Virtual relationships

Paralanguage

Non verbal communication

in real life non-verbal paralanguage may be more important than the words themselves for example body posture, eye gaze may express liking even if the verbal communication does not (not present in virtual relationships)

Self disclosure in virtual relationships

Reduced Cues Theory

The Hyperpersonal Model

Reduced cues theory

• lack many of the cues we normally depend on in FtF interactions such as our physical appearance and our emotional state

• Without some of these cues this can lead to deindividuation because it reduces people’s sense of individual identity, which in turn then encourages disinhibition in relating to others

• Virtual relationships are therefore more likely to involve blunt and even aggressive communication

The hyper-personal model

• suggests that self-disclosure may happen earlier and with greater levels of intimacy with online disclosures becoming personal more quickly than they would in FtF interactions

• This hyper-personal aspect of VRs is another facet of deindividuation

• It is also easy to abruptly terminate VRs e.g by ‘ghosting’

• Also gives people an opportunity to present their ‘best self’ to the other person

Effects of absence in gating in virtual relationships

• consists of any obstacle/barrier to a relationship developing or even getting off the ground in the first place

• The usual gates that exist in FtF interactions can be completely absent in VRs

• The absence of gating provides opportunities for people who previously may have isolated themselves from relationships due to fear, anxiety, or self-consciousness to connect to others

A03: Lack of support for reduced cues

NVC are different online rather than absent

Other cues are used online, e.g. style and timing of message (e.g. taking time to reply may be more intimate than an immediate response)

Acronyms and emojis can be used as effective substitutes for facial expressions and tone of voice

This cannot be explained by reduced cues - reducing the validity of the theory

A03: Lack of support for hyperpersonal model

A meta analysis by Ruppel (2017) found that self report studies showed frequency, breadth and depth of self disclosures were all greater in FtF relationships. Also no differences found between levels of self disclosure online / offline.

However, self presentation is easier to manipulate in virtual relationships. E.g. online questions tend to be hyper honest and intimate instead of small talk, and online presentation can be hyper dishonest

A03: Nomothetic vs idiographic

Does not account for personality differences