Virtual relationships in social media

• Virtual relationships refer to connections formed and maintained through digital platforms such as social media, online dating, and messaging services.
• The Hyperpersonal Model (Walther, 1996, 2011) explains how virtual relationships can be more personal than face-to-face (FtF) ones, with greater self-disclosure happening earlier. It includes:

  • Selective self-presentation
  • Anonymity
  • Boom and bust phenomenon
• Selective self-presentation: People carefully control how they present themselves online e.g. more time to alter their image. Individuals online have more control over what they disclose and when meaning they are more manipulative to promote intimacy.
• Anonymity (Bargh et al., 2002): People feel less accountable for their behaviour as the other person online doesn't know their identity, encouraging higher self-disclosure.
• Boom and bust phenomenon (Cooper & Sportolari, 1997): Online relationships can develop quickly but also end quickly because the high excitement level of interaction isn't matched by the level of trust between the relationship partners.
• Absence of Gating (McKenna & Bargh, 1999)

  • FtF interactions have ‘gates’ (obstacles) like physical appearance, shyness, or speech impediments that hinder relationship development.
  • CMC removes these barriers, allowing relationships to form based on self-disclosure rather than superficial features.
  • This can lead to greater intimacy but also allows people to create false identities online.
• Research supports the idea that online relationships involve greater self-disclosure. Whitty & Joinson (2009) found that CMC conversations are often more direct, probing, and intimate compared to FtF interactions, supporting the idea that people are more open online. This suggests that virtual relationships may be more personal rather than less, as Walther’s model proposes.
• A weakness of The Reduced Cues Theory is that it may lack temporal validity. It assumes that CMC lacks personal cues, leading to deindividuation and disinhibition. However, research suggests that people adapt to online communication by using emojis, timing of messages, and capitalisation which act as effective substitutes for facial expressions and tone of voice in Ftf interactions. This challenges the idea that CMC leads to less self-disclosure, suggesting that the theory may be outdated as it fails to explain the successes of online communication in modern society.
• The Absence of Gating Theory explains why shy or socially anxious individuals may find it easier to form relationships online. McKenna & Bargh (2000) found that socially anxious people were able to form strong virtual relationships, which often transferred successfully into real life. They found that of the romantic relationships initially formed online, 70% survived more than two years - which is higher than for relationships formed in real life. This supports the idea that CMC can be beneficial for those who struggle with FtF interactions and can form healthy, long-term relationships.
• A limitation of research into virtual relationships is that it does not consider the different types of CMC. For example, self-disclosure may vary between social media platforms, online dating, and messaging apps. In online dating, people anticipate future FtF interactions, so they may be more cautious with self-disclosure. However, in anonymous chatrooms, users may feel freer to disclose personal information due to increased anonymity. This suggests that generalising findings across all CMC is overly simplistic, as different platforms encourage different levels of self-disclosure.
• Reduced Cues Theory (Sproull & Kiesler, 1986) is an explanation of self-disclosure in virtual relationships.

  • Computer-mediated communication (CMC) lacks non-verbal cues (e.g., facial expressions, tone of voice).
  • This leads to de-individuation (loss of personal identity), increasing disinhibition (blunt or aggressive communication).
  • As a result, people are reluctant to self-disclose in virtual relationships.