In addition to the critiques that online communication is not rich enough for certain tasks, several more specific theories have noted important social elements of communication that may get lost due to the way the online medium works.

Jelle van Veenen highlights three aspects of online communication that have received considerable critical attention along these lines.

• Social Context Cues
• Intimacy, Social Presence
• Impacts of Anonymity

We will quickly review these critiques before turning our attention to some of the more positive effects now being associated with online communication.