Week 5, Post 1: Asynchronous Channel

The asynchronous channel can be found on page 147 of Chapter 11. According to the text, the asynchronous channel is "a nonsimultaneous medium of commincation that each individual can use when he or she desires" (147). Nonsimultaneous CMC has become very common in our day to day lives. In the 80's, who would have known that it would be this way. I have engaged in nonsimultaneous CMC many times and in many of my relationships. Instant messaging and text messaging are some of the most common methods. I've had a boyfriend ask me via instant messaging whether or not I still had feelings for him. I must have deleted and rewritten my answer five times. This allowed me to carefully plan out my answer. If we were face to face, I would have had no where to run or hide. I would have to answer his question directly, with little time to think. When you think out your answer in front of someone, they often question your answer. He might have told me that I was thinking too long, so therefore I must not have feelings for him anymore. The example in the text about Joe and Kathleen mirrors many of my experiences. I've gotten "off the hook" so many times thanks to the computer and text messaging. If it had been face to face or over the phone, I would have been screwed. So are we becoming less truthful because of technology? Perhaps so. Through these methods we are able to twist the truth and plot out our answers. While this may "help" our relationships, it ends up becoming not the most truthful form of communication.