“We discover that individuals chat on the Web for a variety of reasons. In this study, the top five reasons for chatting include the fact that it is an economic and convenient way to communicate, that it provides a source for entertainment and companionship, and that it is relaxing”(Zinkhan et al, 2003, p. 25).Chat rooms are the most convenient and cheaper way to communicate with friends, new acquaintances, and family worldwide. Based on the survey the chat rooms are in high demand in almost all the countries; for example U.S. has 45% online participants, Canada 23%, China 10%, Australia 9%, Korea 8%, and Taiwan 5%. People are expressing their opinions and thoughts freely and hopping that they are listened by other participants. Some people become closer to other people who met online rather than their grownup friends. Some people who never met face to face are enjoying spending time in cyberspace with one another discussing what interest them. Some people are shy talking about something personal with their local friends, but chatting online they have no boundaries and they can reveal anything they want about themselves. By using the chat rooms, people tend to become even more collective in cyberspace, while they tend to get more isolated and they embrace the individualism in their real life.
Zinkhan, G. M., Hyokjin, K. Morrison, M., & Peters, C. O. (2003). Web-Based Chatting: Consumer Communications in Cyberspace. Journal of Consumer Psychology,13(1&2), 17-27. Retrieved June 8, 2008, from the Academic Search Premier database.
6 comments:
Great article. It made me think of my days in the military when snail mail was our only means of communication. Waiting for a return letter could take weeks where as now it takes only minutes, and you don't have to do pushups to recieve your letter.
There was no surprise to me that America is leading with 45% of online participation in chatting. This tends to make me nervous with my 14 year old daughter. I am always monitoring her usage because there are so many people who try to deceive out there. I believe this is a great way to communicate as long as we are careful with the information we provide to others.
I have 'chatted' online just in the past year with people from India, Montreal, Germany, Russia, France, and many states throughout America. I've enjoyed getting to know different people and learning about their respective cultures. It's time consuming though. I used to have a lot more time on my hands than I do now, and I find it hard to keep up with my previous level of correspondence.
I use instant messaging every single day to communicate with friends as well as other co-workers within the company that I work for. It is so much more convenient to ask them a question on IM rather than call them or walk over to their desk.
This technology is amazing for communication. As Mike mentioned snail mail seem so long ago and the fact that I was afraid to make long distance calls in realtions to the high costs. I can now chat with friends and family. My wife and I recently chatted with my inlaws while they were in europe last week. Great post.
As Brandy said earlier, concerning monitoring her child. With people letting their guard down in cyberspace to talk in chat rooms is kind of scary… not just for kids but for people of all ages. There are predators out there that are looking for that someone that lets out just the wrong item that lets them know where they are.
It is nice to have a place to talk and let things out or just to communicate with people but people should be careful when communicating with people that they do not really know on the other end of the line.
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