Welcome
A modern day challenge
Context is key to communication. Where you say something, when you say it, and how you say it help a listener correctly understand and make meaning of what you say. Computer-mediated communication throws this process into disarray. A message recipient may not know your “where,” may receive the message at a different “when,” and cannot see or hear your “how.” The potential for miscommunication increases.
What I do
Humans have risen to the challenges of digital communication, creating unique ways to communicate. My lab explores the ways humans create and interpret meaning in text messages, emails, blog posts, and other forms of computer-based communication. We explore emojis, GIFs, nonstandard punctuation such as ?!?, phonetic writing such as “gasp” and “ooooohhhh” and other cues, examining in what circumstances these cues are appropriate, why senders use them, how they are interpreted by receivers, and how they affect responses.
