THE STRANGER TRANSFORMED: CONCEPTUALZING ON AND OFFLINE STRANGER DISCLOUSURE

Abstract

Disclosures, secrets, and stranger associations have long intrigued social researchers. In this article I consider the transformation of stranger associations with the use of mediated communication. I consider how non-mediated and mediated forms of stranger associations vary based on characteristics such as synchronicity, distance, ease of break, permanency of break, and stranger shopping. In addition, I propose the concept of "strange making technologies"—those that create for acquaintances and intimates that particular tension between remoteness and distance that Simmel identified as unique to the form of the stranger. Furthermore, I suggest that this strange making quality that is particularly strong in Internet communications has both the potential to deepen and dismantle already established relationships.