Electronic Communication in Social Networks and Implications for Travel

Although the spectacular spread of wired and wireless communication technologies such as the Internet and mobile phone have been discussed extensively in the academic literature, knowledge of the interactions among face-to-face (F2F) and electronic communication modes and their implications for travel behavior is rather limited. The same is true for knowledge about factors influencing the choice for these types of communication. Using survey data collected among 662 respondents, this paper aims to gain more insight into (i) the interaction between F2F and electronic contacts, (ii) the influence of information content and relational distance on the choice of the communication mode/service, and (iii) the influence of relational and geographical distance, in addition to various other factors, on the frequency of F2F and electronically mediated contacts with relatives and friends. Bivariate correlation analysis indicates that the frequency of F2F contacts is positively correlated with that for electronic communication, which points at a generation effect. With respect to the impact of information content and relational distance, we find that such synchronous modes/services as F2F and telephone conversations are used more for urgent matters and that asynchronous modes (especially e-mail) become more influential as the relational distance or closeness in the social network increases. Finally, ordered probit analyses confirm that both F2F and electronic communication frequencies decline with increasing physical and relational distance to the social network members.