Channels, Spring 2018

Channels • 2018 • Volume 2 • Number 2 Page 47 Elements of a Relationship: Self-Disclosure and Reciprocity While there are many theories on the initiation and development of relationships, there have been even more studies conducted considering ways to maintain them. Altman and Taylor’s Social Penetration Theory suggests that a thriving, intimate relationship requires two elements, self-disclosure and reciprocity. The element of self-disclosure and other forms of vulnerability requires that relational partners must be willing to share with each other, specifically intimate and/or private details about their life. Secondly, Altman and Taylor consider the law of reciprocity, which predicts that one person’s openness leads to openness in another (Griffin et al., 2015). Therefore, for the purposes of this literature review, people can develop relationships for a variety of reasons but they must have mutual self-disclosure and reciprocity to grow and solidify the relationship. Part Two: Why Do Individuals Use Social Media? How then are these elements affected by social media? Computer-mediated communication can be used for marketing, professional networking, business or academia, but the specific platforms of social media are primarily developed and utilized for the purpose of fostering relationships. How reliable are these methods in light of what is known from Berger, Altman, and Taylor’s relational theories? How Does Social Media Impact Relationships? Several theories have been developed highlighting key doubts and warning signs involved with maintaining effective relationships within the realm of social media. For the purpose of this literature review, the terms “social media” and “computer-mediated communication” (from here referred to as CMC) will be used interchangeably. For example, CMC deprives users of the sense that an actual person is involved in their interaction. This has huge implications on how interpersonal partners relate to each other. Dealing with human-to-human interaction is significantly different than human-to-message interaction, and yet, they are treated similarly (Walthers, 1992). Furthermore, other research implies that CMC bandwidth is too narrow to convey rich relational messages (Griffin et al., 2015). The narrow bandwidth is attributed to the lack of nonverbal cues and, according to this theory, is the fatal flaw for relational development. If relational partners can only see written cues, not hear verbal cues or see nonverbal cues, will the relationship survive? In the case of face-to-face interaction, it cannot. However, the necessity of these cues may change when it comes to social media.