An analysis of the dynamics of an online romantic relationship.
This paper discusses how communication may be personal or impersonal, as long as the two-communicator requirement is achieved. In particular, it examines the kind of communication present in a romantic relationship maintained and conducted via the online mode using computer-mediated communication over the Internet. This paper outlines, studies, and analyzes the dynamics of an online romantic relationship through a literature review and personal experience.
“The second stage of our relationship, involvement, includes interaction and communication by sharing personal information about our selves with each other. After Ashley and I had met and “seen” each other through pictures, out interest with each other further developed as we progressed to the involvement stage. In this stage, information sharing is the vital factor that relates two communicators in an interaction (relationship). In communication, Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor best describe this stage through the Social Penetration Theory. The Social Penetration Theory posits that ?[c]ommunicators? personalities can be represented by a sphere with layers; it has both breadth and depth? As the relationship develops, the partners share more aspects of the self, providing breadth as well as depth.”