Trust and social interaction on the Internet

This article focuses on interactions and relationships that start on the Internet. Relationships that begin online pose unique challenges: false identities are easy to create and difficult to verify. Visual and non-verbal cues are typically absent, despite the technical possibilities for video and audio transmissions. Because individuals communicating online are likely to be geographically distant from one another, it is often impossible to rely on mutual acquaintances to vouch for the trustworthiness of a person.