Self-disclosure in virtual relationships
- Virtual relationships (VRs) are those which do not exist on a face-to-face (FtF) basis
- Social media platforms allow VRs to exist alongside or as a substitute for a FtF relationship e.g. you can be friends with someone on Facebook and/or friends with them in ‘real life’
- Self-disclosure takes on a whole new dimension when it comes to VRs as the usual restrictions and social norms which govern self-disclosure are removed in virtual domains
- Reduced cues theory explains the tendency for people to behave online in ways which they would not behave if the relationship was FtF:
- A lack of behavioural signals such as body language, facial expressions, gestures and Paralanguage which usually help to guide and monitor Ftf conversations
- A sense of deindividuation in which a person can hide behind a screen name or avatar so that their personal identity is to some extent lost
- Deindividuation can lead to someone behaving in ways which show a lack of inhibition i.e. they feel free to express themselves in ways which they would not use in a FtF encounter
- A lack of inhibition can lead to online comments and posts which are hyper-aggressive and extreme in their language (something that internet trolls excel at): it is this fear of attack that tends to result in a reduction in the usual pattern of FtF self-disclosure in VRs
‘I think I love you…or maybe I just love your online presence’...