=629–666 |doi=10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00030.x |doi-access=free }}</ref> In fact, there is a considerable correspondence of skills in computer-mediated and face-to-face interaction<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bubaš |first1=Goran |last2=Spitzberg |first2=Brian |title=The relations of communication skills in face-to-face and computer-mediated communication |journal=Proceedings of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) 2nd European Communication Conference. Communication Policies and Culture in Europe |date=2008 |isbn=978-84-490-2569-3 |url=https://www.bib.irb.hr/375532?rad=375532 }}</ref> even though there is great diversity of online communication tools.

Anonymity and in part privacy and security depends more on the context and particular program being used or web page being visited. However, most researchers in the field acknowledge the importance of considering the psychological and social implications of these factors alongside the technical "limitations".