E-mail tops for social ties
2008-02-29 11:37
Cape Town - Despite the explosion in popularity of social networking websites, a new study suggests e-mail is still the most tried and tested method of maintaining ties with people online.
According to a study published in the Asian Journal of Social Psychology, sending out e-mails from your computer is still the most effective method to widen social networks and increase your ties with social contacts.
The research suggests the more social ties people have, the more likely they will use e-mail - hence widening and expanding their social circle.
The study - "Causal relationship between Internet Use and Social Capital in Japan" - explores whether internet use increases social networks that are beneficial for developing social capital in Japan. It compares the effects of PC e-mailing, mobile phone e-mailing (also used to refer to SMS), and online communities.
Lead author Kakuko Miyata from the Meiji Gakuin University, Tokyo, says, "The social influence of internet use has attracted much attention since social networks are considered to be a crucial aspect of social capital for socio-economic development."
While SMS is very effective at maintaining and strengthening existing strong ties, it does little to forge new relations. Although its compact and discreet nature allows the user to communicate anywhere and anytime, the limited length of phone messages mean that users require prior knowledge or contact about the sender before social ties can be established or strengthened.
Conversely, PC e-mails have the capacity to contain a large enough amount of information for the message to be interpreted by unfamiliar senders - making it effective in keeping up with current relations whilst making new acquaintances at the same time.
Local is lekker
But while the study may be true of internet users in Japan, social networking in South Africa still seems the most popular - and exciting - choice.
There are no fears, however, that the study might damper the buzz around social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace locally - the South African Facebook network has recently tipped the 600 000 mark.
Elan Lohmann, General Manager for Social Networking and Media at 24.com believes the medium is most definitely the message.
"While I disagree that e-mail helps you forge new contacts, I do agree that this type of communication helps to strengthen the bonds within existing social groups. The barrier to communication is significantly lowered."
What's more, it seems South Africans are considered far less likely to use e-mail to meet new people than their Japanese counterparts. Unlike Japan, where almost 70% of the population uses the internet, only around 10% of South Africans are online.
This means the results of the study of Japanese internet users and their e-mail habits might not ring true locally.
The key to the study, according to Lohmann, is where your lists of "contacts" are stored and how you manage and interact with them.
"The key issue here is that whether you are using e-mail, or a social networking product like Facebook or chat client such as Microsoft Messenger, it is all about your 'contacts' and how you manage them. Your contact book is the currency and ultimate value," adds Lohmann.
"For this reason I do think that global free e-mail and chat players like MSN Hotmail, Yahoo and Google are perfectly poised to dominate the social networking arena."