Effects of Feedback Video in Mediated Communication

Video-conferencing has become a widely-used form of mediated personal communication. While other form of real-time communication such as face-to-face conversations or telephonic conversation, do not afford any form of feedback about self-presentation to individuals; video conferencing has the ability to provide a continuous feedback video loop. Previous work in this area has shown that this form of feedback can cause issues related to vanity and distraction. However, effects on sensitive aspects of the human psyche, such as self-consciousness and self-esteem, have not been studied. In this project we investigated such possible effects, specifically related to self-consciousness and self-esteem, through laboratory-based user study. The results of this exploratory study form lay the grounds for further research, which can be used to inform theory and design for video-conferencing systems.