How polite can one be when you tell another person you are not interested in meeting romantically, especially since you met each other on an online dating site? When the requested meeting is not desired by the rejecter a tactical response must be given, the response must still save the face of the requester as well as uphold the personal desires of the rejecter. Therefore, it is easier and more manageable to decline a romantic meeting with your online dating counterpart. Because you are not talking face to face, the rejection seems less personal and still saves face of both the requestor and the rejecter.
The Politeness Theory as introduced by Brown & Levinson, 1978 will help us explore and examine why there is a need to politely turn down another’s offer on a romantic meeting instead of bluntly saying “No, I don’t want to”. This theory in practice is to make everyone feel acknowledged and recognized at a social level. Within this theory there are two important components, namely Positive face and Negative face. Every adult has a public self-image they wish to protect herein that self-image is called ‘Face’
Positive face is characterized by desires to be liked, admired, approved, and related to positively; one would threaten positive face if one would ignore the individual. Negative face is characterized by the desire not to be imposed on: …show more content…
When the social distances is closer, the requestor and rejecter knowing each other better and feeling comfortable, it becomes particularly hard to reject a romantic notion. When there is comfort between the two individuals, the rejecter needs to be able to save the positive face of the requestor and do as little damage to the friendship as well as still keep your own desire
The Politeness Theory as introduced by Brown & Levinson, 1978 will help us explore and examine why there is a need to politely turn down another’s offer on a romantic meeting instead of bluntly saying “No, I don’t want to”. This theory in practice is to make everyone feel acknowledged and recognized at a social level. Within this theory there are two important components, namely Positive face and Negative face. Every adult has a public self-image they wish to protect herein that self-image is called ‘Face’
Positive face is characterized by desires to be liked, admired, approved, and related to positively; one would threaten positive face if one would ignore the individual. Negative face is characterized by the desire not to be imposed on: …show more content…
When the social distances is closer, the requestor and rejecter knowing each other better and feeling comfortable, it becomes particularly hard to reject a romantic notion. When there is comfort between the two individuals, the rejecter needs to be able to save the positive face of the requestor and do as little damage to the friendship as well as still keep your own desire