Virtual relationships Flashcards
Virtual relationships defintion
Relationships that are conducted through the internet rather than face to face
Two spec points of virtual relationships
self-disclosure in virtual relationships
effects of absence of gating on the nature of virtual relationships.
Self- disclosure in virtual relationships
2 theories:
Hyperpersonal theory
Reduced cues theory
Hyperpersonal theory
Walther
Suggests that as self-disclosure in online relationships happens earlier than in face-to-face ones, 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.
Walther 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 conversation have more time to ‘edit’ their responses to present themselves in a more positive light which will then make an online partner want to disclose more personal information, increasing the intensity of the relationship.
Reduced cues theory
Online relationships might be less open and honest than face-to-face ones, because in real life we are relying on a lot of subtle cues, such as facial expressions and tone of voice, and these cues are absent in virtual communications
Reduction in communication cues leads to de-individuation because it diminishes people’s feelings of individual identity and brings on behaviours that people usually restrain themselves from displaying, such as aggression
The consequence of this is less self-disclosure from other people
Absence of gating
In real life, our attraction to other people is greatly influenced by their appearance, mannerisms and factors such as age and ethnicity, limiting our choice of potential partners.
In virtual interactions, however, these barriers/gates are absent; this creates more opportunities for shy and less attractive people to develop romantic relationships. Even when these factors are discovered later, when relationships move from virtual to the face-to-face phase, they rarely decrease an already-developed attraction, as a result of the feeling of intimacy brought by more open self-disclosure.
AO3:
str: importance of virtual rel
lim: cultural
Non- verbal cues
str: importance of virtual rel
The positive impact of virtual environments on developing romantic relationships is supported by research.
For example, Rosenfeld and Thomas found that out of 4,000 participants studied, 71.8% of those with internet access were married or had a romantic partner, compared with only 35.9% of those without Internet access.
The findings suggest that the virtual environment helps people to establish and maintain romantic relationships, endorsing explanations for virtual relationships.
lim: cultural diffs
Research into virtual relationships is based on the experiences of mainly Western, technologically developed cultures.
Internet technology is not readily available in some countries, so the conclusions about the development and effects of virtual communication on romantic relationships cannot be applied to them.
In addition, attitudes to self-disclosure are different in different cultures. For example, Nakanishi (1986) found that, in contrast to American culture, women in Japan preferred lower levels of self-disclosure in close relationships.
This demonstrates that the level of self-disclosure depends on cultural norms, and may affect the communication styles online.
This lowers the validity of research into virtual relationships, limiting the range of relationships it explains.
lim/str: non verbal cues
Researcher such as that by Sproull and Kiesler (1986) argues that, instead of increasing self-disclosure, online relationships often lead to a decrease in it. The claim that this is because virtual relationships lack many subtle cues, such as facial expressions, tone of voice and reaction times, which lead to deindividuation (a feeling of complete anonymity and loss of control) and this increases aggressive behaviour. People rarely want to disclose personal information to an individual who is blunt and aggressive.
Tidwell and Walther (1995), who argue that in virtual relationships people also use subtle cues, such as the time taken to respond to their post, or emoticons and emojis. According to them, non-verbal cues in online interactions are not absent, they are just different.
