Lesson 9: Self-disclousre In Virtual Relationships

Question 1

Self-disclosure in virtual relationships

Answer 1

• one prominent difference between face-to-face and virtual relationships is the fact that self-disclosure tends to occur much faster in virtual relationships.
• one reason for this is the anonymity associated with virtual relationships; people tend to hold off disclosing personal information in real life for fear of ridicule or rejection, unless they are confident that they can trust the person and that information won’t be leaked to mutual friends. However, there is much less risk of this in virtual relationships.

Question 2

Hyper personal model

Answer 2

• Walther (2011) proposed the hyper personal model of virtual relationships, suggesting that, as self-disclosure in virtual relationships happens faster than in face-to-face ones, virtual relationships quickly become more intense and feel more intimate and meaningful. They can also end more quickly, however, as it is difficult to sustain the same level of intense self-disclosure for a long time.

Question 3

Selective self-presentation

Answer 3

• Walther (2011) also suggests that virtual relationships may feel more intimate because it is easier to manipulate self-disclosure online than face-to-face. Participants in online conversations have more time to edit their responses to present themselves in a more positive light; Walther calls this selective self-presentation. Projecting a positive image will make a virtual partner want to disclose more personal information, increasing the intensity of the relationship,

Question 4

Strength of Hyperpersonal model

Answer 4

+ Whitby and Joinson (2009) conducted research which clearly demonstrates the effect of being online on self-disclosure. They discovered that in online discussion forums both questions and answers tended to be more direct, probing and intimate than in everyday face-to-face interactions, as the the hyper personal model would predict.

Question 5

Weaknesses of hyperpersonal model

Answer 5

• Research has found that relationships which begin online are more durable than other relationships, rather than ending more quickly as the hyperpersonal model suggests. This is because of more open self-disclosure early on in the relationship (McKenna and Barth, 2000)
• Self-disclosure varies depending on the online context. People disclose more on gaming sites than they do on dating websites because the latter is more likely to lead to face-to-face encounters in the future.

Question 6

Reduced cue theory

Answer 6

• Spoull and Kiesler (1986) suggested that self-disclosure in virtual relationships might be LESS open and honest than face-to-face ones. In real life we rely on a lot of subtle cues, such as facial expressions and tone of voice, which are absent in virtual relationships. According to reduced cue theory, reduction in non-verbal communication leads to deindividuation because it diminishes people’s feelings of individual identity and brings on behaviours that people usually restrain themselves from displaying, such as aggression. This may make online communications more aggressive, and the consequence of this is less self-disclosure from other people, as they fear verbal aggression.

Question 7

Weaknesses of reduced cue theory

Answer 7

• Reduced cue theory was developed when social media lacked face-to-face
  interaction, meaning they were much less rich in non-verbal communication than
  real life interactions. However, advanced technology allows for live interaction,
  which is much more similar to real life interactions.
• Non-verbal communication is not absent from virtual relationships, the cues
  are just different, e.g. emoticons are used as substitutes for facial expression
  and intonation. The timing of responses is also an important form of non-verbal
  communication (Walther and Tidwell 1995).