Virtual Relationships

Question 1

What are virtual relationships?

Answer 1

Virtual relationships are conducted through the Internet rather than face-to-face, for example, through Tinder, Facebook, Snapchat, etc.

Question 1

What is absence of gating?

Answer 1

-Face-to-face (FtF) relationships often fail to form because of obstacles such as height, weight, attractiveness, etc., that some people might find off-putting.
- These barriers or “gates” are absent in computer-mediated communication (CMC), allowing virtual relationships to begin in a way they couldn’t in the offline world.
- Online anonymity means that people do not fear the negative social consequences of disclosure.

Question 2

What is pace of disclosure?

Answer 2

The anonymity of virtual relationships means that individuals can reveal intimate personal information with less fear of being socially embarrassed. This is similar to Rubin’s (1975) ‘strangers on the train’ phenomenon, where individuals reveal more personal information to a stranger as they do not have access to the individual’s social circle.

Question 3

What is Boom or Bust theory?

Answer 3

Cooper et al. (1997) found that people in online relationships tend to reveal more intimate details about themselves earlier than those in face-to-face relationships. However, this relationship has no real shared and lasting memories and has moved fast in terms of disclosure, so “bust” can happen quickly because there isn’t the history or knowledge of the person to sustain the relationship.

Question 4

A03 - Practical Use for shyness

Answer 4

-The fact that people who lack social skills are especially attracted to virtual relationships suggests a practical application in using virtual relationships as
a therapy for the socially inept to learn social skills useful for shaping social relationships in the real world.

-Schouten et al. (2007) found that people high
in social anxiety revealed greater self-disclosure in virtual relationships due to the lack of non verbal cues in online communications, supporting the idea that people
who have problems socialising in the physical world are able to self-disclose more in virtual relationships.
- Such a therapy could also be used to help those with social phobias overcome their fears, highlighting the usefulness of research into the benefits of virtual relationships.

Question 5

A03 - Relationships are multinodal

Answer 5

-The notion that relationships are either face to face or the CMC is outdated
- Walther (2011) argues that any theory seeking to explain CMC, needs to accommodate the fact that our relationships are generally conducted both online and offline through many different media.
-What we choose to disclose in our online relationships will inevitably be influenced by our offline interactions, and vice versa.
-Hence, any theory that regards CMC as a single
concept neglects its richness and variety, and is therefore unlikely to be a completely valid explanation in the present day.

Question 6

A03 - Difference between online disclosure between Americans and Koreans

Answer 6

-The suggestion that self-disclosure in virtual relationships has one effect can very quickly be seen to be far too simplistic.
- Take, for instance, the additional effect culture has upon self-disclosure.
-Yum & Hara (2005) found that American participants reported that greater disclosure in virtual relationships was associated with more trust, while Korean participants reported greater disclosure led to less trust, while greater disclosure was not a factor with Japanese
participants.
-This suggests that the findings from research about the effects of disclosure on virtual relationships is culturally relative.