Online chronemics convey social information

Chronemic research explores the involvement of time-related messages in communication, and has shown that time is an important component of the message in both traditional and online communication. Social information processing (SIP) theory posits that online communicators exchange social information through chronemic cues. This study points to a gap in SIP theory research, and proceeds to close the gap by demonstrating that changes in socially important attributes are reflected in measurable chronemic changes. A two-person social dilemma online game is used to demonstrate that changes in a simple chronemic variable, interpost pause, reflect differences in the players’ personality (level of extraversion), as well as differences in trust within the dyad. These findings support SIP theory by showing how online chronemics provide cues to important personal and situational information.

• The study focuses on chronemics (time-related messages) in online chat. • We ask whether chronemics reflect user personality and dyadic trust. • We find that extraversion influences the time between posts. • We find that the level of dyadic trust is reflected in the time between posts. • The findings further support social information processing (SIP) theory.