G. Riva et C. Galimberti, Computer-mediated communication: Identity and social interaction in an electronic environment, GENET SOC G, 124(4), 1998, pp. 434-464
Social scientists are increasingly interested in understanding the characte
ristics of computer-mediated communication and its effects on people, group
s, and organizations. The Ist effect of this influence is the revolution in
the metaphors used to describe communication. In this article, these chang
es are described. Then a framework is outlined for the study of computer-me
diated communication. The 3 psychosocial roots of the process by which inte
raction between users is constructed-networked reality, virtual conversatio
n, and identity construction-are discussed. The implications of these chang
es for current research in communication studies are also considered, with
particular reference to the role of context, the link between cognition and
interaction, and the use of interlocutory models as paradigms of communica
tive interaction. Communication is seen not only as a transfer of informati
on, but also as the activation of a psychosocial relationship, the process
by which interlocutors co-construct an area of reality.