Language Use in AOL Instant Messenger
Date
2002
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Haverford College. Department of Psychology
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Thesis
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Award
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eng
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Haverford users only
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Abstract
Two studies of mostly college-aged users of America Online Instant Messenger (AIM) collected survey and self-reported data from over 200 AIM users and saved logs of AIM chat sessions from a subset of similar subjects. The typical AIM user in this population chatted mostly with real-life friends and felt that AIM helped maintain connections with friends that would be severed if AIM was not used. The average AIM user in this sample was actively connected to AIM for 75.3 minutes a day and the average AIM conversation lasted 21.3 minutes. Sex differences were smaller than expected, but males were more likely to have reported use of AIM just to harass than were females and males were also more likely to have initiated chat with a stranger over AIM than were females. In logged conversations, sex of the AIM conversation partner appeared to have more effect on male than on female AIM users with males using more slang, abbreviations, and profanity when conversing with other males.