Familial bonding

Abstract

In this chapter, I discuss how the sense of familial bonding emerges in webcam-mediated interactions between Japanese families in Japan and the United States. I argue that a close relationship between participants who rarely meet in person is an interactional achievement. My analytical foci are twofold. First, I analyze how participants repeat each other’s utterances and bodily movements such as hand gestures and facial expressions. Through what I call ‘mediated repetitions’, participants share understanding and encourage the virtual participants’ involvement in locally unfolding interaction frames. Second, I investigate how the organization of talk becomes relevant as participants maneuver webcams. I argue that the interactional efforts of coordinating repetitions and converting webcam capabilities into new interactional modalities contribute to the creation of a sense of bonding across geographical boundaries.