Computer-Mediated Communication: From a Cognitive to a Discursive Model

Abstract

In this article, we evaluate the ways in which computer-mediated communication (CMC) has thus far been conceptualized, proposing an alternative approach. It is argued that traditional perspectives ignore participants’ everyday understanding of media use and media characteristics by relying on an individualistic and cognitive framework. The SIDE model, while improving on the definition of what may count as ‘social’ in CMC, still disregards the way in which identity is constructed and managed in everyday talk and text. To fill this gap, we offer a discursive psychological approach to online interaction. Presented here are the materials from an online discussion forum on depression. It is shown that participants’ identities do not so much mirror their inner worlds but are discourse practices in their own right. More specifically, we demonstrate how participants attend to ‘contradictory’ normative requirements when requesting support, thus performing the kind of identity work typically obscured in cognitive models.

Social Support and Unsolicited Advice in a Bipolar Disorder Online Forum

“…To our knowledge, there is only one examination of forum postings that specifically uses concepts from CA to help understand the provision of social support -Lamerichs & te Molder's (2003) study of how the users of a forum for people suffering depression discursively manage their identities. As Lamerichs and te Molder note, posting a message to a forum exposes the poster (as any utterance does for any interactant) to the challenges of coming across appropriately and accountably.…”

‘What is it like to have ME?’: The discursive construction of ME in computer-mediated communication and face-to-face interaction

“…Other work has addressed the functional properties of CMC language use. For example, Antaki et al, (2005) and Lamerichs and te Molder (2003) show how internet users, like participants in conversation, attend to issues of accountability in postings. These studies call into question the assumption of earlier research, that CMC is an impoverished or somehow different form of communication (for example Rutter, 1984;Short et al, 1976).…”

Men’s depression talk online: A qualitative analysis of accountability and authenticity in help-seeking and support formulations.

“…In particular, the issue of accountability has been examined i.e. the discursive work undertaken to construct an identity as legitimately depressed (rather than, say, attention-seeking or 'phony'), and it has been 7 noted, for example, that accounts often take on a narrative format which locate the problem in time and space, thereby giving the story an authentic feel (Lamerichs & te Molder, 2003).…”

“…Research on online support groups has developed greatly in the last ten years or so, focusing on how such 'communities of practice' function to monitor group membership and identity, and how support is designed, delivered and received -including online forums concerning mental health issues and depression (e.g. Giles & Newbold, 2013;Horne & Wiggins, 2009;Lamerichs & te Molder, 2003;Vayreda & Antaki, 2009). In particular, the issue of accountability has been examined i.e.…”