ABSTRACT
Short, Williams, and Christie (1976) theorized that people choose communication channels based on the tasks they are performing, and that one of the guiding factors in their decision is the medium’s level of social presence. Social presence is defined as “the degree to which a medium is perceived as conveying the actual, physical presence of the communicating participants” (Rice, 1992, p. 476). Social presence is differentiated from telepresence. Telepresence is the sense of “being there.” Social presence is the sense of “being together with another” (Biocca, Burgoon, Harms, & Stoner, 2001). Along with verbal communication, many nonverbal cues, such as facial expression, direction of gaze, posture, attire, and physical distance, influence a channel’s level of social presence (Rice, 1992).
