Digital connection, real bonding: Brief online chats boost interpersonal closeness regardless of the conversational topic
This study explores how the quality of brief dyadic written exchanges (lasting under 5 min) on a virtual platform and the nature of the conversational topic (abstract or concrete), influences physical, interpersonal, and psychological closeness between interlocutors. In the first experiment, partici...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025009065 |
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| author | Chiara Fini Vanessa Era Giovanna Cuomo Ilenia Falcinelli Mattia A. Gervasi Matteo Candidi Claudia Mazzuca Marco Tullio Liuzza Bodo Winter Anna M. Borghi |
| author_facet | Chiara Fini Vanessa Era Giovanna Cuomo Ilenia Falcinelli Mattia A. Gervasi Matteo Candidi Claudia Mazzuca Marco Tullio Liuzza Bodo Winter Anna M. Borghi |
| author_sort | Chiara Fini |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study explores how the quality of brief dyadic written exchanges (lasting under 5 min) on a virtual platform and the nature of the conversational topic (abstract or concrete), influences physical, interpersonal, and psychological closeness between interlocutors. In the first experiment, participants engaged in written conversations on either an abstract or concrete topic under two conditions: (i) an interactive condition, where participants exchanged messages with another person, and (ii) a non-interactive condition, where participants wrote independently on the same topic, aware that another person was simultaneously doing the same. Results indicated that participants in the interactive condition reported feeling significantly closer to their interlocutor than those in the non-interactive condition. In addition, greater perceived pleasantness, intimacy, and the importance of the other person's contribution to the conversation were associated with increased feelings of closeness. However, inconclusive evidence was obtained regarding the interaction of the other person's contribution with the abstractness of the conversational topic during the written exchanges in fostering feelings of closeness. The second experiment focused only on the interactive condition, where we examined interpersonal dynamics across different subcategories of abstract (e.g., philosophical/spiritual, emotional, social, physical/spatio-temporal) and concrete topics (e.g., tools, animals, food). The results of the first experiment were replicated, reinforcing the idea that the quality of the virtual exchange—rather than the topic itself—plays a crucial role in fostering feelings of closeness between individuals. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7db02bb9b6934515a3486e621080fa1b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj-art-7db02bb9b6934515a3486e621080fa1b2025-02-12T05:31:25ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402025-02-01114e42526Digital connection, real bonding: Brief online chats boost interpersonal closeness regardless of the conversational topicChiara Fini0Vanessa Era1Giovanna Cuomo2Ilenia Falcinelli3Mattia A. Gervasi4Matteo Candidi5Claudia Mazzuca6Marco Tullio Liuzza7Bodo Winter8Anna M. Borghi9Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Corresponding author.Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; IRCCS, Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00185, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; IRCCS, Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00185, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; IRCCS, Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00185, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Medical and Surgical Sciences, “Magna Graecia” University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, ItalyDepartment of English Language and Literature, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United KingdomDepartment of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, Italian National Research Council, Rome, ItalyThis study explores how the quality of brief dyadic written exchanges (lasting under 5 min) on a virtual platform and the nature of the conversational topic (abstract or concrete), influences physical, interpersonal, and psychological closeness between interlocutors. In the first experiment, participants engaged in written conversations on either an abstract or concrete topic under two conditions: (i) an interactive condition, where participants exchanged messages with another person, and (ii) a non-interactive condition, where participants wrote independently on the same topic, aware that another person was simultaneously doing the same. Results indicated that participants in the interactive condition reported feeling significantly closer to their interlocutor than those in the non-interactive condition. In addition, greater perceived pleasantness, intimacy, and the importance of the other person's contribution to the conversation were associated with increased feelings of closeness. However, inconclusive evidence was obtained regarding the interaction of the other person's contribution with the abstractness of the conversational topic during the written exchanges in fostering feelings of closeness. The second experiment focused only on the interactive condition, where we examined interpersonal dynamics across different subcategories of abstract (e.g., philosophical/spiritual, emotional, social, physical/spatio-temporal) and concrete topics (e.g., tools, animals, food). The results of the first experiment were replicated, reinforcing the idea that the quality of the virtual exchange—rather than the topic itself—plays a crucial role in fostering feelings of closeness between individuals.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025009065ChatInterpersonal closenessConversationAbstractnessSelf-other representation |
| spellingShingle | Chiara Fini Vanessa Era Giovanna Cuomo Ilenia Falcinelli Mattia A. Gervasi Matteo Candidi Claudia Mazzuca Marco Tullio Liuzza Bodo Winter Anna M. Borghi Digital connection, real bonding: Brief online chats boost interpersonal closeness regardless of the conversational topic Heliyon Chat Interpersonal closeness Conversation Abstractness Self-other representation |
| title | Digital connection, real bonding: Brief online chats boost interpersonal closeness regardless of the conversational topic |
| title_full | Digital connection, real bonding: Brief online chats boost interpersonal closeness regardless of the conversational topic |
| title_fullStr | Digital connection, real bonding: Brief online chats boost interpersonal closeness regardless of the conversational topic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Digital connection, real bonding: Brief online chats boost interpersonal closeness regardless of the conversational topic |
| title_short | Digital connection, real bonding: Brief online chats boost interpersonal closeness regardless of the conversational topic |
| title_sort | digital connection real bonding brief online chats boost interpersonal closeness regardless of the conversational topic |
| topic | Chat Interpersonal closeness Conversation Abstractness Self-other representation |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025009065 |
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