Virtual Relationships: Outline

Question 1

Jourard (1971)

Answer 1

proposed ‘broadcasting self-disclosure’ to explain the difference between disclosure privately and disclosure publicly

SD in the public domain involves the individual ‘editing’ themselves

people feel more secure about disclosing personal info in private due to increased control

publicly, people compensate a lack of control over the target audience by exercising increased control over what info is displayed

Question 2

why do people SD more on the internet?

Answer 2

it’s due to the psychological effects of anonymity and confidentiality

when face-face, confidentiality may be violated or the other person may respond negatively to the disclosure

the relative anonymity of internet interactions greatly reduces the risks of such disclosure due to less fear of disapproval and sanction

Question 3

Rubin (1975)

‘Strangers on the train’ phenomenon

Answer 3

‘strangers on the train’ phenomenon - people are more likely to disclose to those they’ll never see again and due to the other person not having access to their social circle

confidentiality is less of a problem

Question 4

gating in face-face relationships

Answer 4

in face-face relationships, personal factors i.e. appearance and mannerisms determine who we approach and be in a relationship with

we use available features (ethnicity, age etc) to categorise potential partners

in online relationships, there’s an absence of those barriers or ‘gates’ that normally limit the opportunities for the less attractive/shy

Question 5

absence of gating and its consequences

Answer 5

these barriers are lacking and so are less likely to stop potential relationships from flourishing

a persons true self is more likely to be active in internet relationships than face-face

this is made possible due to he absence of gating

Question 6

absence of gating and its
consequences:
Zhao et. al (2008)
Yurschisin et al. (2005)

Answer 6

found that online sites empower ‘gated’ individuals to present the identities they hope to establish when face-face

individuals can ‘stretch the truth a bit’ in order to project a self that is more socially desirable than their offline identity

Yurschisin: researches online caters and found that they tended to give accounts of their real and better selves