Virtual Relationships

Virtual Relationships

1. Sproull and Kiesler

   • Reduced cues theory, proposes that we are less likely to self-disclosure personal information in a Computer-mediated Communication as people online are less likely to be more disinhibited due to an increased deindividuation caused by the inability to assess cues which many to Face and Face interactions rely upon such as facial expressions and verbal information. This means that people in online communications are more likely to be aggressive and rude in response to any personal disclosures made

2. Walther

   • Hyper personal model, argues that actually Computer-mediated communications relationships encourage self-disclosure much earlier than Face to Face interactions, due in part to the sender of messages' ability to alter and manipulate exactly how they come across to the other party. Walther says that this selective self-presentation means that the lack of cues serve to increase the speed and intensity of relationships as people are able to portray themselves in the best possible light. The deindividuation which occurs in Computer-mediated Communications relationships can make people feel less accountable for their actions and therefore less inhibited, making disclosure much more likely

3. Gating

   • Gating in relationships refers to a peripheral feature becoming a barrier to the connection between people. This gate could be a physical feature, such as somebody's weight or a disfigurement, or a feature of one's personality such as introversion or shyness. It may be that two people's personalities are very compatible, and attraction would occur if they spoke for any length of time, but a gate prevents this from happening

4. McKenna and Bargh

   • Propose the idea that Computer-mediated Communication relationships remove these gates and mean that there is little distraction from the connection between people that might not otherwise have occurred. Some people use the anonymity available on the internet to compensate for these gates by portraying themselves differently than they would do in Face to Face relationships. People who lack confidence may use the extra time available in messaging to consider their responses morecarefully, and those who perceive themselves to be unattractive may choose an avatar or edited picture which does not show this trait

5. Walther and Tidwell

   • Point out that although some cues are absent, such as facial expressions, people can correctly use other cues, such as the length of time that it takes someone to write a response, to gauge their true feelings. Emoticons are often used as substitutes for facial expressions in Computer-mediated Communication relationships, although these are more easily manipulated by the sender than their true reactions to stimuli

6. Computer-mediated Communications

   • The relevance of research into Computer-mediated Communication relationships changes rapidly as more technology is released and the way that we interact with technology changes. Much of the research cited in this article took place before the year 2000. The way we interact with people over facetime, emoticons and tinder could be completely different to the technologies which were the inspiration for theories outlined here

7. The majority of relationships, especially romantic relationships, do not take place entirely online, but rather are a mixture of Face to Face and Computer-mediated Communications, reducing the deindividuation effect required for the reduced cues and hyper personal theories

8. McKenna and Burgh

   • Found that lonely and socially anxious people felt more able to express their true selves in Computer-mediated Communication relationships, and the percentage of lasting relationships which began as Computer-mediated Communications for these people were higher than for those formed in the offline world