The Impact of Changing Communication Practices

Due to advancements in communication technologies, how we interact with each other has changed significantly. An advantage is being able to keep in touch (family, friends) and collaborate (colleagues) with others over large distances. However, these technologies can remove behavioural cues, such as, changes in tone, gesturing and posture which can add depth and meaning to an interaction. In this paper two studies are presented which investigate changing communication practices in 1) the workplace and in 2) a loosely connected social group. The interactions of the participants were analysed by comparing synchronous (occurring in real time; e.g. face to face) and asynchronous (delayed; email, sms) patterns of communication. The findings showed a prevalence of asynchronous methods of communication in Study 1, which had an impact on affective states (positive and negative) and on self reported measures of productivity, creativity, while in Study 2 synchronous communication patterns affected stress.