Editing Internet relationship (section)

== Advantages ==
For more [[intimate relationship]]s, research has shown that personal disclosures create a greater sense of intimacy.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Laurenceau|first=JP|date=May 1998|title=Intimacy as an interpersonal process: the importance of self-disclosure, partner disclosure, and perceived partner responsiveness in interpersonal exchanges|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume=74|issue=5|pages=1238–51|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.74.5.1238|pmid=9599440|author2=Barrett, LF|author3=Pietromonaco, PR|s2cid=1209571}}</ref> This gives a sense of [[Trust (social sciences)|trust]] and equality, which people search for in a relationship, and this is often easier to achieve online than face to face, although not all disclosures are responded to positively.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pennebaker|first=James W. |chapter=Confession, Inhibition, and Disease |editor=Leonard Berkowitz |title=Advances in Experimental Social Psychology |year=1989 |publisher=Academic Press |pages=211–244|doi=10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60309-3|isbn=978-0-12-015222-3}}</ref> Individuals are able to engage in more self-disclosure than an average interaction, because a person can share their inner thoughts, feelings and beliefs and be met with less disapproval and fewer sanctions online than is the case in face-to-face encounters. Researcher Cooper termed this type of relationship as a "Triple A Engine" implying that internet relationships are accessible, affordable, and anonymous.<ref>{{cite journal|year=2008|title=Sex in America Online: An Exploration of Sex, Marital Status, and Sexual Identity in Internet Sex Seeking and its Impacts|journal=Journal of Sex Research|volume=45|issue=2|pages=175–86|doi=10.1080/00224490801987481|pmid=18569538|last1=Albright|first1=Julie M|s2cid=42567197}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=McKenna|first=Katelyn Y. A.|date=1 February 2000|title=Plan 9 From Cyberspace: The Implications of the Internet for Personality and Social Psychology|journal=Personality and Social Psychology Review|volume=4|issue=1|pages=57–75|doi=10.1207/S15327957PSPR0401_6|author2=Bargh, John A.|s2cid=145142425}}</ref>

Online, barriers that might stand in the way of a potential relationship such as [[physical attractiveness]], [[social anxiety]] and [[stuttering]] do not exist. Whereas those could hinder an individual in face-to-face encounters, an Internet interaction negates this and allows the individual freedom. Research has shown that stigmas such as these can make a large impact on first impressions in face-to-face meeting, and this does not apply with an online relationship.<ref>{{cite journal|last=McKenna|first=Katelyn Y. A.|date=1 September 1999|title=Causes and Consequences of Social Interaction on the Internet: A Conceptual Framework|journal=Media Psychology|volume=1|issue=3|pages=249–269|doi=10.1207/s1532785xmep0103_4|author2=Bargh, John A.}}</ref> Furthermore, as the internet has become a worldwide phenomenon, many people can interact with others around the world, or find someone who fits their radar or their type, if there is no one who they find physically or emotionally attractive in their own area. The internet allows for interaction of many different people so there is greater chance of finding someone more attractive. The Internet "enhances face-to-face and telephone communication as network members become more aware of each others' needs and stimulate their relationships through more frequent contact".<ref name="Wellman2">{{cite journal|last=Wellman|first=Barry|date=1 November 2001|title=Does the Internet Increase, Decrease, or Supplement Social Capital?: Social Networks, Participation, and Community Commitment|journal=[[American Behavioral Scientist]]|volume=45|issue=3|pages=436–455|doi=10.1177/00027640121957286|author2=ANAbel Quan Haase|author3=James Witte|author4=Keith Hampton|citeseerx=10.1.1.24.3156|s2cid=146137303}}</ref>

According to Joseph Walter's [[social information processing theory]], computer-mediated communications can work for people.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1177/009365094021004002| title=Interpersonal Effects in Computer-Mediated Interaction| journal=Communication Research| volume=21| issue=4| pages=460–487| year=1994| last1=Walther| first1=Joseph B.| last2=Anderson| first2=Jeffrey F.| last3=Park| first3=David W.| s2cid=12109801}}</ref>  While online interactions take roughly four times longer than face-to-face interactions, this gives users the opportunity to evaluate and the time to think, making sure they say the perfect response.  Thus, chronemics is the only verbal clue available to digital communications.  With the focus on conversation and not appearance, digital interactions over time will develop higher levels of intimacy than face-to-face interactions.

In ''The Forms of Capital''<ref>{{cite web|first=Pierre |last=Bourdieu |author-link=Pierre Bourdieu|url=http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/fr/bourdieu-forms-capital.htm |title=The Forms of Capital |year=1986 |publisher=Marxists.org |access-date=2014-04-20}}</ref> [[Pierre Bourdieu]] defines social capital as "the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition."

Social capital researchers have found<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bargh|first1=John A.|last2=McKenna|first2=Katelyn Y. A.|title=The Internet and Social Life|url=http://www.uam.es/personal_pdi/psicologia/pei/download/bargh2004.pdf|journal=Annual Review of Psychology|date=11 July 2003|volume=55|pages=573–90|doi=10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141922|pmid=14744227|s2cid=14078906 }}</ref> that "various forms of social capital, including ties with friends and neighbors, are related to indices of psychological well-being, such as self-esteem and satisfaction with life".<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ellison|first1=Nicole B.|last2=Steinfield|first2=Charles|last3=Lampe|first3=Cliff|title=The Benefits of Facebook "Friends:" Social Capital and College Students' Use of Online Social Network Sites|journal=Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication|date= July 2007|volume=12|issue=4|pages=1143–1168|doi=10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x|doi-access=free}}</ref> Then, the use of a [[social networking service]] could help to improve the [[social capital]].

More than helping to improve the [[social capital]], the use of a [[social networking service]] could help to retain it. For instance, Cummings, Lee and Kraut have shown<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cummings|first1=J.|last2=Lee|first2=J.|last3=Kraut|first3=R.|title=Communication technology and friendship during the transition from high school to college|publisher=Oxford University Press|date= 2006}}</ref> that communication services like [[instant messaging]] "help college students to remain close to their high school friends after they leave home for college".