Internet relationships

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Internet relationships are interpersonal relationships, including intimate relationships, between people who have met online, and in many cases know each other only via the Internet. Online relationships are similar in many ways to pen pal relationships.

In the late 20th century, it became easier for people to establish meaningful online relationships. Since the development of high-speed broadband Internet, online friendships have changed significantly. It is possible to hold real-time audio and video conversations over the Internet (creating telepresence), providing levels of interactivity beyond plain text. People who are in an online relationship can also participate in cybersex, which is a virtual sex encounter in which two or more persons connected remotely via computer network send each other sexually explicit messages describing a sexual experience.

Psychologists in at least one study found that Internet dating can be successful.

See also

• Computer mediated communication
• Cyber-bullying
• Cyberpsychology
• Impression management
• Internet identity
• Online chat
• Social information processing theory
• Social interaction
• Social isolation
• Social networks
• Social perception
• Social support

Further reading

• Dwyer, Diana (2000) Interpersonal Relationships (Routledge Modular Psychology)
• Englehardt, E.E. (2001), Ethical Issues in Interpersonal Communication: Friends, Intimates, Sexuality, Marriage, and Family, Hartcourt College Publishers, Fort Worth, TX,
• Schnarch, D. (1997). Sex, intimacy, and the internet. Journal of Sex Education, 22(1), 15–20.