Posted on 03/22/2002 7:47:35 AM PST by ValerieUSA
Here are words of comfort for those who have spent more time than they should in online chat rooms — a British psychologist has found that courtships begun in cyberspace can very well lead to true love.
Many "virtual" relationships thrive once potential partners meet face-to-face because they already know each other so well through their online encounters, said Jeffrey Gavin, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Bath.
"Chat rooms don't lead to shallow and impersonal relationships," Gavin said in an interview on Friday. "They lead to really close relationships because people express themselves more freely and are more open and honest on the Internet."
Gavin carried out in-depth interviews with 42 regular chat room users aged 19 to 26 years. Of the volunteers he studied, 29 reported close friendships or romantic relationships with people they met online, with 21 progressing to face-to-face meetings. One couple became engaged to be married.
"What tends to happen is that, when they meet, it's a fairly smooth transition from online to offline because they know each other so well," said Gavin, who presented his findings to the annual conference of the British Psychological Society (BPS) in Blackpool on Friday. "Online, guys can be more emotionally honest and open, while women can be more overtly sexual."
His research also showed that most chat room users tell a few white lies about their height or the color of their hair. But in most cases they were minor misrepresentations rather than outright fabrication.
"They still seem to comply to the social norms around the body," said Gavin. "So the guys tend to make themselves sound blond and blue-eyed, while the women add a bit of blond to their hair or increase their bust size slightly. "It's true, twelve of them told outright lies but the rest just exaggerated slightly."
Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!
And congrats, tewww!
I never really got her name.
Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!
Oh boy....oh boy....oh boy.....
But whatever you do, don't tell technochick99!!! She doesn't know about the marriage yet!!! Hell, she doesn't even know who I am!!!
I have a rich and varied fantasy life. I actually think I have a job and that I am well-paid as a computer programmer; that I was a member of the New York Guard as a Military Policeman; that I have two cats and a dog (and a fish) (and three toads) (and two adopted cats); that I completed college with a degree in Computers and Physics; that I am a NRA certified instructor in Basic Pistol, Personal Protection and Home Firearm Safety; and that I am marrying technochick99. It's all balderdash, but it's so much fun to pretend.
(antifreeper wink)
Hells bells, man!
( ;
I know, I know. I just like saying "Hells bells, man!". It sends BB into fits.
Hells bells, man!
Isn't it fun to just make stuff up? Who knows, maybe you'll get a mention at the AntiFreeper (AFhole) web sites too. ;^)
You are just so............................you.:)
Do we no longer 'rate' in the AntiFreeper circles??? Hells bells, man!
Stone and I flirted for a long time in FReepmail. We decided to meet in Fresno (it's halfway from Sac and LA) in late October/early November. After a few nervous giggles, we went to dinner, and got a motel room. We spent the weekend together there. The next few months were spent on planes, on trains, buses, and in cars commuting back and forth from LA to Sac, or for me, from Sac to LA. I moved down here in January, and as the say, the rest is history. :-)
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