An Online Relationship Tragedy

“Kids need to be taught not to be so trustworthy online. You can’t be so gullible.” –Bob Abram

It began as a casual online relationship, but rapidly turned into a nightmare. Chelsea Abram, 16, began chatting with Sam Levitan, supposedly 16, over the internet (in a chat room) and quickly grew fond of their conversations. When both felt they knew each other well, Levitan became pushy, hoping to meet Abram in person. On August 14, 2005 during the night, Levitan called Abram’s house and asked to meet with her. At first rejected, Levitan tried once more, this time from Abram’s driveway. Realizing his dedication to the relationship, Abram conceded, allowing Levitan to drive her to her friend’s house. Instead of going to their original destination, Levitan brought Abram to his home, where he raped and tormented her. Hours later, he dropped Abram off at her friend’s house. Half a year later, on News Years Day, Abram shot herself with her father’s .22-caliber pistol. It was later found that Levitan was 22 at the time of the rape, not 16 as he had told Abram.

This modality switch from an online relationship to offline certainly relates to Walther’s Hyperpersonal Model, as the model predicts a negative outcome for leaving virtuality. Within Walther’s model, individuals interacting via CMC (Computer Mediated Communication) will form stereotypic views of their partners. The Hyperpersonal Model begins with an over-attribution process, in which CMC factors, such as fewer characteristics to attribute (breadth), lead to inflated perceptions of partners. In the case of Chelsea Abram’s conversation, as the relationship progressed, Abram felt Levitan’s self-disclosure was genuine and began to like him, presumably believing he was a good person. The problem with their relationship can also be understood through the Hyperpersonal Model, as the channel of communication (chat room) allowed for selective self-presentation. Levitan made himself out to be honest and respectful, with only the best intentions for the relationship. Obviously, his self-presentation was quite deceitful. After leaving virtuality, Levitan had less control over information sharing. However, he was able to fool her until they reached his house. Then his true personality was shown.

Regarding Ramirez’s and Wang’s article on Modality Switching (MS), the online relationship fits with hypothesis three, which states that “MS following a long-term association via CMC will provide social information that will be (a) evaluated more negatively and (b) uncertainty-provoking relative to interacting via CMC.” Abram and Levitan interacted online for nearly two months before meeting each other. By that time, both had learned quite a bit about each other (or Abram thought). By the time they did meet each other, Abram discovered Levitan’s true character, which was incredibly negative. Additionally, the social information gained after the MS also provoked greater uncertainty, as Abram found Levitan's personality much different than how she had perceived online.