Nowadays, many people are forming relationships over the internet. There are many commonalities but also important differences between online and traditional interaction.

 

Katelyn Y. A. McKenna, Arnie S. Green and Marci E.J. Gleason, hypothesized in their study that people who are able to reveal their actual or inner self to others on the internet better than in real life are more likely to bring those online friendships into their “real” lives.

 

Two studies were done:

 1. They did a survey and selected random Internet newsgroup posters and this showed that those whom expressed themselves over the internet were more likely than others to have formed online relationships which eventually lead to real life meetings.

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2. The second study showed that a large amount of these internet friendships were still ongoing 2 years later.

After that, a lab experiment proved that undergraduates liked each other more over the internet compared to a “face-to-face” initial meeting”

 

According to Mckenna, Green and Gleason (2002):

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A second reason for greater self-disclosure on-line is the lack of the usual “gating features” to the establishment of any close relationship – easily discernible features such as physical appearance (attractiveness), an apparent stigma such as stuttering (McKenna & Bargh, 1999), or visible shyness or social anxiety. These gates often prevent people who are less physically attractive or socially skilled from developing relationships to the stage at which disclosure of intimate information could begin. (p. 10-11)

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The study of Ando and Sakamoto resembles McKenna, Green and Gleason's in the sense that they both put social skills and self-esteem issues into perspective.