Relationship Satisfaction in Online Romantic Relationships

Introduction

The entire sphere of human interaction has undergone large-scale transformation as a result of the rapidly changing technological environment and the emergence of the internet. Back in the day, social interactions were primarily based on handwritten letters and occasional telephone conversations. Thanks to technological progression, however, numerous online communication platforms have been developed, and what we have now is an internet revolution and a totally new and dynamic realm of human interaction and long-distance communication. Currently, 73% of America's adult population, and 93% of the teen population, uses social media platforms to communicate with family members and friends. Today, Facebook is home to more than 700 million users who can conveniently communicate with each other at the touch of a button without having to grapple with the time and space limitations that once forced people to choose their partners and friends from their immediate environment.

There is no question about the advantages of computer-mediated communications (CMC), but to psychologists, concern centers on the disadvantages — by letting ourselves become so diffused in CMC, we risk breeding antisocial tendencies and a kind of alienation from public life, thereby discarding the very social aspect of humanity. At the heart of this concern is the worry that CMC may not yield the level of satisfaction needed for the maintenance of human relationships, and ought therefore not to be taken as a replacement for face-to-face interactions. Based on this background, this study seeks to identify the predictors of psychological satisfaction in CMC-based romantic relationships and to determine techniques that could be used to increase the significance of these factors, and hence the overall level of relationship satisfaction.

Problem Statement and Research Questions

Researchers contend that more and more people are getting involved in CMC-based relationships, particularly romantic relationships (Perry, 2010; Anderson & Emmers-Sommer, 2006; Wrench & Punyanunt-Carter, 2007). As Anderson and Emmers-Sommer (2006) point out, "these individuals inhabit an interesting relational niche because they engage in relationships that are perceived by some scholars as either non-traditional or understudied" (p. 153). Whilst we all appreciate the fact that communication is an essential component of human life — and satisfaction a key determinant of the extent to which a relationship is likely to grow — we cannot ignore the fact that the atypical relational circumstances of CMC-based relationships make it difficult to achieve both. These are people who do not converse or interact physically, and are, given the understudied nature of their relational niche, likely to lack both information and social support networks that would help them define their relationships. In such cases, the relationship's success is likely to depend primarily on the level of commitment of both partners and the quality of communication.

The researcher acknowledges that a great deal of research has been done on interpersonal relationships as a whole, but there still are significant knowledge gaps in the area of online interpersonal relationships, perhaps because the concept is still relatively new. In fact, most interpersonal theories, as Anderson and Emmers-Sommer (2006) point out, do not account for the relational circumstances under which CMC partners interact. It is possible, therefore, that individuals in CMC-based romantic relationships will have difficulties gaining confirmation for their relationships owing to a lack of supportive knowledge systems.

This is particularly consequential because, as long as technology shows no signs of slowing down, relationship formation online is likely to continue and become even more prominent as integration and globalization take shape. It would therefore be crucial to shift focus away from comparisons between CMC and face-to-face interactions and start paying more attention to the more valuable aspects of online relationships — namely, determining what could be incorporated into CMC-based relationships to make them more satisfying to the parties involved. This study purposes to identify the predictors of relationship satisfaction in online relationships and then determine ways through which their significance could be improved. Thus:

RQ1: What factors predict relationship satisfaction in online romantic relationships?

There is abundant literature indicating that perceptions of individuals in online relationships become more positively skewed as the relationship progresses. Whether relationship satisfaction is affected by the passage of time, however, remains a subject of debate. It is perceived that CMC partners who communicate more would think differently of their relationship compared to those who communicate less. We also appreciate the fact that CMC can bring about intimacy faster than face-to-face interactions, and it is possible that as time passes and partners get to know each other, their perceptions of both the relationship and their partner could change. Accordingly:

RQ2: For CMC-based relationships, do perceptions of psychological well-being differ depending on the length of the relationship?

RQ3: For CMC-based relationships, do perceptions of psychological well-being differ depending on the amount of communication?

Literature Review: Relationship Satisfaction and Its Predictors

Relationship satisfaction, in the words of Anderson and Emmers-Sommer (2006), is "the degree to which an individual is content and satisfied with his/her relationship" (p. 155). Sidelinger et al.'s (2006) view mirrors this — they describe relationship satisfaction as the ability of a relationship to act as a source of well-being and social support for the parties involved, thereby yielding a better quality of life than they would have otherwise led individually. From the perspective of Kirk (2013), this translates to the extent to which an individual feels that they are experiencing what they actually expected to experience from their relationship and their partner. There evidently are substantial variations in what researchers perceive relationship satisfaction to represent; nonetheless, there is consensus that it is a crucial determinant of the extent to which a relationship is likely to grow.

This positive correlation between relational satisfaction and relationship success has been explained differently by different researchers. Kirk (2013), for instance, links it to commitment, trust, and intimacy, arguing that couples with high levels of relational satisfaction are also likely to report higher levels of commitment, trust, and intimacy. Perry (2010) also acknowledges a positive correlation between satisfaction and relationship success, but in her view, commitment, trust, and intimacy are only external products of an inner element — communication satisfaction.

Kirk (2013) and Sidelinger et al. (2006) contend that proximity is a key construct of relationship satisfaction. In face-to-face interactions, proximity and closeness are derived from the physical contact shared by partners; however, in online relationships — where parties communicate on platforms such as Facebook, Skype, and Twitter, and perhaps never interact physically — proximity may depend primarily on the frequency and quality of communication (Anderson & Emmers-Sommer, 2006). In this regard, face-to-face interactions are often perceived to yield higher levels of satisfaction than CMC, perhaps because physical contact gives partners the opportunity to learn about the other person's behaviors and attitudes, fostering higher levels of trust and commitment. The media richness and media naturalness theories exacerbate this issue, postulating that CMC's lack of nonverbal cues hinders communication and emotional connectedness (Perry, 2010).

This study, however, adopts Walther's social information processing theory, which postulates that with increased familiarity and use, "users are able to overcome the lack of cues and other drawbacks to the channel, and find the use of CMC advantageous" for relational maintenance (Perry, 2010, p. 3). This framework forms the conceptual basis of the study. However, before determining how CMC could be adjusted to yield more relationship satisfaction, it is first necessary to develop an index for measuring the level of satisfaction both prior to and after any adjustment.

Similarity: Anderson and Emmers-Sommer (2006) and Perry (2010) contend that the degree of similarity between partners is a key construct of social relationships, responsible for attracting people to others with similar backgrounds, attitudes, hobbies, and interests. In the view of Anderson and Emmers-Sommer (2006), similarity "takes the place of proximity" in the case of online relationships (p. 156). Perry (2010) opines that people are likely to be more satisfied in their relationships if they can establish some form of familiarity and connectedness with the other party. Sidelinger et al. (2006) acknowledge that it may be difficult to establish the degree of similarity between partners in online relationships, given minimal physical contact and hence limited opportunity to evaluate each other's attitudes and behaviors. However, as Anderson and Emmers-Sommer (2006) point out, it is this very lack of physical contact that can attract partners to each other — it drives them to make over-attributions about their similarities and encourages responses that align with these perceived similarities, which would often draw partners closer and increase the level of satisfaction. As long as this perceived similarity is present, psychological satisfaction is likely to follow.

Commitment: Relational commitment refers to the extent to which one desires to remain in the relationship and how much they anticipate its continuity (Sidelinger et al., 2006; Anderson & Emmers-Sommer, 2006). It is widely accepted that one would only desire to stay in a relationship indefinitely if they are deriving the satisfaction they expected. A person's level of commitment to their relationship is therefore essentially a measure of the satisfaction they derive from it. Sidelinger et al. (2006) suggest that commitment can be measured by the level of investment one makes in the relationship and their perception of the quality of alternative relationships. Higher commitment is signaled by one perceiving his or her relationship as superior to alternatives, ignoring attractive alternatives, and being willing to sacrifice for the relationship, accommodate the other party, and make high investments in it (Sidelinger et al., 2006). Wrench and Punyanunt-Carter (2007), focusing on CMC, studied the relational commitment characteristics of 145 CMC-active undergraduate students and concluded that individuals encounter moderate commitment levels with their online partners. It can therefore be reported that persons do feel commitment towards their online dating partners, and that this level of commitment positively influences relational satisfaction.

Trust: The uncertainty-reduction theory postulates that people often seek to acquire information about their partners' relationship-oriented behavior in a bid to reduce uncertainty and anxiety (Anderson & Emmers-Sommer, 2006). According to the authors, an individual's behavioral predictability is a key component of trust, and people naturally employ uncertainty-reducing strategies to obtain information about their relational partner's behavior as a means of assessing their level of commitment. The motivation to engage in such strategies will, however, largely depend on an individual's level of trust. Anderson and Emmers-Sommer (2006) opine that "people high in uncertainty and subsequently low in trust possess greater motivation to examine and assess their partner's level of commitment" (p. 158). Kirk (2013) expresses a similar view — in her perspective, people low in trust are more likely to exhibit negative reactions to information relating to their partners, especially if they deem that information unfavorable. In the opinion of Anderson and Emmers-Sommer (2006), the ultimate objective of uncertainty-reduction in romantic relationships is to bring about feelings of security and attachment. Kirk (2013) notes that security is central to relationship satisfaction, which implies that the extent to which one trusts their relational partner — online or otherwise — has a significant effect on relationship satisfaction.

Intimacy: Baack et al. (2000), Sidelinger et al. (2006), and Anderson and Emmers-Sommer (2006) contend that intimacy is central to psychological satisfaction in dating relationships. Drawing on the social penetration theory, Baack et al. (2000) express that "relationships change, normally becoming deeper and more trusting as people gradually reveal themselves to one another" (p. 39). Communication patterns change as a relationship evolves and partners become more accustomed to each other. Walther's social information processing theory — the conceptual basis of this study — is grounded in this same framework: that with frequent and continued use, CMC users adapt to the context and constraints of their communication medium and begin to employ other cues to increase the level of intimacy, self-sufficiency, and communication satisfaction (Perry, 2010). Perry (2010) identifies the use of emoticons and common abbreviations such as LOL (laugh out loud) and ROTFL (rolling on the floor laughing) as adaptation techniques commonly used to communicate humor or create emotional connectedness in CMC, particularly on social media networks.

Hian et al. (2004) compare the development of psychological intimacy in CMC vis-à-vis face-to-face communications and report that intimacy is achieved faster in the former, owing to the high frequency of communication and virtual interaction. Anderson and Emmers-Sommer's (2006) perceived similarity concept — that the lack of physical contact in CMC-based romantic relationships drives partners to make over-attributions about their similarities — also partially explains this finding. We can therefore expect high psychological intimacy levels among CMC partners and acknowledge its role in determining the level of relational satisfaction derived from online romantic relationships.

Communication satisfaction: According to Sidelinger et al. (2006), communication satisfaction is the feeling that one is being understood by their partner. The authors admit, however, that achieving communication satisfaction is a difficult process requiring the commitment of both partners. The field of communication satisfaction has been widely studied, but as Anderson and Emmers-Sommer (2006) point out, most studies have focused on relationships in general, with very few accounting for romantic relationships in online settings.

Thomas, Booth-Butterfield, and Booth-Butterfield (1995), for instance, studied the effect of perceived parental deception on communication satisfaction in parent–child relationships and reported that the latter decreased as a child's perception of their parent's deception increased. The researchers also found a positive correlation between communication satisfaction and the frequency of communication, implying that a child would derive higher levels of relational satisfaction when interacting with a parent they communicate with more often. Sidelinger et al. (2006) summarized the findings of several studies exploring communication satisfaction as a component of romantic relationships and identified feelings of being understood and agreement between partners as the greatest predictors of communication satisfaction in romantic dyads; moreover, they found a positive correlation between communication satisfaction and relational satisfaction.

Cropanzano and Mitchell (2005) explain the correlation between communication satisfaction and relational satisfaction within the social exchange theory framework. In their view, the development of human relations depicts some form of exchange, such that a relationship grows as the benefits derived from it exceed the costs. According to Anderson and Emmers-Sommer (2006), relational communication is one of the benefits derived from a relationship. One can rightly argue, therefore, that greater relational happiness is achieved when communication between parties is satisfying — that is, "if a person feels understood by his/her partner" (Anderson & Emmers-Sommer, 2006, p. 159). Perry (2010) expresses that satisfying communication creates a form of emotional connectedness that further influences the level of relationship satisfaction.