**L10 - Absence of Gating in Virtual Relationships Flashcards
what factors attract us to someone in real life?
IN REAL LIFE, our ATTRACTION TO OTHER PEOPLE is GREATLY INFLUENCED by their APPEARANCE, MANNERISMS and FACTORS SUCH AS AGE AND ETHNICITY
what is the difference when dating online?
BEING ONLINE REMOVES FACTORS that NORMALLY ACT AS A BARRIER or ‘GATE’ to INTERACTION - this CREATES MORE OPPORTUNITIES for SHY OR LESS ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE to DEVELOP ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS
what does the absence of gating mean for people?
ABSENCE OF GATING ONLINE also means that PEOPLE CAN ESTABLISH VIRTUAL IDENTITIES they NEVER COULD FACE TO FACE - e.g a SHY PERSON can BECOME MORE OUTGOING
+SOCIAL BENEFITS (EVALUATION OF GATING IN VIRTUAL RELATIONSHIPS)
There are SOCIAL BENEFITS to ABSENCE OF GATING IN VIRTUAL RELATIONSHIPS. e.g the absence of gating could reduce loneliness by making it easier for some people to access social interactions and seek out company. ROSENFELD and THOMAS showed the importance of online communication for developing romantic relationships. Out of 4000 pps studied, 72% of those with internet access were married or had a romantic partner, compared to 36% of those without internet access - this suggests that a virtual environment helps people to establish and maintain romantic relationships
+ZAHOA ET AL (EVALUATION OF GATING IN VIRTUAL RELATIONSHIPS)
ZAHOA ET AL claim that the absence of gating has positive effects on peoples offline relationships - people create an online identity that is appreciated by others and this enhances their overall self image and increases the quality of their face to face relationships as well
+BAKER AND OSWALD (EVALUATION OF GATING IN VIRTUAL RELATIONSHIPS)
BAKER AND OSWALD suggest that the ABSENCE OF GATING IN VIRTUAL RELATIONSHIPS may be PARTICULARLY USEFUL FOR SHY PEOPLE.
They asked 207 MALE AND FEMALE PPS to complete a QUESTIONNAIRE, SCORING THEIR ANSWERS IN TERMS OF SHYNESS, INTERNET USE and PERCEIVED QUALITY OF THEIR FRIENDSHIPS
They found that those people who SCORED HIGHLY ON THE SHYNESS and INTERNET USE, PERCEIVED THE QUALITY OF THEIR FRIENDSHIPS AS HIGH; this CORRELATION WAS ABSENT for PEOPLE WITH LOW SHYNESS SCORES - the FINDINGS IMPLY THAT AS ONLINE COMMUNICATION HELPS PEOPLE TO OVERCOME THEIR SHYNESS, they are ABLE TO COMMUNICATE BETTER FACE TO FACE
-NOT AN EITHER/OR SITUATION (EVALUATION OF GATING IN VIRTUAL RELATIONSHIPS)
peoples are INVOLVED IN BOTH ONLINE AND OFFLINE RELATIONSHIPS EVERYDAY; its NOT AN EITHER/OR SITUATION. This means that there are FEWER DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VIRTUAL RELATIONSHIPS and FACE TO FACE RELATIONSHIPS than RESEARCH SEEMS TO SUGGEST and research examining virtual relationships OFTEN FAILS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT the EFFECT OF THESE RELATIONSHIPS ON A PERSON’S OFFLINE INTERACTIONS AND VICE VERSA
-OUTDATED RESEARCH (EVALUATION OF GATING IN VIRTUAL RELATIONSHIPS)
MOST OF THE RESEARCH EXAMINING GATING was CONDUCTED IN THE LATE 1990s and EARLY 2000s - as TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING RAPIDLY, SO IS THE NATURE OF ONLINE RELATIONSHIPS; therefore the psychological RESEARCH IN THIS AREA RISKS BECOMING OUTDATED BY THE TIME IT WAS PUBLISHED - this LOWERS THE TEMPORAL VALIDITY of RESEARCH INTO VIRTUAL RELATIONSHIPS
