⭐️ virtual relationships on social media✅ Flashcards
what has happened since the growth of the internet?
more interest in online ships and computer mediated communication (CMC)
what is self disclosure?
what is self disclosure important in ?
- involves sharing personal info, such as your thoughts, dreams, goals and experiences … its an important way to strengthen ships and build trust
- facer to face ships (f2f)
what are the two theories explaining SD in CMC ships
1 - reduced cues theory
2- the hyperpersonal model
1 - reduced cues theory
why are CMC ships considered less effective then f2f?
what does this lead to?
what is bad about the communication online
- they lack emotional cues such as facial expressions and tone of voice
- de - individuation bc it reduces the sense of individual identity, encourages disinhibition In relating to others
- more blunt and a higher relcultancy to self disclose
2 - the hyperpersonal model:
what are CMC’s considered as?
what is it called when images are manipulated? why is this done?
who are you most likely to self disclose with and why ?
- more effective
- selective self presentation … allows individuals to have control over what info they disclose and attempting to portray themselves In a positive light
- stranger due to the non judgement. and anonominity
absence of gating:
what its a gate? who came up with this?
why are f2f ships gated?
👍🏻one good thing about gating?
👎🏻one bad thing about gating?
- mckenna and bargh said a gate is any obstacle the forming a relationship
- FtF interaction is gated in that it involves many features that can interfere with the early development of a relationship
E.g. physical unattractiveness, a stammer and social anxiety.
👍🏻 most gates are absent online so virtual relationships can develop to the point where self-disclosure becomes more frequent. Therefore, the relationship is more likely to develop and deepen quicker
👎🏻 However, there is a scope for people to create untrue identities (catfishing) and deceive people by changing their profile picture, name, age & gender which you can’t do with FtF.
Ao3 - virtual relationships
✅2 strengths
❌ 1 weakness
✅ support for the absence if gating … McKenna and Bargh looked at CMC use by lonely and socially anxious people. They found that such people were able to express their ‘true selves’ more than in FtF situations. Of the romantic relationships that initially formed online, 70% survived more than two years. This is a higher proportion than for relationships formed in the offline world.
✅ research support for the hyperpersonal model The model predicts that people are motivated to self-disclose in CMC in ways which are sometimes ‘hyperhonest’ and sometimes ‘hyperdishonest’. eg. questions asked in online discussions tend to be very direct, probing and intimate. This is quite different from FtF conversations, which are often hedged around with ‘small talk’. Responses are otherwise direct and to the point. findings support the assumption of the model, which is that the way we self-disclose in CMC relationships is designed to present ourselves in an exaggeratedly positive light which aids relationship formation.
❌ lack of research for reduced cues theory. The theory is wrong to suggest that nonverbal cues are entirely missing from CMC. They are different rather than absent. Research pointed out that people in online interactions use other cues, such as style and timing of their messages. eg, taking time to reply to a social network status update is often interpreted as a more intimate act than an immediate response. Acrostics (such as LOL), emotions and emojis, are used as effective substitutes for facial expressions and tone of voice in FtF interactions. The success of such online communication is difficult for the reduced cues theory to explain, because it shows that CMC interactions can be just as personal as those conducted FtF and that it’s possible to express emotional states in virtual relationships.
