virtual relationships in social media

Question 1

how many relationships between 2015 and 2019 started online

Answer 1

around a third

Question 2

what are the features of self disclosure in virtual relationships

Answer 2

• reduced cues theory
• the hyper personal model
• anonymity
• absence of gating

Question 3

what features of a person make them more susceptible to online relationships

Answer 3

• limited options
• shy people
• low self esteem/confidence
• young people
• dont know how to flirt

Question 4

outline the reduced cues theory

Answer 4

• virtual relationships lack non verbal cues to our emotional state such as facial expressions
• leads to deindividuation which may encourage disinhibition and use of blunt or aggressive communication
• results in reluctance to self disclose
• less likely for a relationship to be initiated
• virtual relationships are less effective
• as lack cues we normally depend on when communicating

Question 5

what does the hyperpersonal model suggest

Answer 5

• virtual relationships can be more personal and involve greater self disclosure
• as they can develop very quickly and self disclosure happens earlier
• once established can be more intense and intimate

Question 6

who investigated the hyperpersonal model

Answer 6

walther

Question 7

what are the two key features of hyperpersonal self disclosure in personal relationships

Answer 7

• the sender of a message has greater control on what to disclose and cues to send than in face to face
• the receiver of the message gains a positive impression of the sender

Question 8

how does greater control influence self disclosure

Answer 8

• the sender manipulates their self image to present themselves in an idealised way
• self disclosure can be intensely truthful (hyperhonest) or intensely false (hyperdishonest)

Question 9

outline anonymity

Answer 9

• has been used to explain the relatively high levels of self disclosure in internet relationships compared to face to face due to the confidentiality aspect

Question 10

outline absence of gating

Answer 10

• in face to face relationships physical factors such as physical appearance and mannerisms tend to determine who we approach and who we develop romantic relationships with
• in virtual relationships there is an absence of these barriers and a wider range of potential social relationships

Question 11

a strength of virtual relationships and the absence of gating is that baker and oswald found supporting evidence that shy individuals find value in virtual relationships

Answer 11

• surveyed 207 male and female students about their shyness, facebook usage and quality of their friendships
• found that students who scored higher for shyness, greater use of facebook was associated with higher perceptions of friendship quality
• those who scored low for shyness, facebook usage was not associated with friendship quality
• this is a strength as it suggests that through social media sites like facebook shy people can overcome the barriers they face when trying to form relationships in real life
• therefore this gives validity to the theory that those who might find difficulty starting a relationship face to face would experience an absence of gating online

Question 12

a limitation of the reduced cues theory is that non verbal cues are not absent from virtual relationships they are just different

Answer 12

• emoticons and emojis are used as effective substitutes for facial expressions and intonation
• people in online interactions also use other cues such as the style and timing of messages
• taking the time to respond to a status update is often interpreted as a more intimate act than responding immediately
• this is a limitation of reduced cues theory as it does not recognise that people can express their emotional state in virtual relationships
• the success of such forms of online communication are difficult for the reduced cues theory to explain as it shows that CMC interactions can be just as personal as those conducted face to face
• therefore the theory itself is flawed as it doesnt take these factors into account

Question 13

a limitation of the hyperpersonal model is that there is a lack of supporting evidence

Answer 13

• ruppel did a meta analysis of 25 studies that compared self disclosure in face to face and virtual interactions
• they found that self report studies showed that frequency, breadth and depth of self disclosures was greater in face to face relationships
• on the other hand experimental studies showed no significant difference between face to face and virtual relationships in terms of self disclosure
• this is a limitation as it contradicts the hyperpersonal models view that greater intimacy of virtual relationships should lead to more and deeper self disclosures than in face to face relationships
• therefore limiting its validity as an explanation on how self disclosure works in virtual relationships

Question 14

a limitation of research into virtual relationships is that it has low historical validity and a lack of research support

Answer 14

• much of the research took place around 2000
• early virtual relationships lacked visual face to face interaction such as face time
• which meant less rich non verbal communication
• the way we interact with people over face time, tinder and the use of emoticons could be completely different to the technologies being used at the time the theories were outlined
• this is a limitation as social media platforms change
• therefore the theories are outdated and must consider the historical development of various types of social media interaction