virtual relationships in social media Flashcards
Virtual relationships
Relationships that are conducted through the internet rather than face to face, for example through social media. Also known as computer mediated communication.
The good of virtual relationships
Increase in interracial dating, spreads the acceptance of homosexual relationships, allows people to explore different sexualities- that perhaps they may have been able to do online.
The differences in the way virtual relationships are conducted as opposed to face to face relationships
Self disclosure in VR
Absence of gating in VR
Gates
Barriers that limit opportunities for the less attractive, or less socially skilled to form relationships in F2F encounters.
Jourard 1971 ‘broadcasting self-disclosure’
Self-disclosure in the public domain involves the individual presenting an edited version of the self to others; individuals exercise different levels of self-disclosure depending on whether they are presenting information publicly or privately.
Self-disclosure in the private domain
People feel more secure about disclosing intimate and sensitive information in private because of the increased control over disclosure to a selected individual.
Walther calls this selective self presentation.
Self-disclosure in the public domain
When sharing self-disclosures in more visible ways with a wider audience, people are more selective over the content, revealing information that is less private and intimate.
The contrasting theories in self-disclosure in virtual relationships
Reduced cues theory
Hyperpersonal theory
Reduced cues theory
Sproull and Keisler 1986 said that online relationships are less effective than F2F ones as they lack cues that we depend on. Non verbal cues such as our physical appearance and emotional state.
The effects of the Reduced cues theory
Leads to deindividualization because it reduces peoples sense of individual identity which encourages disinhibition in relating to others. Virtual relationships are therefore more likely to involve blunt communication.
Hyperpersonal theory
Walter 1996 and 2011 argues that online relationships can be more personal and involve greater self-disclosure than F2F ones. This is because they can develop very quickly as self-disclosure happens earlier and can become more intense.
Explanation for the relatively high levels of self-disclosure in Internet relationships compared to F2F relationships
Psychological effects of anonymity. Individuals engage in self-disclosure when they are confident that it remains confidential. IRL, that confidentiality might be violated or the other person might respond negatively to the disclosure, leading to rejection.
The effects of anonymity on self-disclosure online
The anonymity of the internet interactions greatly reduces the risks of such disclosure because people can share their inner thoughts and feelings with much less fear of disapproval and sanction from the other person. In this way, self-disclosure with online acquaintances are similar to the strangers on a train phenomenon.
‘Strangers on a train’
Confederates disclosed personal information about themselves to a complete strangers on trains (in public).
Rubin 1975 concluded that we are more likely to disclose personal information to people we don’t know and probably will never see again. Also, because a stranger does not have access to an individual’s social circle; confidentiality.
Gating in online relationships
In online relationships there is an absence of gates that normally limit the opportunities for the less attractive or less socially skilled to form relationships in F2F encounters.
