Was my message read?

Abstract

Major online messaging services such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are starting to provide users with real-time information about when people read their messages. While useful, this feature has the potential to negatively impact privacy as well as cause concern over access to self. We report on two surveys using Mechanical Turk which looked at senders' (N=402) use of and reactions to the 'message seen' feature, and recipients' (N=316) privacy and signaling behaviors in the face of such visibility. Our findings indicate that senders experience a range of emotions when their message is not read, or is read but not answered immediately. Recipients also engage in various signaling behaviors in the face of visibility by both replying or not replying immediately.

What determines instant messaging communication? Examining the impact of person- and situation-level factors on IM responsiveness

“…In light of the permanent availability in mobile communication, users have developed expectations for how quickly their messages should be noticed, and when they expect a response, resulting in social norms for mobile communication (Dingler & Pielot, 2015;Lynden & Rasmussen, 2017). Furthermore, IM provides users with control over their communication, particularly through features, such as "last seen" and read receipts that notify senders if the receiver has read their message (Hoyle et al, 2017, Lynden & Rasmussen, 2017. Read receipts may lead to users feeling obligated to reply immediately; this can cause stress and communication overload.…”

“…Read receipts may lead to users feeling obligated to reply immediately; this can cause stress and communication overload. Studies have shown that read receipts create social pressure to respond to the message immediately (Church & de Oliveira, 2013;Hoyle et al, 2017;Mai et al 2015)-a mechanism that has been outlined for the "last seen" feature in IM, as well (Pielot et al, 2014). The opening of messages is associated with the recipients' availability, and it triggers the senders' expectations of quick responses (Tyler & Tang, 2003).…”

Explicating "Implicit Interaction"

“…Let's illustrate this by reviewing previous work through the lens of the updated definition. In their study of messaging applications, Hoyle et al initially designate "read receipts" (i.e., visual notices that inform the sender that the receiver has opened the message) as "implicit" effects that occur as a by-product of viewing the message [47] (Figure 3a). Yet their interviews show that read receipts can be an explicit effect, such as when users abstain from opening messages to avoid informing the other party of their action.…”

“…Yet their interviews show that read receipts can be an explicit effect, such as when users abstain from opening messages to avoid informing the other party of their action. a) Interactions with a messaging application [47] open the message view the message send a read receipt b) Interactions with a social music listening service [88] click play play the track modify the public profile c) Interactions with a learning thermostat [105] set temperature adjust the current temperature modify the thermostat model Outside implicit interaction literature, interviews have shown that users can put extra effort to achieve or modify seemingly implicit effects. Silfverberg et al report a particular social media-linked music listening practice in which users hit the "play" button, but for presenting themselves as listening to a particular track in their social media profile instead of actually listening to it [88].…”

Investigation of User Adaptability and Sharing Patterns on Multiple Social Media Platforms

“…Read receipts for messages that are provided by many social media platforms also affects the choice of use of that platform. Users experience various emotions like anxiety and negativity on discovering that their message was read by the recipient but not responded toward (Hoyle, et al, 2017). Emotions may also arise over privacy management of co-owned pictures, as (M. Such, et al, 2017) suggests that most users have Multiparty Privacy Concerns over co-owned pictures.…”