When anyone in society chooses to communicate over any form of technology (rather than in person) they fore fit the opportunity to observe key social ques that we as humans use to determine motive and emotion. In order to make judgments, we use five key non-verbal behaviors to fully read the people we are talking to. Those behaviors are labeled physical appearance, proxemics, kinesics, paralanguage, and haptics.
Physical appearance is the first thing we use to make judgments about others. It may sound superficial, but it is an important part of our social process. We use characteristics like gender, possessions clothing, and body type to determine how the people around us initially make us feel. In the case of Sam and Austin, they made their first judgments based on emotionless words communicated through the internet. They were deprived of the initial meeting where they could feel each other out in a way based on looks.
Proxemics are judgments we can make about people based on space and the things that they deem their own territory. Relationships between two people an be determined by others based on how close to each other they are. For example, two people who are keeping their distance can be assumed to not be fond of each other. Proxemics do not play a heavy role in A Cinderella Story, but other non-verbal communication methods do.
Because they were communicating through email and chatroom, Sam and Austin lacked Kinesic communication. Kinesics include facial expressions and eye contact and are mostly use to show and determine emotion. Kinesics would have allowed Sam and Austin to determine how they felt about each other through facial expressions. Words are not always able to fully explain emotions which is why Kinesics are important.
Paralanguage is another was to communicate emotion. Paralanguage covers everything in the vocal channel except for actual words. This includes tone of voice and pitch. This is the only way that sarcasm can be communicated. Without Paralanguage, Sam and Austin could have said something sarcastically and the other person would have taken it to heart. It could have broken apart their relationship that only existed through technology.
Finally comes Haptics. Haptics are communication through touch. Sam and Austin did not communication in person, therefore they lacked any physical touch. One would have been able to tell if the other felt comfortable around them had they had access to touch. If Sam had liked Austin she likely would have touched his arm, and if Austin had liked Sam we would have been able to tell if he touched her leg. If neither if them liked each other, they would have slightly positioned their bodies slightly away from each other.
All of these aspects of non-verbal communication are critical in human interaction. Without these specific functions we would have lots of trouble or be unable to decipher the emotion and meaning behind others words and action. By giving us the opportunity to interact through text, technology hinders the ability to see emotion and at times be completely to who the person really is. In the case of Sam and Austin, the lack of facial expression, touch, and tone of voice hindered their relationship. They were unable to determine the true intent of one another and to who they were even talking to. We can learn from them that without non-verbal behaviors in communication, the world would be a different and even broken place.
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