Left on ‘read’: Expectations and perceptions of response time in mobile instant messaging
Abstract
Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) apps allow for easy social interaction, however, individuals increasingly report feeling overwhelmed and distracted by these interaction opportunities, followed by a pressure to respond, with senders expecting their messages to be seen, read and replied to instantly. To manage these expectations, MIM apps have evolved to include online status and message read receipts. Research has demonstrated that these app signals have increased the pressure to respond, with the average expected response time being considered instant particularly when a message is ‘read’. With this in mind present study aimed to explore how individuals form these expectations, how the response time is perceived and how these are influenced by MIM app signals. The results indicated that expectations and perceptions of response time are influenced by a number of related factors, including but not limited to MIM app signals of user activity. The results also demonstrated that the decision to respond to a message is also partly influenced by a pressure from MIM app signals such as message read receipts as there is a social obligation associated with opening a message.
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