Selçuk iletiŞİM

Instant Messaging Use Among University Students (81-96)
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·
Enhanced Customer Service: Delayed
responses are a thing of the past as your
colleagues can get immediate responses to
clients’ questions and request-right now, in
real time.
·
Improved Employee Productivity: With
IM, managers can check to see who is
online at the office at any given time. The
need to wander the halls checking on em-
ployee productivity is eliminated-as is
phone tag.
·
Multitasking Made Easy: IM is less intru-
sive than dropping everything to make o
phone  call.  With  IM,  employees  can  talk
on the phone; hold face-to-face conversa-
tions, e-mail, and chat simultaneously.
·
Greater Accountability for Off-Site Em-
ployees: Using presence detection capabili-
ties, managers can check to see if off-site
employees, telecommuters, past time
workers, or subcontractors are online and
available for chat.
·
Comprehensive Features: IM can do any-
thing e-mail can do, including transmit
text, images, and files. Other features and
capabilities include chat rooms, Web con-
ferencing, screen sharing, whiteboards,
video, and broadcasts.
·
Sending and Receiving Messages to and
from Cell Phones, Pagers, Telephones,
and Fax Machines: Additionally, IM de-
livers voice-over-IP technology, so you
can use your computer like a telephone.
·
Cost Saving on Long Distance and Travel:
With  IM,  several  people  can  join  in  on  a
real-time conversation. The cost of airfare,
hotels, and telephone conference call is
eliminated.
·
No More Phone Tag: As long as your IM
buddy is online and open to chat, you can
communicate instantly.
·
Access to Content: IM users can access
news updates, stock information, sports,
weather, and other information instantly.
1.3. Research on Instant Messaging
Research specifically on instant messaging is
just beginning to emerge. One of the first stud-
ies examining instantaneous written communi-
cation  was  Beach  and  Lundell  (1998).  In
“Early Adolescents’ Use of Computer-
Mediated Communication in Reading and
Writing”, the researchers discovered that
through participation in computer-mediated
communication (CMC) which is much like
instant messaging, as it is synchronous in na-
ture-students were transformed in reading and
writing by “providing environments for active
engagement in writing and reading activities
(Beach and Lundell 1998: 93, quoted, Adams
2005: 29).
Lewis and Fabos (2000: 4) examined instant
messaging specifically when researching the
social practices of adolescent girl online. The
researchers utilized the case study format for
two adolescent girls who instant messaging
how they “(1) Negotiate the language of Instant
Messaging; (2) Negotiate Social Networks; and
(3) Monitor the Instant Messaging Landscape”.
Authors note that the girls used different styles,
tones and subjects in all of their numerous
conversations (some of which were going on at
the same time). Additionally, the girls believe
that this activity is fostering their social net-
work in the academic environment because
there is less opportunity for awkwardness and
because they’re keeping in contact with
friends, thus supporting their popularity with
peers (quoted, Adams 2005: 30-31).
A study by Bradner (2001: 79) also found IM
to be an “expressive” communication tool. He
interviewed 25 people and observed real time
IM exchanges in workplaces. The results show
people “using IM for short questions and clari-
fications, coordination and scheduling arrang-
ing impromptu social meeting, and keeping in
touch with friends and family. Researcher
report that two things are striking about all
these interactions. First is the flexibility  of  IM
in terms of the work that is supports. It is used
here for clarifications, coordination, task dele-
gation, asking and granting social favors, and
tracking others’ schedules and arranging social
meetings. Second, IM is expressive, allowing
for effective communication about a work
crisis, the general ambiance of the office, jokes
and bantering, as well as intimate communica-
tion with friends and family”.

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Selçuk İletişim, 5, 3, 2008
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On the other hand, teenagers’ use of IM has
been a recent focus of media research, suggest-
ing that IM is used mainly for the fundamental
need to interact with other (Hwang 2005: 18).
For instance, Eldridge and Grinter (2001) re-
port that teenagers use IM to arrange times to
chat, confirm arrangements already made,
coordinate things with friends, or just to ex-
change gossip. They indicate that teenagers
basically had three major for choosing text
messaging over other media: it is quicker; it is
cheaper; and it is easier or more convenient.
Researchers found it quicker to text message
for two major reasons: first they have grown
very accustomed to the user interface on the
phone and have adapted it to their needs; and
second, they can avoid long, sometimes awk-
ward phone conversations.
In order to find characteristic patterns of IM
use in the workplace, Isaacs et al. (2002: 11)
observed users’ behavior throughout the con-
versation. Contrary to prior research, they
found that the primary use of workplace IM
was for complex work discussions. Only 28%
of conversations were simple, single-purpose
interactions and only 31% were about schedul-
ing or coordination. Moreover, people rarely
switched from IM to another medium when the
conversation got complex. They found evi-
dence  of  two  distinct  styles  of  use.  Heavy  IM
users and frequent IM partners mainly used it
to work together:  to  discuss  a  broad  range  of
topics via many short turn and much threading
and multitasking. Light users and infrequent
pair mainly used IM to coordinate: for schedul-
ing, via fewer conversations per day that were
shorter, slower-paced with less threading and
multitasking.
Segerstad and Ljungstrand (2002: 147) investi-
gated how awareness of a person’s presence
and location affect the content of instant mes-
saging among college students who use the IM
service called “WebWho.” Their participants
were divided into three groups. The first group
consisted of students who were within the same
computer lab in the school. The second group
consisted of students who were distributed in
different lab room. The last group consisted of
students who were outside the university com-
puter lab (e.g., home). Results showed that
awareness of both physical and virtual presence
affects the content of the messages, and that
these factors affect the text differently. Sender
status, the nature of the computer-mediated
medium, and written mode shape the messages
as well. Moreover, the students use the messag-
ing system to support collaborative work and
coordinate social activities, and extensively for
playful behavior.
Many researchers have studied of college stu-
dents’ new media use (e.g., internet, cellular
phones, pager, ICQ, SMS mobile messaging
and  IM)  from  the  uses  and  gratifications  ap-
proach. For example, Leung (2001: 483) inter-
viewed a randomly selected sample of 576
college  students  in  Hong  Kong.  The  survey
results revealed that 7 motivations had effects
on the ICQ use of the participants. The motiva-
tions were, in order of importance: affection,
entertainment, relaxation, fashion, inclusion,
sociability, and escape. Researcher found that
entertainment was the most powerful gratifica-
tion for chatting on ICQ among college stu-
dents in Hong Kong. Students who were heavy
users of ICQ were motivated by fashion. Use
of emails and ownership of cellular phones
seem to be significant predictors of ICQ use.
Results of this particular study showed that
students who spent larger time on ICQ sessions
also played online games more often for enter-
tainment, lived in dormitories, had a lower
household income, and did not subscribe to any
ISP service at home. On the other hand, female
ICQ users tended to chat longer and more fre-
quently for reasons of sociability while males
spent less time on each session for entertain-
ment and relaxation. Leung (2001) concludes
that “ICQ is a technology that facilitates social
relations and is a major source of entertainment
for college students.
Huang and Yen (2003: 68-72) surveyed a sam-
ple which consisted of 576 students from a
large university in the United Sates Midwest.
This study aimed to reveal student’s IM fea-
tures. Results indicated that 5 factors had ef-
fects on the “Social Usefulness IM” use of the
participants. The factors were, in order of im-
portance: (1) friendship development, (2) per-
sonalized information, (3) information volume,
(4) information richness, and (5) ease of use.
This study investigated the usefulness of IM
for both social and work-related purposes from

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