Premium
Embodied versus Disembodied Information: How Online Artifacts Influence Offline Interpersonal Interactions
Author(s) -
Tian Xiaoli
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
symbolic interaction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.874
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1533-8665
pISSN - 0195-6086
DOI - 10.1002/symb.278
Subject(s) - embodied cognition , embarrassment , situated , interpersonal communication , representation (politics) , face (sociological concept) , bounded function , psychology , social psychology , online and offline , sociology , computer science , cognitive science , artificial intelligence , mathematics , social science , mathematical analysis , politics , political science , law , operating system
This article examines how the sheer volume of personal information recorded and searchable online (online artifacts) has transformed the situated activity system central to Goffman's dramaturgical theories. In‐depth interviews reveal that individuals believe disembodied information based on online artifacts is a more accurate representation of others than embodied information from spatially and temporally bounded face‐to‐face (FTF) processes because they represent how others have behaved over time and are attested by their online contacts. However, the n ‐adic structure of online interaction leads to mismatched expectations about whether disembodied information is taken into account during FTF encounters, and consequently can result in embarrassment.