Interpersonal Communication in the Information Age: Opportunities and Disruptions. (June 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ivan, Loredana
• Other Names: Fernández-Ardèvol Mireia guest-editor.; Ribera-Fumaz Ramon guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: American behavioral scientist. Volume 67:Number 7(2023)
• Page Start: 885
• Page End: 897
• Publication Date: 2023-06
• Subjects: network society and interpersonal communication -- information age and social interactions -- interpersonal communication mediated by technologies; Social sciences -- Periodicals; Political science -- Periodicals; United States -- Social conditions -- Periodicals; United States -- Politics and government -- Periodicals; 300
• DOI: 10.1177/00027642221092801
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-7642

Abstract

Starting from the interpersonal communication theories that have incorporated the use of information and communication technologies (Walther, 2007, 2011, 2017) and the perpetual interconnectedness to understand human behavior in interaction with others (Walther et al., 2015), the current paper approaches challenges brought by the network society in the way we bridge our online and offline self. Castells' concepts are primarily used to explain macro-phenomena, for example, social movements (Castells, 2015), political and socio-economic transformation around the world (Castells, 2017), and to a lesser extent in discussing meso-phenomena, such as social isolation, exhaustion, the commodification of human interactions and interpersonal conflicts arise as part of individual's adaptation to the Information Age. The current paper creates links between Castells' main concepts of the network society theoretical framework and three meso-theories used in the interpersonal communication field to explain people's online behavior in interaction by focusing on the characteristics of the communication medium: The social presence theory, Media richness theory, and the Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE). Sharing Castells' optimism on how network society creates efficiency and innovation in human interactions, we draw attention to less optimistic aspects related to the constant pressure of constructing relationships through virtual reality.