See you Zoom!: How Online Communication Methods Have Changed the Way College Aged Students Perceive Nonverbal Behaviors Among Friend Groups.

We conducted a qualitative research project that utilized a grounded-theory approach and the interpretive paradigm to build themes to answer our research question: How has the switch to online communication methods (such as Zoom) during the COVID-19 pandemic changed the perception of nonverbal communication dynamics within friend groups? We conducted semi-structured interviews via Zoom to gain their perspectives on how their nonverbal communication between friends has changed. Our inclusion criteria included individuals who have communicated with friends on Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic. We utilized convenience sampling to collect our participants. Our participants were males and females over the age of 18 who were attending a college or university. Nora posted an “advertisement” on her Instagram story asking for participants for our research study. Leah used convenience sampling to recruit participants who fit the demographic. Ciarra sent out an advertisement to college students on her Snapchat. The data was transcribed and stored on a password protected computer in order to ensure the safety of our participants. Only Leah, Ciarra, and Nora are the only ones who have access to the data. We used Braun & Clarke (2006)’s approach of open coding and constant comparison. We looked for codes relating to changes in nonverbal behavior and the different perceptions of such behavior in an online environment.