Individual Differences Research

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Individual Differences Research > Volume 12, Issue 4-B (2014) > 198-208

Preference for Online Communication and Its Association with Perceived Social Skills

Sun-Mee Kang, Martha J. Munoz

Abstract

A rapid advance in communication technology during the past two decades has provided new options for communication. The current study was conducted to explore whether individuals who prefer online communication would be perceived less socially skillful in a social situation than people who prefer face-to-face interaction. Participants (N = 68) recruited from a community were divided in two groups based on their preferred channel of communication – online or face-to-face. After completing questionnaires in an individual setting, participants were engaged in an unanticipated social interaction with a confederate for 5 minutes. This social interaction was recorded with a hidden camera. Social skills and nonverbal social behaviors displayed during the interaction were rated by independent judges. The results showed that the participants who chose online communication were perceived as less socially skillful.