How relationships form and develop also comes about to prove that perception not only influences the way we communicate, perception also affects the formation of our relationships.
For many/most of us, physical attractiveness is an important aspect of relational formation. Our ideal partner has to be at least… pleasing to the eye. Isn’t it? That would be able to sustain the attraction, leading to the first step of relationship formation.
Personally, I have a tendency of forming friendships with people who are similar to me. By doing so, it is true, you do not feel alone – there are people around you who think and feel the same as you. This is a very powerful form of social acceptance and validation. After all, we want to feel accepted and part of society.
And something that’s close to my heart: formation of relationships on cyberspace.
True, cyberspace relationships (friendships and romantic relationships) do not start out the conventional way- wherein we are attracted to each other by appearance and first impression. On cyberspace, all you see are words. As such, I feel that cyberspace relationships begin on common grounds, instead of physical attraction. It could be common opinions, goals or personality. Sometimes, this similarity connection is so strong that people start feeling real romantic attraction.
It happens. 2 friends of mine, who got to know each other in an online game we used to play, met up and got married. One was a P.R. in USA, living a life she always dreamt about. While the male lived in Malaysia, and affluent young man who led his own company at only 24 years old. In such cases, proximity in cyberspace takes on a whole new meaning.
Being close meant emotionally and mentally close. Being close meant sitting in front of the computer, smiling at words a person said half the world away.
Well, to each his own. As long as we’re happy with the outcome!
