Social relationships and information dissemination in virtual social network systems: An attachment theory perspective

• Attachment internal working models predict web based social network communication.
• Attachment security level predicts social ties and initiation of relationships.
• Secure individuals emerged as best situated to become social hubs.
• Decrease in avoidance scores predicts increased willingness to deliver information.
• Higher anxiety scores predict less willingness to deliver threatening information.

Web-based communication via social networking sites has become an integral method of communication, raising the question of whether the well-established Attachment Theory remains applicable to modern relationships. This communication shift is also likely to affect the information dissemination dynamic; i.e., how internal attachment working models relate to virtual modes of communication. Three studies (354 participants in total, median age 27) examined the applicability of Attachment Theory to web-based social network communications. Using self- report measures (Study 1) and an experimental simulation (Study 2), the results indicate that attachment security level predicts an individual’s number of social ties and willingness to initiate web-based relationships. Secure individuals emerged as best situated to become social hubs. Study 3 reveals that a decrease in avoidance scores predicts an increased willingness to deliver information to others. Anxious participants exhibited less willingness to deliver highly threatening information but more willingness to deliver neutral information to others.These findings support the applicability of attachment internal working models to predicting web-based social network communication, and suggest that Attachment Theory can be a predictor of the dynamics of web-based dissemination of information.