This study examined the formation and maintenance of relationships through computer-mediated communciation. Participants included ten women between the ages of eighteen and twenty, who were interviewed on the subject of their Internet and real-life relationships. Several types of questions were presented to these respondents during the interview sessions; the three principal categories of questions included broad inquiries about their current habits of Internet usage, questions regarding their usage of the Internet as a tool for the maintenance of a real-life relationship, and an examination of realationships that have originated through computer-mediated communication. Surprisingly, results were generally inconsistent with expectations.

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Abstract

The Development and Maintenance of Relationships Through Computer-Mediated Communication

With each passing day, the Internet becomes increasingly more significant in the lives of people the world over. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is quickly becoming as important as telephone dialogue in peoples' daily contact with family and friends. However, there are many differences to be found between these two forms of communication. While the telephone makes a person more anonymous than face-to-face interactions may, the Internet goes even a step farther; computer-mediated communication completely eliminates non-verbal cues from the grand scheme of interaction. Additionally, CMC gives its users the ability to take on new personas, hide personal flaws or characteristics,  well as communicate with complete strangers and inhabitants of foreign countries--people they never would have otherwise had the opportunity to meet. As new technological advances are changing the face of communication on a daily basis, it is important to question the impact of these new technologies on our personal relationships. Will they change the manner in which our real-life realtionships form? Will the relationships we shape online be dissimilar to our preexisting relationships? ow can we form trusting relationships with people we've never personally met? These questions are just the beginning of what we have yet to learn about human interaction through CMC. The superfluous amounts of unknowns that await experimentation in this field seem limitless. For this reason, the topic of online formation and maintenance of relationships is of great importance to our increasingly computer-reliant society.        This study ws an attempt to uncover vital information about the development and maintenance of relationships through computer-mediated communication. The particular aspects of this matter that were researched were chosen above others simply because of the researcher's lack of knowledge and plentitude of interest regarding them. A few areas of focus included trust formation in newly-formed Internet relationships, ability to understand context through CMC, and further differences between online and real-life interactions.