Survey of Instant Message Use
WRPR 115
Haverford College

This survey is part of a study AOL Instant Messenger use being conducted by the students in the Haverford first year writing course "My Blog, Myself." Your answers to this survey will form part of a statistical study and will not identify you as an individual. Your participation in this study is optional, and you may discontinue participation by clicking the 'Reset' rather than the 'Submit' button at the end of the survey. If you have questions or concerns about this study, please email ddavis@haverford.edu.

Sex: Male Female
School: Haverford Bryn Mawr Other
What is your current year in school?

Not in school
College freshman
College Sophomore
College Junior
College Senior

Which of the following best describes your academic interests?

Humanities
Social Sciences
Natural Sciences


Instant Messaging

Do you use or have you ever used any sort of Instant Messaging (IM) service, such as AOL Instant Messenger, Microsoft Messenger, ICQ, or Internet Relay Chat?

Yes
No

Please rate how you feel about the following statements, from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

strongly
disagree

disagree

neutral/
no opinion

agree

strongly
agree

IM is a waste of time.

Meaningful conversations happen over IM.

IM tends to facilitate superficial communication.

If you do not use IM, please scroll down now to the bottom of the survey and click the "Submit" button. If you do use IM, please continue.

How long have you used some kind of IM?
How many handles/screen names do you have?
How many people do you have on your "buddy list?"
How many of those people do you chat with regularly?
How many people do you have blocked, if any?
For how long each day are you signed on to IM?
For how long per day are you actively using IM to chat?
On average, how long is your typical IM conversation? minutes

My typical IM conversation is:

one-on-one
one of several I'm carrying on in different windows
in a chat room with three or more people

The percent of my active AIM time that ...

...I am having serious conversations on IM is
...I have IM conversations just to say hi is
...I initiate conversations on IM is
...I have only one conversation at a time is
...I have I am IMing someone I do not know in real life is

When I chat on IM, I chat with

never

once in
a while

sometimes

often

all the time

family

close real-life friends

close online friends

real-life acquaintances

online acquaintances

people who are far away

people who are in the neighborhood

people in the same building

When I am chatting with a friend on IM I worry

not at all some a lot about punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
not at all some a lot about expressing myself in complete sentences
not at all some a lot about whether the other person knows when I'm joking
not at all some a lot about being clever or witty
not at all some a lot about being completely frank or honest


IM Away Messages and Profiles

When you are away from the computer do you most often

sign off
put up an away message
leave no away message

Do you have an IM profile?

Yes
No

Thinking about your IM profile or typical away message, please indicate how often it contains each of the following

never

rarely

sometimes

often

always

where I am/what I'm doing

mood/how I'm feeling

humor/make people laugh
personal/daily events
quotes/literature, songs, etc.
links to Web pages
message directed at a person or group
provocative or controversial message
blank/default away message

Are you concerned with the appearance of your away message?

Yes
Somewhat
No

Does form and content reveal information about an individual’s personality?

Yes
No

How often do you check other people's away messages?

If you wish, please paste (or type) here a favorite away message that you've used.

Why do you like it?

If you wish, please paste (or type) here a favorite away message that someone else has used.

Why do you like it?


Sample IM conversation

As part of our study of IM use we are also collecting sample conversations that have occurred among college students. If you would like to share a recent AIM conversation of your own, please copy it from AIM or your log file and paste it here. Please note: your conversation is an optional part of the survey, your responses to the other questions will be valuable without a sample conversation. The text of your conversation will only be shared with the members of the class and the instructor, and no screen names or identifying information will be shared or used.


Thank you for completing this survey. When you are ready to send us your data, please click this button only once. In a moment you will receive notice that your data have been received on our Web server. You may then quit the browser or click the Reset button to allow someone else to complete the survey

If you want to erase your answers and start over again, or if you have decided not to complete this survey, click this button

Thank you for completing this survey. Remember, if you have questions or suggestions about it, please email ddavis@haverford.edu.