Early scholars of electronic mail communication, Lee Sproull and Sara Keisler, explain why people may feel more comfortable in an e-mail rather than face-to-face setting:
"Ordinarily when people communicate, they aren't just exchanging information; they are projecting an image of themselves. This knowledge can make them shy in front of others, especially those whose respect they most desire. Plain text in electronic mail reduce the fear of appearing foolish in front of others. By removing reminders of a possible critical audience, electronic mail induces people to be more open" (Sproull et. al., 1991, p. 42).
However, this seeming distance from the audience has a dangerous flip side. A study on the uses of CMC for class work showed that "half the students reported greater aggression online compared to face-to-face classes" (Chester & Gwynne, 1998). While facilitating greater aggression might help bring out less talkative students, it can also be taken too far. (See Personal Safety and Flame Wars)
One possible reason for the positive correlation between the chat list and social interaction could be that residents feel more comfortable in the virtual rather than real space community.
Separating the survey into categories of those that posted on the list and those that did not post on the list highlights this comfort-level difference:
Clearly, those residents who posted on the list felt more comfortable using the list than expressing opinions in house meeting. The Junipero residents who did not post on the list had the inverse relationship. The residents using the list felt less comfortable expressing opinions in house meeting.
Students of the Junipero dorm were evidently able to communicate more comfortably through the chat list, consistent with Sproull's findings. The list definitely did remove "reminders of a possible critical audience" and thus possibly decreased the fear that students held expressing these views in house meeting.
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Personal Attacks and Emotional Safety