Interpersonal Communication- A Mindful Approach to Relationships, 2020a

themed posts.
Pitcan, M., Marwick, A. E., & Boyd, D. (2018). Performing a vanilla self: Respectability politics, social class,
and the digital world. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 23(3), 163-179. https://doi.org/10.1093/
jcmc/zmy008
For this discussion, we need to focus on the idea of , in which people are
physically occupying the same space while interacting with one another. Historically, most interpersonal
communication has involved co-present interactions, but with the advent of a range of communication
technologies, people no longer have to be co-present to interact. On the flip side, there are many people
who are co-present but use technology as a way of avoiding FtF interactions with those around them.
One of our professor friends recently remarked, “when I started my career, I always had to tell students
to quiet down at the beginning of class. Now, they’re already quiet because they’re all looking at their
cellphones ignoring those around them.”
Now we often have to encourage collocated social interactions, and we wonder how we can get people
sitting next to each other to talk to one another. Thomas Olsson, Pradthana Jarusriboonchai, Paweł
Woźniak, Susanna Paasovaara, Kaisa Väänänen, and Andrés Lucero argue that there are two basic
communication problems facing people today, “(1) the use of current technology disrupting ongoing
social situations, and (2) lack of social interaction in collocated situations where it would be desirable.” 27
When people don’t interact with one another, they tend to become more socially isolated and lonely,
which can lead to a feeling of disengagement with those around them.
How many times have you seen people eating out together yet spending the entire time on their
smartphones? Many people believe that this type of multitasking actually enhances productivity, but
research tends to disagree with this notion. One study actually demonstrated that when people are
confronted with constant distractions like phones ringing or email alerts chiming on a smartphone,
people lose an average of 10 IQ points due to these distractions. 28 This drop in IQ is equivalent to
missing an entire night of sleep. Furthermore, those generations that have grown up with technology are
more likely to engage in multitasking behavior. 29 In a 2014 study conducted by Jonathan Bowman and
Roger Pace, the researchers tested the impact of cell phone usage vs. FtF conversations while performing
a complex cognitive task. 30 Not surprisingly, individuals who interacted via cell phones were less adept at
performing the task than those engaged in FtF interactions. Furthermore, individuals involved in the FtF
interactions were more satisfied with their interactions than their peers using a cellphone. The authors
of the article also found that, “People think they are effectively communicating their message while dualtasking
even though they are not.” 31
So how can technology benefit social interactions? In the Olsson et al. study, the researchers
examined several different studies that were designed to help foster collocated social interactions. 32 Table
12.2 from the Olsson et al. illustrates the basic findings from their study.
Role of technology Social design objectives Design approaches
Enable (previous work beyond which the reviewed literature explores)
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Interpersonal Communication