• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.20-31
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• 2021

The spread of non-face-to-face culture due to COVID-19 led to innovation in untact services and the increase of non-face-to-face communication through video conference platforms. However, it is difficult to identify nonverbal expressions in synchronous online communication. Moreover, it is hard to interact with people by making eye contact. Despite the positive effects of eye contact, including such as sharing emotions and helping build intimacy, no research has empirically verified the effectiveness of eye contact in synchronous online communication. Thus, the study verified the effectiveness of eye contact in synchronous online communication. Depending on the context of the communication and whether(or not) there is eye contact, six video treatments were used to measure four dependent variables-Continuance Intention to Use, Performance Expectancy, Interactivity, and Personal Connection. The study shows that the communication with eye contact in all contexts was rated higher than the one without eye contact in all measurement variables. This study will help to provide a better user experience in synchronous online communication by verifying the effectiveness of eye contact in synchronous online communication and proposing the need of technology and the direction of the technological development.