ON-LINE RELATIONAL MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES AND PERCEPTIONS OF PARTNERS WITHIN EXCLUSIVELY INTERNET-BASED AND PRIMARILY INTERNET-BASED RELATIONSHIPS

Communication Studies, Summer 2004 by Wright, Kevin B

Walther (1996) mentions that due to limited information in text-based CMC, participants in on-line relationships may "fill in the blanks" when it comes to forming perceptions of others, a concept he labeled "hyperpersonal interaction." In other words, participants in on-line relationships may develop idealistic or unrealistic images of their relational partners by projecting images of the partner based upon schemas developed in other contexts and idealizing their communicative abilities. For example, Walther (1996) contends if people perceive they are communicating with someone who is attractive or intelligent, their communication with the person is likely to reflect this perception (e.g. being more positive, etc.), and their partner is likely to alter his or her communication in reaction to the sender's messages. Hyperpersonal interaction may affect perceptions of one's on-line relational partner and the quality of his/her communication.

Walther and Boyd (2002) suggest that Internet users engage in selective selfpresentation, creating within their messages highly preferred personal and relational cues. Since most computer-mediated communication occurs in textual form, these cues are more controllable than would be the case in the more spontaneous face-to-face interaction. This may affect perceptions of on-line relational partners and quality of on-line interaction in a variety of ways. For example, Walther (1997) found that previously unknown partners were able to achieve greater intimacy via computermediated communication than in parallel face-to-face interaction.

Greater control over message creation and relational content may lead some individuals to prefer communicating via the Internet to face-to-face interaction. For example, O'Sullivan (2000) found that people often prefer the constrictions of mediated channels (such as email) over face-to-face interaction since these limitations are often seen as advantageous in situations were parallel face-to-face interactions might potentially threaten positive impressions (due to disconfirming information communicate through nonverbal codes).

Since developing perceptions of others largely takes place through textual communication in CMC interaction, the ability of partners to overcome the constraints of textual communication become important. Textual communication requires a different set of competencies than face-to-face interaction, and misunderstandings of messages are often more common in CMC. Individuals make assessments of their partners based upon the quality of on-line communication (Barnes, 2003).

Walter & Boyd (2002) also contend that characteristics of computer-mediated communication can affect relational communication by skewing interpersonal perceptions in extraordinarily positive directions. For example, Wright (2000b), in a qualitative study of an on-line community for older adults, found that a large number of participants reported that people in their on-line support network were perceived as being closer than even members of their own immediate family, despite the fact that they had never met their relational partners in the face-to-face world.