Communication in digital spaces

Nancy focuses on the question of what happens to communication itself when it's digitally mediated? In 2002 Nancy conducted a survey asking which form of communication, with choices being face to face, on the phone, or the internet, people prefer. The results showed that majority of people preferred face to face communication, followed by phone calls and then the internet. This was the case because most participants said that they feel the most intimate and personal during face to face conversations over phone calls and using the internet. This is the case because social cues are being reduced by both phone calls and the internet, making them less intimate. Although some view mediated communication as a diminished form of face to face communication, other factors come into play such as people's familiarity with each other and the technology, how well they know one another, and if they plan on meeting or seeing one another again. Whatever the circumstance may be face to face communication is still more personal than mediated communication due to social cues and gestures available to interpret meaning behind messages that is not available through mediated communication. However, Baym brings up the point that emoticons are becoming used more frequently in mediated communication today, allowing new ways for users to represent and interpret social cues that were previously never available. 

Baym discusses the vital role social cues play when interpreting messages whether done in person or through a medium. Throughout the book Baym never takes a side, rather she offers perspectives from all angles allowing the reader to grasp all of the factors that come into play. Baym offers the utopian view that media with fewer social cues often trigger hopes that people will become more equal and more valued for their intellect and their minds more so than their social identities. However, she also offers a dystopian counter argument saying that media with fewer social cues may lead to shallow interactions and relationships. Baym backs up different arguments from her personal research, as well as research done by others.