Last week, we looked at how social media efforts must consider the differences between high-context and low-context cultures: those in which much remains unspoken, and those in which conversations are open to anyone who cares to listen.
This week, let’s look at polychronic versus monochronic cultures. Polychronic cultures, such as Latin American countries and France, prize relationships over the dictates of a clock. These are people who will continue a conversation with a friend even when doing so means missing a meeting. Monochronic cultures, such as the U.S., Germany, Great Britain and China, are much more tied to punctuality, schedules and deadlines. Their lives turn on calendars, and if they want to see friends, they schedule a time to do so.
The polychronic approach tends to favor blogs and Facebook, because these tools keep relationships going without regard to schedule. A polychronic person can communicate online with friends, family and colleagues whenever the mood strikes him. Another advantage of blogs and Facebook to a polychronic society is that they have no limits on length of the communications; someone can say as little or as much as he wants to.
A monochronic person, however, prefers limits, and that extends to online conversations. These people use (and even abuse) Twitter, because the limit of 140 characters forces tweets to get to the point. And rather than browse leisurely through websites and emails, monochronic people use RSS feeds to keep them apprised of the news.
People in a polychronic culture want those in their social circle to feel more valued than the next thing on their calendar. People in monochronic cultures prefer to keep their lives on schedule, and that includes their social lives.
Social media may have no geographic boundaries, but the users of social media operate within cultural constraints. Online culture is evolving and will someday have it own set of rules, but until then, what is your company or organization doing to cope with different cultural habits?
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I understand you are young and inexperienced but still think it is a HUGE mistake (and pretty ignorant) to paint entire countries/ cultures with such a broad brush as polychronic/ monochonic or high-low context? Not sure if you’re trying to impress folks with your knowledge of certain psycho-social vocabulary and concepts but it didn’t work for me. I would personally NEVER allow myself to be prejudiced or discriminate among whole nations of people the way you have suggested here…may I offer the possibility of being very conscious and aware with each individual you relate to and bring a focused presence to whatever interaction you may have…
I understand where you are coming from. I also understand that you can’t catagorize people (nations) all under the same cultural context.
What I am talking about are simply generalizations that one may consider when communicating across cultures. I know that by no stretch are these going to apply to everyone you meet. I also know that the social media culture is becoming one of its own where natural cultural contexts do not necessarily apply.
I don’t dispute your definitions of monochronic or polychronic, nor do I disagree with the countries you indentify as each. I take exception to your idea that social media platform usage is preferred by a country’s citizens based on its perception of time. You state,“(t)he polychronic approach tends to favor blogs and Facebook.” How then do you reconcile the fact that the top three countries in Facebook usage are all monochronic – the US, UK and Canada? I would have liked to have seen more hard evidence that time perception affects social media usage.
I thought this was an excellent post! I took a class in college about intercultural communication and it has made me a more effective communicator. I think intercultural communication skills can be used in several aspects of PR, especially social media. I would have never thought about it before I read your blog. From now on I will make sure my social media posts are strategic and appropriate for my entire audience.