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intimacy of both. In this study, self-disclosure, or intimacy, was measured in terms of
shared secrets through the discussion of personal problems. Participants reported a
significantly higher level of self-disclosure in their Internet relationship as compared to
their primary relationship. In contrast, the participants’ primary relationships were
reported as highly self-disclosed in the past, but the current level of disclosure was
perceived to be lower (Underwood & Findlay, 2004). This result suggests participants
turned to the Internet in order to fulfill the need for intimacy in their lives.
In further support of this finding, Tidwell and Walther (2002) hypothesized CMC
participants employ deeper self-disclosures than FtF participants in order to overcome the
limitations of CMC, e.g., the reliance on nonverbal cues. It was found that CMC partners
engaged in more frequent intimate questions and disclosures than FtF partners in order to
overcome the barriers of CMC. In their study, Tidwell and Walther (2002) measured the
perception of a relationship's intimacy by the partner of each participant in both the CMC
and FtF conditions. The researchers found that the participants’ partners stated their CMC
partner was more effective in employing more intimate exchanges than their FtF partner,
and both participants and their partners rated their CMC relationship as more intimate
than their FtF relationship.
Discussion
In 2002, Cummings et al. stated that the evidence from their research conflicted
with other data examining the effectiveness of online social relationships. This statement
is supported by the aforementioned discussion of other research. There may be a few
possible theoretical explanations for these discrepancies. First, one reviewed study by
Cummings et al. (2002) examined only email correspondence for their CMC modality