Mediated Interpersonal Communication: A New Way of Social Interaction in the Digital Age

Abstract

Although previously intended to seek information, the Internet becomes a means to communicate and social interaction. Thus, it has since proven that social media mediates interpersonal communication, connecting people that never met in face-to-face situations. Social media continuously shaped and shifted the way netizens interact amongst themselves This paper seeks how the netizens interact with each other and how this interactivity takes place within social media realms. Therefore, Social Construction theory and Social Information theory will be used to answer these questions. Using this method of research netnography was done on Bening Society community Facebook account. The informants in this study were drawn from members of the active Bening Society community. Netnography is utilized as a method and the Bening society on Facebook which garnered thousands of members is used as a case study. Hence, the informants are those who are active in participating in this online society. The results showed that social media, in this case, Facebook is able to provide comfort for users, especially in managing social interaction with friends. The process of interpersonal communication that occurs through Facebook resembles those in face-to-face interpersonal communication.