Abstract
From qualitative research of the last 2 years on 40 couples who met online between 1992 and 1999, I have selected two for further study: a couple in their 40s who split up after courting online for 4 months and meeting once offline at a southwestern resort town and a married couple in their 30s from different countries who managed to communicate, visit, and commit to each other, though each was married to another person at the time they met online. Data was collected from E-mail questionnaires asking about the progress of the relationship and, for the first case, from ongoing letters and a follow-up telephone interview with each party. More information will be sought by phone on the second case; the husband has already agreed to provide more detail. By examining the case histories, some factors of success in developing online relationships may begin to emerge. Processes of communication and situational circumstances are compared between the two couples and to others in the research on online couples.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.