High and Solomon consider computer mediated communication as means for seeking social support. They also consider social support as a study of communications as it conveys though messages. Several types of support were outlined in this chapter. They ranged from emotional, informational, esteem, tangible, network, person, and cognitive. All of these have different definitions but still have the same central mission, provide a sense of social belonging and satisfaction for the individual. The network of CMC allow perceptions of homophily or feeling of similarity for participants. Thus an allowance of social support prospers and individuals believe members of online groups are more similar to them than offline acquaintances. Five familiar CMC contexts for social support were also highlighted and provided pertinent information.
My thoughts.
The central ideal of this chapter deals with social groups utilizing common language amongst members. What if someday universal translators can connect people seeking same stated social support in CMC or SNS who speak different languages into social support groups. These translators databases know your language and convert from hundreds of world languages instantly in synchronous time. Right now asynchronous language converters exist such as Google language tools, which I use sometimes. Yet the translation does not always flow correctly.
Yeah, it's really hard to automate human language though people sure do spend a lot of money and effort trying. Translators, voice recognition systems, anything to remove the need for actual humans - yet nearly impossible to achieve.
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