virtual relationships

• give a weakness of reduced cues theory

  • cues are not completely absent from virtual relationships
  • acronyms e.g LOL, emojis are effective substitutes for face to face non-verbal cues
  • therefore, this reduces the validity of reduced cues theory
• give a strength of absence of gating

  • research support
  • mckenna and burgh studied the relationships of shy and socially anxious people
  • 71% of romantic relationships formed online survived more than 2 years, compared to only 49% of relationships formed face to face
  • therefore, this increases its credibility
• give a strength of reduced cues theory

  • research support
  • ruppel et al. meta-analysis
  • compared the frequency, breadth and depth of self-disclosure in face to face relationships
  • they found all 3 aspects were greater in face to face relationships
  • therefore, this increases credibility of this theory
• Give a weakness of virtual relationships

  • Culture bias
  • Research is based on experiences of mainly western, technologically developed cultures
  • This technology access is not readily available in some developing countries
  • Therefore, this means that conclusions about the development and effects of virtual communication on romantic relationships cannot be applied to less economically developed countries
• What is reduced cues theory?

  • Virtual relationships decrease self-disclosure
  • There's less cues in virtual relationships, this leads to

  1. Deindividuation - reducing a person's sense of individual identity in virtual relationships
  2. Disinhibition - people feel more free from the constraints of social norms leading to blunt and aggressive communication

  • Therefore, the conversation dies out, self-disclosure ends, reducing the chance of a relationship forming
• What is hyperpersonal model?

  • Self-disclosure happens quicker in virtual relationships, this leads to selective self-presentation
  • Where individuals can be hyperhonest or hyperdisonest as individuals have time to manipulate their responses to present themselves in a better light
  • Stranger on a train effect - we are more likely to self-disclose with a stranger because we are likely never to see them again
  • Anonymity promotes self-disclosure
  • Boom and bust phenomenon - relationships online end quicker as it is difficult to sustain high levels of self-disclosure for a long time
• What are cues?

  Prompts for how to respond e.g non-verbal communication , body language, tone of voice and facial expression
• What does absence of gating state?

  • Gate - any obstacle to face to face relationships e.g shyness, stammer and facial disfigurement
  • These gates are absent in virtual relationships, letting those who would struggle to develop a relationship face to face, develop one
  • The absence of gates also means that people can establish virtual identities they could never create face to face
  • This could be dangerous e.g an older person can act as a younger person