Virtual Intimacy Research Articles

Interpersonal strategies in international business emails: The intercultural pragmatics perspective

Abstract Business email has a significant impact on commercial activities and organizational image. Intercultural pragmatics is the new development of pragmatics, moving its focus from mono-cultural communication to multi-cultural communication, aiming to describe how communicators seek, activate, and create common ground to complete tasks in intercultural communication contexts. Drawing on 1,477 separate English emails exchanged between a Chinese auto parts export company and its business partners in different parts of the world, we find, from the intercultural pragmatics perspective, that different types of interpersonal strategies, i.e., alliance building, other-caring, and self-enhancing/defending, are employed to construct virtual intimacy and to create and highlight interpersonal relationship dimensions in international business communication. These strategies are intended to facilitate the accomplishment of communication tasks by creating emergent common ground, reflecting the dynamics and interculturality of business communication. This research deepens our understanding of the mechanism of relationship management in international business communication.

Exploring the Use of the Term 'Bao' on the Internet

In recent years, as society continues to change, internet epithets have gone through generations of change. Scholars' enthusiasm for epithets peaked in the last decade but rapidly faded away. This article explores the origins and influence of the Internet address form 'Bao'. It examines the phenomenon of 'virtual intimacy' in the social use of the term 'Bao'. "The term 'Bao' has become popular because of a movie and some hot stems and was initially used in intimate relationships between parents and children or couples. This application has greatly solved the dilemma faced by Internet users and brought people closer to each other while reflecting the diverse psychology of contemporary people in choosing address words in online social networking. The term 'Bao' embodies the principle of economy of language, and the use of a relatively small number of words reflects the great utility of language, injecting new power into online terms of endearment while reflecting the homogenisation of social language. It also provokes reflection on 'virtual intimacy' in a social atmosphere.

What makes virtual intimacy...intimate? Understanding the Phenomenon and Practice of Computer-Mediated Paid Companionship

Virtual romance service (VRS), as a notable commodification of intimacy, is currently emerging in China. Such service is not similar to the kind of intimacy that fans and idols generate through parasocial relationships, but behaves as the direct dyadic intimacy between service providers (virtual lovers) and buyers (customers). To gain a deep understanding of computer-mediated paid companionship, we study emerging user behaviors in VRS through a mixed-method study, including a survey (N = 178) and a follow-up semi-structured interview (N = 22) with both virtual lovers and customers to learn about their motivations, perceptions, and how virtual lovers provide online paid companionship to meet customers' emotional needs. We found three behavioral strategies of virtual lovers and the fact that they provide service in surface and deep acting and real feeling. Customers see VRS as a way to obtain affective benefits with reduced affective cost. We also found that VRS customers paid for the tangible benefits of an idealized romantic partner, rather than long-term commitment and emotional investment, and we identified key characteristics that VRS reduces from intimate relationships that fit its pay-per-use feature. We conclude by discussing the nature of virtual lovers and design implications for computer-mediated paid companionship.

‘WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?’: SEXUAL IMAGINARIES AND AFFORDANCES ON GRINDR AND SCRUFF

For queer men, sexual imaginaries have come to accomodate hybrid physical and digital location-based cultures (Miles, 2017). In short, what is possible in terms of intimate connections with other queer men has opened up in exciting, sometimes scary, and radical ways. However, this expanded imaginary of what is possible can also lead to an existential questioning of what an individual person wants—simply and nothing more than sex, a fleeting summer fling, a new group of friends, to fall in love? More? Less? A combination of all of these things at different moments in time? In the face of such uncertainty, we argue that queer men develop a range of practices as they negotiate their shifting relationships to sex and romance as mediated through virtual intimacies (McGlotten, 2013). In this study, we explore how queer men learn about, interpret, and reproduce sexual and romantic norms on two dating and hookup platforms, Grindr and Scruff. Our approach builds on Sharif Mowlabowcus’s (2016, pg. 60) notion of cybercarnality concerning the “erotic economy of gay male corporeality” and Pym et al. (2021, pg. 399) study of queer community “imagined as an affective sense of shared ethics” on intimate platforms. Drawing on our digital ethnographic and speculative design data, we develop the concept of _multivalent intimate interests_ to capture the ambivalent socio-cultural context and situated nature of queer men’s sexual and romantic practices.

"Povratak u budućnost" - uspon hemseksa u Srbiji i transformacija homoseksualne intimnosti

The article presents novel research into the development of chemsex practices - a syndemic behaviour of sexualized drug use through online hook-up and the use of sex apps among gay men in Belgrade, Serbia. In the analysis, a new periodization is proposed comprising three distinctive periods of chemsex: the period of chemsex as a "novelty" (2013-2016), marked by online activities in selling drugs on gay dating sites and recruiting participants for the parties online; the period of "consolidation" of chemsex scene marked by regular consumption and commodification of chemsex drugs among gay men (2017-2018); and the period of "developed chemsex" culture in Serbia (2019-onward) with the rising numbers of chemsex participants, and increased demand for chemsex support services. The analysis also argues how such periodization is not clear-cut, and how each period overlaps with other periods. This article draws on three research projects - the first is a research into gay virtual intimacy in Serbia (2014-2018), during which data were generated and collected using the virtual ethnography methodology of gay dating apps; the second, a research project "Confessions of a drug dealer" which comprises three follow-up interviews undertaken between 2016-2018 with a drug dealer in Belgrade, and the third one - an in-depth interview, conducted in 2020, with a chemsex activist who previously took part in chemsex parties, and now provides peer-support to chemsex participants/users. This article provides an insight into the shifting risk of HIV and STDs transmission among Serbian gay men in chemsex contexts.

Effect of WeChat interaction on brand evaluation: A moderated mediation model of para-social interaction and affiliative tendency

As an indispensable platform for the interaction and relationship marketing in China, the systematic discussion about the impact of WeChat interaction on brand evaluation is still not well understood. Based on para-social interaction theory, this study examined the relationships between WeChat interaction, para-social interaction, brand evaluation and affiliative tendency, utilizing valid survey data of 216 Chinese users of WeChat. The findings of this study revealed that there is a positive relationship between WeChat interaction and brand evaluation, and para-social interaction plays a mediation role for its virtual intimacy. Compared to the high affiliative tendency, low affiliative tendency enhances the positive effect of para-social interaction on brand evaluation and the mediating path. Through detailed analyses, the conclusions identified para-social interaction as a mediator and affiliative tendency as a moderator in the relationship between WeChat interaction and brand evaluation. On the basis of these results, the practical implications for enterprises are discussed.

Virtual Intimacies: The Networks of Mary Penry

In July 1802, Mary Penry wrote a letter to Wales from a room in Lititz, a small Moravian settlement in backcountry Pennsylvania. Penry had lived in Lititz’s enormous single sisters’ house for nearl...

A virtual tourist counselor expressing intimacy behaviors: A new perspective to create emotion in visitors and offer them a better user experience?

Professional embodied conversational agents (ECAs) deployed in the market are dedicated to satisfying the digital customer relationship. However, ECAs still suffer from a lack of user adoption, in particular because most of them have few social skills. Inspired by social presence theories and based on the ergonomic components of user experience (CUE) model (Mahlke and Lindgaard, 2007), the paper focuses on one social skill, i.e., virtual intimacy, a 3-dimensional concept including honesty and genuineness, positivity and mutual comprehension. Virtual intimacy may be a way to reinforce the social dimension of human-agent interactions and to provide a better user experience. We therefore propose an interactive experiment that incorporates natural interactions between real tourists and an autonomously intimate virtual counselor who is an expert in tourism and able to express intimacy-related behaviors in verbal and nonverbal communication. The paper studies the impact of the agent’s expression of intimacy-related behaviors on the perception of virtual intimacy, social presence and the user experience. The results show that users adopt a social attitude toward the intimate counselor, and although they do not significantly perceive virtual intimacy, they clearly perceive the dimension of honesty and genuineness. Moreover, the agent’s expression of intimacy only enhances copresence, the first perceptive level of social presence. Except for user social status, which is enhanced, the user experience is also not significantly influenced by intimate expression. The study results further demonstrate that perceiving virtual intimacy is a good predictor of social presence and user experience, especially user emotional reactions. Perceiving virtual intimacy influences user experience independently of social presence, which thereby indicates that independent intimacy-related mechanisms, such as emotional contagion, may be involved. Mediation analyses also underline that perceiving virtual intimacy has a direct effect on user emotional reactions, but this finding is not supported by the CUE model. The findings in this study provide new evidence that perceiving virtual intimacy in human-agent interaction elicits emotions in users and enhances user experience. In line with this, we propose an outline for an ECA-adapted, user experience model based on the CUE model.

Une approche psychologique des hallucinations : mécanismes psychologiques (partie I)

Anglo-Saxon psychology has produced a significant number of studies showing the involvement of psychological mechanisms in the development and maintenance of auditory hallucinations (voice-hearing). Likewise, numerous studies have shown that hallucinations are also described in other psychiatric (e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder) and neurodegenerative (e.g. Parkinson's disease) clinical populations as well as in a minority of the general population. However, despite these advances, hallucinations are still considered as a specific characteristic of schizophrenia, which in most cases, is understood from a biological point of view. For this reason, in this review, we are specifically interested in the psychological models of auditory hallucinations from a transdiagnostic point of view. More specifically, we will describe (1) the role of beliefs about voices and self-schemas, (2) the experience of voice understood as a fundamentally relational phenomenon between the voice hearer and the voices, (3) the role of emotions and emotional regulation strategies, and, finally, (4) the role of past traumatic experiences and dissociation. Regarding the role of beliefs about voices and self-schemas, numerous studies are showing that more important than the experience of hearing voices it is how the individual appraisal their experience that will ultimately impact on how they will cope with the experiences and how they will feel about it (distressed or not). Voices appraised as malevolent and powerful are more often associated with avoidant, escape, confrontation, and compliance coping strategies. Moreover, they are also associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety regardless of the frequency of hallucinations and duration of the disorder. Besides the beliefs about the voices, how the individual perceives him/herself is also essential. It has been shown, for example, that the more individuals feel depressed and inferior in comparison to others in interpersonal relationships, the more inferior they feel about their voices. The relational approach proposed that the experience of voice understood as a fundamentally relational phenomenon between the voice hearer and the voices. Indeed, phenomenological studies have been able to show that voice-hearers describe voices as possessing human characteristics. As a result, voice-hearers often develop a relationship of virtual intimacy with their voices, which often seems to be complex and characterised by a certain ambivalence similar to the interpersonal relationships encountered in everyday life. Thus, current research suggests that it is essential to take into account these relational aspects when working with voice-hearers. Alongside cognitive and relational variables, emotional states and processes play a significant role in the development and maintenance of auditory hallucinations. Indeed, it has been shown that stress, anxiety and depression are predictors of hallucinations. Also, increased use of non-adaptive emotion regulation strategies may play a major role in the phenomenon of voice agreement. Studies have demonstrated that emotional regulation strategies such as experiential avoidance and abstract rumination seem to contribute to the increased frequency of hallucinations and associated distress. Finally, there is now strong evidence showing the involvement of past adverse experiences in the onset and content of hallucinations. In this framework, dissociation is seen as a protective mechanism that allows individuals to psychologically detach themselves from events that they cannot cope with. Consequently, the experience is attributed to external sources, ultimately leading to the phenomenon of voice-hearing. In summary, in this brief review, we have tried to present the best validated psychological models for understanding the experience of voice agreement. The goal is to provide information on how these psychological processes can help us to the adoption of a person-centred approach in mental health care that allows the person to describe their experiences in their own words and thus formulate an understanding of their suffering.

Virtual Intimacy Directing: Building Best Practices for Safety and Consent

Virtual Intimacy Directing: Building Best Practices for Safety and Consent

Telematic connections: sensing, feeling, being in space together

ABSTRACT In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and current era of social distancing, video conferencing platforms have taken on a new importance as virtual gathering spaces in lieu of face-to-face interactions. Online interactivity has expanded the ways in which individuals experience connection, intimacy, and touch. Although digital media has traditionally been thought of as disembodied, I argue that it has the ability to elicit intense feelings of embodied touch. This essay will address the embodied nature of digital spaces and the urgent need for both physical distance and virtual closeness. Using Laura Marks's theory of haptic visuality, in which vision takes on a tactile quality, and the concept of virtual touch, a term I developed during my doctoral research in which an affective sensory response of touch is elicited through non-tactile senses, I analyze two performance works that I developed in the HopKins Black Box Performance Laboratory at Louisiana State University: Being Present (2016). Directed by Naomi Bennett, Performances by Jason Jedrusiak and Gabi Vigueira, HopKins Black Box, Louisiana State University. https://vimeo.com/450654368, and (dis)embodied in space: an interactive art installation (2019). Created by Naomi Bennett, Sound Design by Hal Lambert, Performances by Kalli Champagne, Emily Graves, Ethan Hunter, Greg Langner, Josiah Pearsall, and Montana Jean Smith, HopKins Black Box, Louisiana State University. https://vimeo.com/330611615. Using telepresence, which allows individuals to interact remotely in real-time using digital technology, or telematics, these two performances explore new possibilities for virtual intimacy, connection, and touch.

Virtual intimacy in human-embodied conversational agent interactions: the influence of multimodality on its perception

Interacting with an embodied conversational agent (ECA) in a professional context addresses social considerations to satisfy customer-relationship. This paper presents an experimental study about the perception of virtual intimacy in human-ECA interactions. We explore how an ECA’s multimodal communication affects our perception of virtual intimacy. To this end, we developed a virtual Tourism Information counselor capable of exhibiting verbal and nonverbal intimate behaviors according to several modalities (voice, chatbox, both media), and we built a corpus of videos showing interactions between the agent and a human tourist. We interrogated observers about their perception of the agent’s level of intimacy. Our results confirm the human ability to perceive intimacy in an ECA displaying multimodal behaviors, although the contribution of nonverbal communication remains unclear. Our study suggests that using voice channel increases the perception of virtual intimacy and offers further evidence that human-inspired design of ECAs is needed. Finally, we demonstrate that intimate cues do not disturb the comprehension of task-related information and are valuable for an attentional focus on the agent’s animation. We discuss the concept of virtual intimacy in relation to interpersonal intimacy, and we question its perception in terms of attentional mechanisms.

Intimacy perception : Does the artificial or human nature of the interlocutor matter ?

• Virtual counselors can be perceived as much intimate as human counselors. • The lack of social behaviors highly affects the perception of intimacy in humans. • Social expectations influence the perception of intimacy in humans and agents. Professional embodied conversational agents (ECAs) are increasingly present in society. Beyond these virtual agents’ professional expertise, they must have a social dimension to build long-term relationships with users. Interpersonal intimacy is at the core of the most gratifying social exchanges, and we claim that it could constitute a remarkable means to reinforce the social dimension of ECAs. This paper presents an experimental study that compares the perception of intimacy in human and human-agent interactions. Are nature and social expressiveness critical factors for the perception of intimacy? To answer this question, we created two corpora of videos showing a human or a virtual tourism information (TI) counselor using or not using intimate behaviors in the course of an interaction with a human tourist. Using the Virtual Intimacy Scale (VIS) designed in previous work, we asked observers to judge the intimacy level of the TI counselor during the interaction. We demonstrate that intimate behaviors expressed by the virtual counselor and the human counselor are equally perceived by participants, which supposes a common model of intimacy for human and human-agent dyads. Participants perceive the human counselor less intimate than the virtual counselor when having non intimate behaviors. We posit that humans and agents elicit different expectations regarding social abilities, which directly affect their perceived level of intimacy. Our work raises questions regarding the expression of social behaviors and questions social representations.

Live streaming, intimate situations, and the circulation of same-sex affect: Monetizing affective encounters on Blued

Drawing on interviews with 10 gay streamers and 30 viewers, this article analyzes a new feature of live streaming on Blued, a Chinese gay male dating app. Live streaming invites users to either perform themselves or watch others perform. Unlike western gay dating apps that monetize users’ hooking-up encounters, the business model behind Blued instead capitalizes on affective encounters among gay streamers and viewers. Through paid virtual gifts, which circulate as affective signs, live streaming fosters and intensifies viewers’ intimate attachment to gay streamers. The virtual intimacy produced by gay live streaming entails a significant economic dimension, and is therefore stigmatized. In consequence, gay streamers do not see streaming as sex-related work, and paying viewers do not portray gifts as consumption. In understating the economic and sexual underpinnings of affective encounters mediated by live streaming, gay streamers and viewers not only reinforce heteronormativity, but also produce homonormativity.

Easy access: new dynamics in long-distance African intimacies

AbstractThis article examines how African transnational relationships in the twenty-first century differ from their manifestation in previous periods of mobility and long-distance intimacy. I argue that the possibilities for and expectations of immediate communication and co-presence facilitated by the current technological landscape distinguish this era from earlier ones and fundamentally alter the ways in which African migrants connect to those at home. Although time–space compression allows for the potential of new practices of virtual intimacy, it also creates an imperative of availability for migrants that is reinforced not only on micro- and meso-levels by families and communities but also on macro-levels by neoliberal state policies that target migrants as agents of development and providers of social services.

Virtual intimacy: Propensity for physical contact between avatars in an online virtual environment

Physical contact in human interactions conveys important social cues and plays a role in health and well-being. Although popular social technologies are limited in transmitting the physical aspects of human contact, avatars in online multi-user virtual environments can be used to visualize the physical characteristics of social interactions. Naturalistic observations of physical contact between avatars were performed in IMVU, an online virtual chat room platform where users control the physical interactions of their avatars by selecting among available animated poses. A third of the available poses examined across different user-generated chat rooms enabled physical contact between avatars, but only about one in ten of the avatars observed used these intimate poses, most commonly when dancing or sitting. While more female avatars were observed in non-intimate behavior, the number of males and female avatars observed in intimate interactions was relatively equivalent, with most intimate dyads being of heterosexual composition. Engagement in intimate interactions was not related to the presence of other avatars or their total number. The findings provide insight into the propensity of users to engage in physical contact via their avatars and have implications for the development of social technologies that facilitate virtual intimacy.

‘My laptop is an extension of my memory and self’: Post-Internet identity, virtual intimacy and digital queering in online popular music

AbstractThis article studies the ways that Post-Internet ideas inform much contemporary musical production. Drawing on interviews conducted with musicians/artists self-consciously highlighting Post-Internet themes in their work, including Arca, Ryan Trecartin, 18+, Holly Herndon and ADR, the paper emphasises the significance of the term ‘Post-Internet’ for contemporary identity politics. It outlines the Post-Internet ideas of Karen Archey, Robin Peckham and Nathan Jurgenson, illuminating their indebtedness to posthuman discourses through a study of the music of Holly Herndon. It then introduces the notion of ‘digital queering’, a trend located in the work of many Post-Internet musicians. Mykki Blanco, 18+, Arca and Ryan Trecartin fuse the posthumanism of Post-Internet identity with the fluid gender deconstructions of queer theory. This is inspired by the ability to perform multiple ‘selves’ online as well as the intimate relationship with digital networks that is a consequence of Post-Internet ideas.

The Strategies of Heterosexuals from Large Metropolitan Areas for Assessing the Risks of Exposure to HIV or Other Sexually Transmitted Infections from Partners Met Online.

Heterosexuals' use of the Internet for meeting romantic or sexual partners is rapidly increasing, raising concerns about the Internet's potential to facilitate encounters that place individuals at risk for acquiring HIV or other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). For example, online sharing of personal information and self-revelations can foster virtual intimacy, promoting a false sense of familiarity that might accelerate progression to unprotected sex. Therefore, it is critical to understand how those who meet sexual partners online attempt to assess the possible risk of acquiring HIV or STIs posed by having unprotected sex with a new partner and decide whether to use a condom. To investigate this issue, in-depth interviews were conducted with a diverse sample of heterosexual male and female participants from large metropolitan cities who had had unprotected vaginal or anal sex with at least two partners met online in the past 3 months. With few exceptions, participants relied on faulty strategies and heuristics to estimate these risks; yet, most engaged in unprotected sex at their first meeting or very soon afterward. While some seemed to try to make a genuine effort to arrive at a reliable assessment of the HIV risk posed, most appeared to be looking for a way to justify their desire and intention to have unprotected sex. The findings suggest the need for more HIV and sexual health education targeted at heterosexuals, especially for those who go online to meet partners.

Unlearning/Ethnography

Research Article| February 01 2017 Unlearning/Ethnography Shaka McGlotten Shaka McGlotten Shaka McGlotten is Doris and Carl Kempner Distinguished Professor of Media, Society, and the Arts at Purchase College-SUNY. An anthropologist and artist, his work focuses on assemblages of race, desire, and technology. He is the author of Virtual Intimacies (SUNY Press, 2013) and coeditor of Black Genders and Sexualities (Palgrave, 2012) and Zombie Sexuality (McFarland, 2014). His articles and chapters on public sex, zombies, pornography, human waste, and online worlds can be found in anthologies and peer-reviewed journals, including Qui Parle, Gender, Place, and Culture, Porn Studies, and Scholar and Feminist Online, among others. He is currently at work on two book projects. The Political Aesthetics of Drag is a multi-sited ethnography of artists and activists who use drag in New York City, Berlin, and Israel/Palestine. Black Data: Queer of Color Critique Meets Network Culture Studies ties black cultural histories and expressive practices, including Afrofuturism and black fan cultures among others, to contemporary debates about surveillance and data-driven discrimination. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking (2017) 4 (1): 180–188. https://doi.org/10.14321/qed.4.1.0180 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Shaka McGlotten; Unlearning/Ethnography. QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking 1 February 2017; 4 (1): 180–188. doi: https://doi.org/10.14321/qed.4.1.0180 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveMichigan State University PressQED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. © 2017 Michigan State University2017 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal Issue Section: Forum You do not currently have access to this content.

Exploring everyday life: strategies for ethnography and cultural analysis

1-Hidden Worlds Finding the tools From idea to finished product The need for a cultural perspective Analytical strategies Structure of the book 2-The importance of small things The first step: getting going The second step: searching for literature The third step: collecting material The fourth step: the analysis The fifth step: writing 3-Making the familiar strange Making a first attempt Looking for entrances To avoid the predictable Choosing methodological entrances New questions and surprising answers Return to the past A life-history perspective The strange home The home as an art installation The importance of details and activities The advantages of limitation 4-Sharing a meal Table manners The hidden world of the dinner table Forming a family meal Power at the table Class and family history Doing mealtime ethnography Meals as models 5-Do you remember Facebook? Exploring media in everyday life Beginning at the end Analog and digital living Media taking place Virtual intimacy Are you there? Follow the Objects 6-Catching a mood Locating the setting Analytical approaches Touring the senses The station as a sensorium Changing moods Describing atmospheres Intimate moods Changing tracks Sensing the World 7-Crafting wood and words Ethnographic writing Making things with words Autoethnographic writing Describing non-verbal experience Do it by feel Writing DIY: three versions Manual Story Analysis Working knowledge The importance of failures Working and Writing 8-Demystifying fieldwork The classic style Making changes to the classic mold The jungle ideal Where is the field now? Organizing information Past, present, future 9-Taking cultural analysis out into the world The surprise effect Open fieldwork What's this thing about culture? A double cultural analysis Learning to communicate Time discipline and teamwork Three ways of surprising a client So what? The critical edge References