The effect of mobile messaging during a conversation on impression formation and interaction quality

This paper presents two experimental studies investigating the impact of mobile messaging during an offline conversation on relational outcomes. A first study examined the impact on impression formation. A 3ź×ź1 experiment revealed that phone users were perceived as significantly less polite and attentive, and that self-initiated messaging behavior led to more negative impression formation than messaging behavior in response to a notification. A second study examined the impact on perceived conversation quality and social attraction. A 2ź×ź2 experiment revealed that perceived conversation quality was negatively affected by co-present mobile messaging behavior, while social attraction was not. Whether persons were acquainted or not with the phone user did not moderate this relationship. We examined whether co-present texting impacts negatively on relational outcomes.In experiment 1, co-present texters were perceived as less polite and attentive.In experiment 2, co-present texting caused perceptions of lower conversation quality.Experiment 2 found no negative impact on social attraction.Concerns over the harmful effect of co-present phone use appear warranted.

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