ao3

• Reduced cues theory


  Non-verbal cues are different rather than absent in CMC relationships
• Cues used in online interactions

  • Style and timing of messages
  • Acrostics
  • Emoticons
  • Emojis
• Reduced cues theory struggles to explain the success of online communication, as it shows CMC interactions can be just as personal as face-to-face and it is possible to express emotional states in virtual relationships
• Hyperpersonal model


  People are motivated to self-disclose in CMC relationships in ways which are sometimes 'hyper-honest' or 'hyper-dishonest'
• Self-disclosure in CMC relationships

  • Questions asked tend to be very direct, probing, and intimate
  • Responses are direct and to the point
  • Designed to present ourselves in an exaggeratedly positive light which aids relationship formation
• Research into the absence of gating in virtual relationships doesn't often consider the difference between males and females
• Evolutionary theory of relationships

  Women would be concerned with making themselves seem more attractive and youthful to attract a mate

  Men would try to appear more resourceful
• This suggests a beta bias in this area of research, oversimplifying how gates are used in virtual relationships
• Absence of gating in virtual relationships

  Particularly useful for shy people
• Shy people with high internet use

  Perceive quality of friendships as high
• Online communication can help people to overcome their shyness so the quality of the face-to-face relationships improve
• The absence of gating and more meaningful self-disclosure online can have positive effects on people's offline relationships as they can create an online identity that is appreciated by others, enhancing their overall self-image and their quality of offline relationships
• The vast majority of research examining virtual relationships was conducted in the late 1990's and early 2000's - as technology is changing rapidly, so is the nature of online relationships; therefore, psychological research into this area risks becoming outdated at the time of publication, lowering the temporal validity of research into romantic relationships
• Research into virtual relationships is based on the experiences of mainly western, technology developed cultures. Internet technology is not readily available in some countries, so the conclusions surrounding the development and effects of virtual communication on romantic relationships are largely ethnocentric and cannot be applied to them
• Attitudes towards self-disclosure are different in different cultures. For example, in contrast to American culture, women in Japan preferred lower levels of self-disclosure in close relationships. This demonstrates that the level of self-disclosure depends on cultural norms and may affect the communication styles online, lowering the validity of research into virtual relationships
• People are involved in both online and offline relationships every day; it's not an either/or situation. As such, our offline relationships will likely influence our online ones in what and how we choose to disclose information online and vice versa. This means that there are fewer differences between CMC and face-to-face relationships than the explanations seem to suggest, with them failing to take into account the influence of the relationships on each other, reducing their validity as an explanation