Get socialized with social media!

Online communication through for example the popular networking site Facebook is a fun way of passing time. However, besides the fact that it is seen as an entertainment tool, online communication offers a range of possibilities for meeting new friends. Each type of person such as a fat housewife, a deaf boy, a shy teenage girl and a busy businessman has a chance to be appreciated and to form close friendships, through the increasing possibilities of online communication. The reduced number of visible cues in online communication provides benefits because people have the ability to present itself in an optimal way. Nobody inserts a profile picture where he or she just got out of bed or looked extremely drunk, right? Everyone wants to present his or her ideal self on social networking sites. The withholding of (negative) information creates a faster sense of similarity. In this situation, the first impression is often positive, resulting in the fact that people like each other faster. Furthermore, people ask more questions online and they reveal more personal information in comparison with communication face-to-face. These interactive strategies, which are often used in online communication, ensure that more and more information is gathered from a certainperson that has been met online. Obtaining this information leads to reduced uncertainty about the specific person. The less uncertainty there is about a specific person, the more people like this person. It can be concluded that online communication especially for the less extroverted person may offer a solution to friendship formation. By the increasing opportunities offered by the Internet, nobody has to be lonely anymore!

Why do you think online dating sites are so successful?!