Butler Lies From Both SidesActions and Perceptions of Unavailability

Management in Texting

CornellUniversity

NorthwesternUniversity

CSCW 2013San Antonio, TX

MadelineSmith

LindsayReynolds

JeremyBirnholtz

JeffHancock

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Activities and social processes related to initiating, concluding,

or coordinating social interaction.

Availability Management

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Availability Management• Butlers served to manage our availability

•Now often managed through technology

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Text messages sent to manage one’s availability or unavailability.

Butler Messages

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Unavailability Management

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•Constant connectivity is often assumed

•Can be useful for coordination

• People also seek to avoid communication

•Deception is a strategy for availability management

[Perry et al., 2001; Turkle, 2011; Vanden Abeele & Roe, 2008; Weilenmann, 2003]

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Deceptive butler messages; deceptive text messages sent to

manage one’s (un)availability.

Butler Lies

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Butler Lies•Used to avoid social

interaction or explain a communication failure

• Exploit ambiguities in online communication

•Depend on norms and technological features

• Serve to maintain relationships

Research Questions1. What are the actual and perceived rates of lying

in text messaging?

2. How accurate are receivers when predicting which messages are deceptive?

3. What is the emotional impact of telling and being told butler lies?

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Sender

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I really didn’t have to work that day...

I bet she didn’t really have to work...

Oh, I would love to, but I have to work this

afternoon, sorry!

Receiver

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I really didn’t have to work that day...

I bet she didn’t really have to work...

Oh, I would love to, but I have to work this

afternoon, sorry!

ReceiverSender Receiver

RQ1: Actual Rate of Lying

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RQ1: Perceived Lying Rate

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RQ2: Prediction Accuracy

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Hii sorry I didn't have ym hpone

Truthful messages falsely perceived as deceptiveRQ2: Prediction Accuracy

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I bet she had her phone just mentally texted back

Sender Receiver

Deceptive messages accurately detectedRQ2: Prediction Accuracy

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I was not yet near the door. i could see it... but I was still about 50

yards from being there.

Sender Receiver

I'm walking in the upstairs door now

I don't think he was actually walking in the door. I think he was a

little further away.

Deceptive messages accurately detectedRQ2: Prediction Accuracy

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I couldn’t respond to several texts from this person while doing my worksheet, but I responded to texts from some

other people

Sender Receiver

she had time to eat two different leisurely lunches with

friends as she later told me but not 10 seconds to text me back?

ok sry 4 my horrible txting abilities i am done that awful wrk sheet!

For detected liesRQ3: Emotional Impact

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For detected liesRQ3: Emotional Impact

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there was a problem i had to help my family with but

saying emergency might be a bit extreme

Sender Receiver

fam emergency. text u in a lil

an emergency can be interpreted in many different ways

Senders often felt worse than receiversRQ3: Emotional Impact

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Sometimes neither sender nor receiver felt badRQ3: Emotional Impact

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I was not yet near the door. i could see it... but I was still about 50

yards from being there.

Sender Receiver

I'm walking in the upstairs door now

I don't think he was actually walking in the door. I think he was a

little further away.

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Summary of Findings• Butler lies occur more frequently than other lies

• Receivers expect that they are being lied to

•Receivers are worse at detecting butler lies

• Senders feel worse about deceptions

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Design Implications• Social value of butler lies

• Plausibility threatened by additional information

•Not taken at face value

•Allow for more discretion

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[Aoki & Woodruff, 2005; Reynolds et al., 2011]

Limitations & Future Work

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socialmedia.northwestern.edu sml.comm.cornell.edu

This work was partially funded by NSF (Award #0915081) and made possible by valuable research assistance from Jon Culver, Mark Thomas, and Jin Zhao.

MadelineSmith

LindsayReynolds

JeremyBirnholtz

JeffHancock