The present research provides really interesting insights into the nature of human communication through such digital resources as instant messengers. Some note that face-to-face communication is richer due to non-verbal communication, and digital communication is deprived of this possibility. However, it is clear that digital communication can be as rich as face-to-face communication. Emoticons and stickers make communication more emotionally loaded. It is quite expected that women use more emoticons and stickers as they are more emotional, and they want to share their emotions or express their attitude towards news, concepts, or remarks. It is also clear that men are more concerned about sharing information. Just like in face-to-face communication, they are not as emotional as women are.
It is quite interesting to discover the change in communication patterns of a male when he is speaking with a female. Thus, when speaking with a female, a male uses more emoticons and stickers. It is also clear that people use additional resources (emoticons, stickers, pictures, and so on) and the choice of these resources depends on users’ characters and mood. It is also possible to add that these resources are equivalent to non-verbal tools in non-verbal communication. It is necessary to add that the present research also helped me acquire some skills in applying different research methods.
The research is based on the observation that lasted for a month and unveiled peculiarities of people communication, but it can be improved. However, the number of participants is insufficient. Four participants of both sexes took part in the research. The next step will be an analysis of data obtained through the observation of at least 100 participants. This number of samples can be relevant as it is important to make sure that people having different characters take part in the research. The next step can be observing the way people of different ages use instant messaging. At this point, it is necessary to add that it is essential to use a mixed research method with a focus on qualitative data. It is important to see the difference between the communication patterns of people of different ages and characters. However, it is also important to understand why people have such patterns. It can also be interesting to compare the way two people communicate face-to-face and using an instant messenger. It is possible to assume that digital and face-to-face communication of a person has certain similarities.
It can also be interesting to look into cultural differences in communication patterns. It is possible to observe the way people pertaining to different cultures communicate. At that, it is possible to compare the way; for example, Americans and Chinese people use instant messaging. It can also be interesting to observe the way intercultural communication occurs. It is clear that people having similar cultural backgrounds have similar codes, but there are high chances that for people pertaining to different cultures, certain emoticons and patterns can mean different things.
Obviously, these methods will require a significant amount of time and effort. It will be necessary to analyze numerous text messages and have numerous interviews with different people (and analyze people’s answers). Nonetheless, this will be important research, as it will reveal peculiarities of people’s digital and face-to-face communication. It will also help identify the role instant messaging plays in people’s lives and can potentially play.