Absence Of Gating In Virtual Relationships Flashcards
What is meant by the absence of gating in virtual relationships
In real life, our attraction to other people is greatly influenced by their
appearance, mannerisms and factors such as age and ethnicity.
Being online removes factors that normally act as a barrier (gate) to interaction.
This creates more opportunities for shy or less attractive people to develop
romantic relationships.
The absence of getting online means that people can establish what
virtual identities they could never create face-to-face. For example, a shy person can
become more outgoing.
(+) what are the social benefits to the absence of gating in virtual relationships
4000 ppts
72% = married / romantic partner
26% = no internet
the absence of gating could reduce loneliness due by making it easier for some people to access to social interactions and to seek out company.
Rosenfeld and Thomas (2012) showed the importance of online communication
for developing romantic relationships. Out of 4,000 participants studied, 72%
of those with internet access were married or had a romantic partner,
compared to only 36% of those without internet access. These findings suggest
that a virtual environment helps people to establish and maintain romantic
relationships.
(+) how come some claim the absence of gating has positive effects on people’s offline relationships
People create an online identity that is appreciated by others, and this enhances their overall self-image, & increases the quality of their face to face relationships as well
What does Baker suggest about the absence of gating in virtual relationships being useful for shy people
(207 mixed gender ppts to do a questionnaire) (+)
They asked 207 male and female participants to complete a questionnaire, scoring their answers in
terms of shyness, internet use and perception of quality of their friendships. They found that those people who scored highly on shyness and internet use, perceived the quality of their friendships as high; this correlation was absent for people with low shyness scores. The findings imply that as online communication helps people to overcome their shyness, so the quality of their
face-to-face communication also improves
(-) how are there little differences between virtual and face to face relationships
People are involved in both online and offline relationships every day; it’s not
an either/or situation. This means that there are fewer differences between
virtual relationships and face to face relationships than research seems to suggest, and research examining virtual relationships often fails to take into account the effect of these relationships on a person’s offline interactions, and
vice versa
(-) how does this theory have low temporal validity due to its research
Most of the research examining gating was conducted in the late 1990s and
early 2000s. As technology is changing rapidly, so is the nature of online
relationships; therefore, psychological research in this area risks becoming
outdated by the time it is published. This lowers the temporal validity of
research into virtual relationships
