Gender in IM

Naomi S. Baron (in the book Always On 2008) has researched gender differences in the language use in instant messaging and presented the following findings: Females were more talkative, had the longest transmissions, had longer conversations and it took them longer to say goodbye. The use of emoticons were more obvious if you were a female person (Baron 2008:67). The more extensive use of emoticons in IM would mean that IM is interpreted more like spoken language which includes the rhythm and proximity. So females would in that sense see IM more as spoken language than males do.

The overall conclusion made by Naomi S. Baro,n with some exceptions (as the use of emoticons) was that: "...male IM conversations have a great deal in common with descriptions of face-to-fae speech, female IM conversations more closely approximate conventional writing patterns" (2008:69). These differences could enlighten how men or women interpret utterances in IM. I would like to find out how emotions are transmitted through written vs. spoken language online in comparison with the body language of avatars for example. Maybe you could compare this by seeing how different areas of the brain are activated?

Finally, is IM spoken or written language? Naomi S. Baron puts it like this:

"Some of both, but not as much speech as we've tended to assume. What's more, gender matters" (2008:70)

Baron, Naomi S. (2008): Always on: Language in an Online and Mobile World. Oxford University Press:New York