It's Fast, Conveinent, and Cheap and It's Called a CMC Relathionship.

It seems that in today’s day and as we move more and more into a technological society, things that we used to do online are not as weird and now may even be the norm. Such as online dating. People use to think that online dating was wrong and talked down to you if you even thought about doing it. Dating in person used to be so much fun. Now people are so busy, or too lazy, or to shy too get up and get out. Now everyone is online trying to find a sex buddy and occasionally a long lasting relationship. It also seems like CMC relationships are a lot more intriguing and spicy. People just feel better about themselves and are more comfortable getting a date online. People are more attracted to one another online than face to face. Even though we heard all the reasons why in class, I still don’t understand it, but hey if the faceless unknown person makes you happy, more power to you. The studies that we learned about in class, talked about how relationships that develop online tend to be more meaningful and last longer. In most CMC relationships one can have confidence in knowing that judgment of their outer look will be reserved and that their soon to be partner will see more of what is on the inside.

The Social Penetration Theory helps explain how people in CMC relationships interact with one another. It also explains how self-disclosure gets deeper and deeper the longer a relationship goes. Another name for this theory is called “The Onion Model.” This model tells us that the thing needed most in any relationship is disclosure. Self-disclosure includes revealing basic information and revealing personal or private information. The more comfortable you get with your partner the more breadth and depth you go into. Starting with the outermost layer of the onion you get the public self. This is your height, gender, or weight. These are traits that people can see. But, with some CMC relationships truthful self-disclosure is most of the times taken over by selective self-presentation. We may lie about what we look like or even post pictures from years ago. The next layer is personality and these are things that we do not mind sharing when we first meet someone. However, online we may still choose to only tell people what we want them to think about us. The deepest layer of the onion is the core. This is where the deepest secrets are and this is the most hidden part about us. We usually save this layer for our closest relationships. Online you may be able to reach this layer in three days if you give it some effort. People disclose more about themselves more quickly and this helps build that intimacy between the two people on each side of the computer screen, but it works best when both parties participate. I easily found this blog called, “Introduction to Communication: Social Penetration Theory” further explains The Onion Model. http://pencil-pushing.blogspot.com/2012/04/week-8-social-penetration-theory.html This blog goes a little more in depth and includes more stages. First is the orientation stage: small talks to create good first impressions. Second is the exploratory effective stage: this where we start revealing ourselves and our feelings toward moderate topics and obtain a casual friendship. Next is the affective stage: this is where we really start to talk about private and personal matters and it is an equivalent to a romantic relationship. After that is the stable stage: the relationship stabilizes. Lastly is the depenetration stage: this is the least desirable stage because deeper self-disclosure happens here. Id like to reiterate that in a real face-to-face relationship this process can take years, but if you are someone that has no time to waste and aren’t getting any younger, which is all of us, then you can go online and sign up for free today. It will take about two weeks and only cost about $20 dollars a year plus tax. You can’t beat a deal like that.