Computer-mediated
communication (CMC) differs from Face-to-Face (F2F) communication in several
ways. As I see it, the biggest difference is that CMC focuses less on personal
and social aspects than F2F. This can have a positive effect in that a group
can focus more on the task that needs to be done, how to do it and the content that
needs to be analyzed in order to accomplish the task. Small groups are able to
do all of this and perhaps get things accomplished more quickly because personal
relationships and interpersonal attraction aren’t emphasized. Additional
advantages are that participation is anonymous so people who might not speak
out in F2F communication may be willing to do so in CMC and low-status members
tend to contribute more freely, with all members contributing uninhibitedly on
an equal basis.
I
believe one of the negative aspects of CMC compared to F2F communication is
that since individual personalities are detected less in CMC and communication
style in CMC tends to be less social-emotional, there might be a detrimental
effect on group cohesion since one of the influences on the development of
group cohesion is contentment with the social aspects of the group. Additional
negative aspects of CMC compared to F2F communication are that it’s sometimes
harder to get a group consensus, (although, more unique ideas can be generated in
CMC than in F2F communication), it’s less likely to have a leader emerge and
leadership tends to be more decentralized and less permanent in CMC compared to
F2F communication.
Hello Lee! Excellent post! I found the content of this post to be very interesting. I'm an advocate for F2F communication, always have been and always will be; especially since it is dying out. CMC is growing so rapidly and there is no signs of it stopping. It has become very popular with the young generations consuming their daily lives. I like idea of being anonymous that you stated. I never thought of that before. That can keep prejudice and stereotypes out of group discussions a great deal. Another concept I found different that can have both a positive and negative effect on groups is time. CMC give people time to respond back if it isn't live. This can be good because people can put more though into their responses. This also puts more responsibility on the group to produce better results. But tme can cause distraction/drift away from the task or leave room for error.
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