5 option1

McKenna would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in my suite last fall, as phone conversations with my boyfriend could have been used as direct examples for her relationship facilitation factors. Dating a self-labeled "shy" boy, it was sometimes annoying to try and have meaningful conversations face to face, since the presence of all social cues made him nervous and taciturn. However, after going away to school, i learned that through text based conversations, (via IM) or through phone conversations, he was much more comfortable sharing valuable information in a mediated environment. In terms of theories describing relationship formation, his tendency to self-disclose increased ten-fold, when i would share information with him via an instant message. Apparently, self-disclosure really does beget self-disclosure. Despite the fact that we were not strangers, the increased level of anonymity that mediated communication offers, increased his ability to disclose information about himself. Ironically, (and probably unhealthily) this helped our relationship evolve and develop. McKenna would have probably wanted to kidnap this boy for further observation and experimentation, since the removal of gating features such as shyness and social anxiety in especially a text-based environment, (IM) enabled him to engage fully in emotional conversations he otherwise would have avoided. Such an example powers McKenna's theory on how the removal of gating features affects relationships. Obviously when conversation takes place via the internet, interactional control exists concerning selectiviely self-representing oneself. This proves most convenient concerning any arguments that may erupt while chatting online. Even though selective representation gets inreasingly more difficult the longer you know someone, it is still a popular technique to evade disagreements. I would venture to say it is because people seletively present themselves that it can take upwards of 6 months to a year to genuinely get to know someone. This theory relates to the pre-existing concept on relationship formation stating that someone's ability to express the "real me" has everything to do with the development of a relationship. However helpful my long-distance relationship was to the field of computer mediated communication and relationship development, McKenna would be disappointed to find out that this boyfriend and i had met offline, so her theories on connecting to similar others and getting the goods are not really applicable. Also unfortunate for McKenna, a long distance relationship is a mistake i would just make once.. so she would have to look for a new subject to make further assumptions.