Emotions in virtual communication

Emotions in virtual communication differ in a variety of ways from those in face-to-face interactions due to the characteristics of computer-mediated communication (CMC). CMC may lack many of the auditory and visual cues normally associated with the emotional aspects of interactions. Research in this area has investigated how and when individuals display and interpret various emotions in virtual settings.

While text-based communication eliminates audio and visual cues, there are other methods for adding emotion. Emoticons, or emotional icons, can be used to display various types of emotions. Similar to emotional displays in face-to-face communication, it was found that females tend to use more emoticons than their male counterparts. Beyond simply using emoticons, in virtual communication platforms, people tend to capitalize letters or words to add emphasis to speaking.

There are a variety of characteristics of virtual communication that result in an increase in the amount of emotion displayed. The lack of social cues in CMC has been found to have a depersonalizing effect. Additionally, there can be greater anonymity or perceptions of anonymity in virtual communication. This combination of anonymous and social detached communication has been shown to increase the likelihood of flaming, or angry and hostile language as a result of uninhibited behavior.

Furthermore, it has been shown that virtual communication can reduce normative social pressures. As a result of decreased social pressures, individuals may feel more comfortable disclosing either positive or negative affect, which may not be considered appropriate in normal face-to-face interactions. For example, in a large part due to decreased social hierarchies, Gilmore and Warren (2007) found many instances of feelings of intimacy, playfulness, and pride in a virtual teaching environment.

The lack of social and emotional cues over virtual communication platforms can result in increased instances of misinterpreting emotion and intentions. Kruger, Epley, Parker, and Ng (2005) found that individuals overestimate both their ability to clearly relay and interpret emotions via email. They attribute this inability to relay emotions effectively to others over CMC to a combination of egocentrism and a lack of paralinguistic cues including gestures, emphasis, and intonations.

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