Interactivity

Abstract Interactivity is a central concept for the analysis of social communication, whether mediated or not. This entry concentrates on the analysis of the role of interactivity in mediated communication processes by explaining the origins and basic dimensions of the concept, some selected areas of research and theoretical concepts related to it, and the different methods and operationalizations used in the empirical investigation of interactivity. It ends with a summary of the effects of interactivity from three different perspectives: interactivity as a dependent variable; effects of interactivity on interactivity (i.e., on itself); and interactivity as an independent variable.