computer-mediated communication (CMC)
- The modern-day, computer-mediated communication (CMC) serves an essential role in the materialization of romantic relationships. The emergence of new dating apps, like Tinder, dating sites, and applications have gained populace among the technology-savvy generation. In 2018, in the United States, approximately 30 percent of internet subscribers were using online dating (Antheunis, Schouten, and Walther 2). According to Antheunis, Schouten, and Walther, online dating refers to the use of web-based sites and applications for finding a romantic companion (3). Even though online dating has emerged as one of the most popular and effective ways of single people to find romantic relationships, the phenomenon promotes societal issues in regards to cognitive handicapping, deceptions, and misinterpretations with future adverse effects.
- Begin with the absence of physical and nonverbal cues in building interpersonal relationships online is a liberating factor. A study by Antheunis, Schouten, and Walther found that individuals tend to be radical online compared to face-to-face communication (4). Antheunis and colleagues noted that people tend to feel less subdued and more contented using the internet to reveal personal information. In this sense, cyberspace has been conducive for the development of interpersonal relationships, primarily for people with trouble in creating affairs in person due to a deficiency of social skills. Online communication makes users less aware of the inhibiting factors, such as self-consciousness, and social anxiety that often appear stressful in times of forming interposed relationships with a person. To this end, cyberspace consists of different spaces, and online dating represents one of the many areas of the internet that subscribers apply for building romantic relations.
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- In spite of the collective agreement that the use of cyberspace presents an opportunity for people with social anxiety in forming interpersonal relationships, it possesses significant effects on users. In this newer approach of building romantic relationships, online daters report concerns of deception and false self-representation. Hancock, Catalina, and Nicole explained that online daters frequently utilize disinhibition to open up to others and share deeply with others than they would in face-to-face context (450). The inability to trust online relationships due to misrepresentation of self creates ground for distortions later in the private online stage of communication. While online daters use dishonest tactics to spark romantic connections, present evidence reveals that it has the opposite effect. To that end, deceptions and misrepresentations lead to rejections in later stages of communication that online daters intend to prevent.
- A significant aspect of online dating is the element of communication that allows prospective dates to interact before a face-to-face meeting. According to Finkel, Eastwick, Karney, and Sprecher, efficient communication is a crucial catalyst for the process of online dating (3). The online dating sites and applications provide impersonal signifiers of interest, such as ‘winks’ to in-house asynchronous computer-mediated communication facilities that resemble email. Equally, some dating sites offer live interaction through webcams that allow subscribers to see and hear one another (Finkel et al. 6). Most online daters do not focus on finding a match for offline consultation. In place, they often use communication-based on the asynchronous or instant system of messaging before arranging for a physical meeting.
- A robust body of literature offers mixed accounts on the effects of online communication that precedes a first physical meeting in romantic contexts. The earliest reports indicate that individuals who meet online and built romantic interests conversed extensively before exchanging personal data or meeting face-to-face. However, the latest studies based on the hyper-personal CMC theory contrast the traditional communication models. The model suggests that when individuals use text-only channels of communication, such as email and texting, they take advantage of the absence of nonverbal cues and focus on intensive self-presentation. Besides, they apply the affordances of the media to craft their texts deliberately and edit before delivering them. As such, this phenomenon allows them to create unique and auspicious messages compared to when they had a face-to-face encounter. In this perspective, people become less attentive to others that could better match their expectations, and are increasingly becoming vulnerable to those who are less compatible. In an experimental study, Homnack found that endless messaging and online communication remain harmful to people‘s dating decisions (4). The infinite selection of profiles and messaging downgrades people’s cognitive abilities and excessive searching behavior. To that end, the strength of online dating sites to enhance communication has a direct effect on the decreased quality of choice. The problem further leads to cognitive handicapping since it is difficult to find successful and meaningful relationships.
- In conclusion, the significant causes of online dating include ease of communication and the ability of individuals with poor social skills to find romantic relationships. However, the effects of such behaviors relate to incidences of deception, poor interpersonal relationships, and cognitive handicapping that have negative developmental impacts on online daters. All told, online dating stands an immense potential to ameliorate what many people consider a time-consuming and frequently frustrating adventure. Of noteworthiness, the pursuit of an emotionally satisfying, committed, and romantic relationships requires individual commitment. Overall, subscribers of online dating sites should be aware of the influences associated with instant matching as well as the ability to find a prospective partner.