Teresa Paula De Luna

Cyberlove: Development of Online Relationships Toward Real-time Romance Teresa Paula De Luna

By the turn of the 21st century,the Internet had become an alternative community to individuals living in traditional societies. As such, the Internet features several concepts and aspects of communication. One of those is the field of dyadic communication, the fundamental element of a romantic relationship. Studying romances developed on the Internet requires looking into the communication behaviors in a "new" and different environment, as well as the outcome of the communication transactions on the Internet towards establishment of romantic relationships. The book explores the nature of Internet-initiated romantic relationships and its development toward real time romances. It traces specifically the stages of interaction of the relationships as they develop and determines the features and characteristics of online romances from the online toward the offline communication setting. It also examines perceptions of individuals who are not involved in Internet romance on the potential of online romances progressing to serious real time relationships.