Interrogative strategies and relationship development in computer-mediated communication

The explosive growth of Internet and E-mail use has provided exceptional opportunities for humans to mediate their communication and thus their relationships in new ways. This study reports on a content analysis of interrogative strategies used in E-mail messages exchanged over six months between intergenerational sets of senior citizens and youngsters. A great deal of relationship development is facilitated by the use of questions which are a core aspect of uncertainty reduction processes. While Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT) has been a predominant theoretical position for examining face-to-face initial interaction, its utility for examining communication in an asynchronous, computer-mediated environment was only partially effective. Data analyses focused on politeness of questions; types of questions; age differences; and, temporal affects. Results suggest that the interrogative strategies we engage in to achieve interpersonal connectedness are sometimes different in computer-mediated communication (CMC) and a new standard for transacting relationship development may be emerging.