Virtual Relationships In Social Media Flashcards
Research has shown that there are differences in the way that people…
Conduct virtual relationships and how they conduct face to face relationships
Self disclosure in virtual relationships
We disclose more because…
Need to get to know each other and build trust
No access to their social circle
Absence of gating features
Less fear of judgment
We disclose less because
Security concerns
We don’t know them enough/lack of trust
Confidentiality issues
Reduction in non verbal cues
Reduced cues theory
Suggests that virtual relationships are less…
Effective than face to face ones because they lack many of the cues, especially non verbal ones that we rely on in face to face relationships eg facial expressions, body language and laughter
The lack of such cues leads to a loss of personal identity (deindividuation) which encourages people to act and communicate in…
A way they usually wouldn’t. This can be in the form of blunt and aggressive communications eg capitals, exclamations
Which leads to reluctance to self disclose
Hyper personal model
Walther argues online relationships can be…
More personal and involve greater self disclosure than face to face ones.
Online relationships can develop very quickly as self disclosure happens earlier and once established they are more intense and more intimate
According to this model, the send of a ,essays has more time to manipulate their online image than they would in a face to face situation. Walther calls this…
Selective self presentation
It is much easier to manipulate self disclosure to promote intimacy by self present in a positive and idealised way.
Absence of gating.
What are ‘gates’?
Any barriers or obstacles that get in the way of forming a relationship
Face to face relationships are said to be gated as there are…
Many barriers that can interfere with the early development of a relationship eg physical appearance and mannerisms
It has been argued that a huge advantage of online/virtual relationships is the absence of gating
This allows an online relationship to ‘get off the ground’ in a way that is less likely to happen in a face to face situation
Absence of gating refocuses attention on self disclosure and away from what might be
Considered distracting and any superficial features
A sense of gating also means that people are free to create…
Online identities that they could never manage face to face, to project a self that is more socially desirable than their offline identity
Weakness of the reduced cues theory is the suggestion that non verbal cues are not reduced in virtual relationships
Walther suggests that the cues are different rather than absent
Eg time taken to reply to a social network post gives indication of interest. Abbreviations like lol and emojis are a substitute for facial expressions.
Reduces the validity of the reduced cues theory, shows virtual can be just as personal as face to face and it is possible to communicate your emotional state in such a relationship
The type and amount of self disclosure needs to be considered as they differ depending on the context
Eg. SD may be reduced if using an online dating site as there is the possibility and anticipation of a face to face meeting in the future, a consideration that doesn’t usually exist in chat rooms and gaming sites
Can’t approach social media and virtual relationships as a single concept so must take into account range and variety
Social media sites such as Facebook help shy people have better quality friendships
Baker and Oswald
Surveyed 207 male and female students about their shyness, FB usage and quality of friendships
Greater use of FB associated with higher perceptions of friendship quality for those who scored higher on shyness
In contrast, FB usage was not associated with perception of friendship quality for those that scored lower on shyness
Supports value of the absence of gating, shows how shy individuals find particular value in virtual relationships
