ABSTRACT
The theory of electronic propinquity (TEP), originally theorized by Korzenny (1978), is a phenomenon of mediated communication where interactants experience a psychological feeling of nearness, which is thought to vary based on the communication channel. The TEP explains the effects of interactive communication media characteristics on human communication under different kinds of media choice conditions, such as high-bandwidth video chats or phone calls and low-bandwidth Internet-based (text-based) communication. In 2008, Walther and Bazarova created a five-item semantic differential scale (the Electronic Propinquity Scale) that assesses the extent to which one feels close to others during digital interactions, with dimensions including distant–nearby, close–far, together–separate, proximal–remote, and disconnected–connected. These items were provided to conversation partners post-discussion, asking them to assess their feelings towards their conversational partners. The measure was designed to offer an operationalization for the TEP. This measure has also been used by researchers to operationalize social presence, despite conceptual differences between propinquity and social presence.
