Friending Acceptance on Social Media Apps : Does Tactile Interface Matter?

Previous research has indicated that the feeling of imaginary touch, mediated by the interface used to interact with a product presented online, can influence users’ psychological and behavioral reactions to the product. Extending this stream of research, this study tries to investigate whether two interface-related features (i.e., direct-touch interaction mode and vibrotactile feedback) can induce a feeling of imaginary social touch and its downstream effect on online interpersonal behavior. Based on the literature on embodied cognition and social touch, we propose that either direct-touch mode or providing feedback of vibration during the interaction can foster the feeling of imaginary social touch, which subsequently increases perceived proximity to the person presented and self-perception of being an extrovert. A 2 × 2 betweensubject experiment in the context of looking for travel buddies on online travel companion forums is proposed to test our hypotheses. Full paper available at https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2018/hcri/Presentations/12