Love on the Internet: involvement and misrepresentation in romantic relationships in cyberspace vs. realspace

A causal analysis indicated that space affected level of involvement which in turn affected amount of misrepresentation in cyberspace, and it was found that Cyberspace respondents were older than realspace respondents.

Abstract

This study compares reported romantic relationships of chat room users in cyberspace vs. in face-to-face relationships in everyday contexts ("realspace"). As hypothesized, involvement — particularly commitment and seriousness — tended to be lower in cyberspace than in realspace romantic relationships, and misrepresentation — specifically of age and physical attributes — tended to be higher in cyberspace than in realspace relationships. A causal analysis indicated that space affected level of involvement which in turn affected amount of misrepresentation. Cyberspace respondents were older than realspace respondents. Few differences were evident for gender or education. Possibilities for future research regarding romantic relationships and cyberspace are briefly discussed.