Communicating through the internet removes factors that normally act as filters e.g. attractiveness, speech defects, age group
Reduced Cue Theory
Nonverbal communiation, like body language, is missing, this could result in misinterpretation of text or reading too much into text
Anonymity
Leads to deindividuation, reduced feelings of responsibility, lowering inhibition; people say things online they wouldnt in real life, resulting in intimacy but also sexting or trolling
Hyperpersonal Model
People manipulate they online identity, appearing hyper-honest or hyper-dishonest; they do this by carefully controlling interactions
(+) A03: Smith + Duggan (2013)
Survey of 2000 Americans, found online dating had become more acceptable
53% agree "a larger number of potential partners helps find a match"
53% had experienced someone misinterpreting themselves
(+) A03: McKenna + Bargh (2000)
SHowed that people felt more able to express themselves online, and after 2 years
70% of relationships that formed online survived
50% of relations in the real world survived
(-) A03: Temporal Validity
Most virtual research was done when communication was text based, not it is not unusual for images and videos to be sent, bringing back physical attractiveness and other gates as a factor
(+/-) A03: Social Skills
Having the ability to virtually communicate improves social skills as individuals can form relationships easily and reduce loneliness; however a lack of face-to-face relationships and practice reading non-verbal communication can lead to difficulty developing real life relationships due to a lack of experience
