Social Information Processing Theory

Observation #8
February 24, 2015
Social Information Processing Theory

I think that everything on Tinder can be explained by the Social Information Processing Theory, but there is this one girl on Tinder who I have have been talking to for about two weeks now.  She goes to Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne so I have really no way of communicating with her face-to-face right now and so Tinder is really all we have; however, I do believe that we are moving pretty steadily.  Within these two weeks I have learned quite a bit about her, but it is nice because I am able to respond to her questions when I am free and she can then respond to me when she finds time.  Additionally, I probably smudge the truth a bit when talking to her (oops) so that she will think that I am a little bit better than I am (running really does sound like a great concept and I am sure I would do it if we ever met and she liked running).

According to the Social Information Processing Theory, my relationship with this girl will progress about four times as slow as a normal relationship because it lacks nonverbal clues; however, I believe that the asynchronous nature of Tinder allows for a nonverbal clue not found in face-to-face interactions.  Since she is able to respond at her own convenience, I can gauge how engaged she is in the conversation based on how quickly she responds after I say something.  There are times when we will be talking and it will be going great, but then there are other times when there will be a sudden, unexplained pause from one of us.

Additionally, because I do not have to see her, it is easier to select the self that I wish to present to her.  Sometimes I get into a pickle when I bring up that I used to run cross country - I have not ran cross country in about seven years now, but it still seems applicable in so many conversations when people bring up working out.  There is something in me that always wants to run, but until these opportunities to present myself in this light arise, the part of me that wants to run is always overshadowed.