Electronic and face-to-face communication in maintaining social relationships

It is found that such synchronous modes/services as F2F and telephone conversations are used more for urgent matters and that asynchronous modes become more influential as the relational distance in the social network increases.

Abstract

Although the spectacular spread of wired and wireless communication technologies
\nsuch as the Internet and mobile phone have been discussed extensively in the academic
\nliterature, knowledge of the interactions among face-to-face (F2F) and electronic
\ncommunication modes and their implications for travel behavior is rather limited. The
\nsame is true for knowledge about factors influencing the choice for these types of
\ncommunication. Using survey data collected among 662 respondents, this paper aims to
\ngain more insight into (i) the interaction between F2F and electronic contacts, (ii) the
\ninfluence of information content and relational distance on the choice of the
\ncommunication mode/service, and (iii) the influence of relational and geographical
\ndistance, in addition to various other factors, on the frequency of F2F and electronically
\nmediated contacts with relatives and friends. Bivariate correlation analysis indicates that
\nthe frequency of F2F contacts is positively correlated with that for electronic
\ncommunication, which points at a generation effect. With respect to the impact of
\ninformation content and relational distance, we find that such synchronous
\nmodes/services as F2F and telephone conversations are used more for urgent matters
\nand that asynchronous modes (especially e-mail) become more influential as the
\nrelational distance in the social network increases. Finally, ordered probit analyses
\nconfirm that both F2F and electronic communication frequencies decline with
\nincreasing physical and relational distance to the social network members.