Self-Discloure in Virtual Relationships

Question 1

What have focused on the psychological effects of anonymity?

Answer 1

Many explanations for the high level of self-disclosure in virtual relationships compared to face-to-face relationships

Question 2

What does anonymity of virtual relationships mean?

Answer 2

that individuals can reveal intimate personal information with others as it reduces the risks of such disclosure, for example: disapproval or fear of being socially embarrassed (e.g. information being leaked to someone they know).

Question 3

What can occur due to the greater anonymity of social media?

Answer 3

disinhibition or deindividuation can occur and these processes make people feel less inhibited and less accountable for their actions, which
can make disclosure much more likely.

Question 4

What does deindividuation do?

Answer 4

reduces a person’s sense of individual identity which means that people feel freer from the constraints of social norms (disinhibition) and this can lead to blunt and even aggressive communication which can reduce the amount of self- disclosure (from the other person)

Question 5

What does the hyper personal model (Walther 1996, 2011) argue?

Answer 5

online relationships can be more
personal and involve greater self-disclosure than face to face.

Question 6

What does it mean as self-disclosure often happens earlier? (2)

Answer 6

earlier this leads to intense, close and intimate virtual relationships developing more quickly than face-to-face

Question 7

What can however happen and what did Cooper and Sportolari (1977) call this (3)

Answer 7

they can also end more swiftly, because the high excitement of the virtual interaction is often not matched by the trust between the relationship partners. Cooper & Sportolari (1997) called this the ‘boom and bust phenomenon’ of online relationships.

Question 8

what is the hyper personal model? Suggest and what is it called?

Answer 8

suggests that online personas can be heavily manipulated and
controlled. This is called selective self-presentation.

Question 9

What does this mean?

Answer 9

it is easier to manipulate self-disclosure to promote intimacy in online relationships and has been seen in the phenomenon of ‘Catfishing’; where people lure others into a virtual relationship by
presenting a fictitious persona on social media.