Dear Venessa,
Hi Venessa, I hope you are doing great together with your family and friends. I am fine and thanking you for your last letter. I am happy to hear of the progress that you are making in your academics and general physical wellness. I also hope that all your friends are okay and that the relationships that you have are healthy and doing well. I have come to appreciate interpersonal relationships and the role they play in making life worthwhile. It does not matter the closeness of the persons involved but rather what they share in terms of characteristics and values in their relationships. There are several factors that shape the formation of relationships through first meetings. Two of them include social proximity and third party effects.
In as far as social proximity and relationship initiation is concerned; there are two aspects of the relationship involved. The first one is the prehistory and the history of the relationship. The prehistory contains all the factors that exist without the knowledge of the soon to be friends or relationship and this is involves the friends who help initiate the relationship (365). Most of the time relationships begin when other parties introduce the persons to each other. All the factors involving friends can be summed under the social proximity effects. If only I can use our example. I believe that one day I will meet you together with some of your friends or even family members. That meeting will act as the birth of relationships that will involve your friends and family members with me. It is good to know that the people in our lives are the greatest contributors to the relationships we form in future. In a study conducted in the United States and Netherlands, many couples admitted to the fact that they met their spouses through their friends (365).
It is not surprising that matchmakers also play a huge role in the formation of relationships. Their role is generally viewed as a third- party effect in relationship initiation. The help of third parties has been in existence for a very long time. It is prided in the formation of romantic relationships but this does not mean that friendships cannot be struck out of them. Organized living groups such as fraternities and sororities seem to embrace this arrangement and most of them prefer relationships formed are those that individuals are helped in finding their suitors (366). The third party effect is embraced by both parties and it is not surprising that in this era and age it is still acceptable. I would love to see a friend or two engage a third party effect so that I get to know and experience it firsthand. I don’t know about you and how you feel about arranged relationships but I hope you will be excited about them just like I do.
I must admit that relationships are very important in our lives and that each one of us has multiple relationships that are varied on the basis of how we feel about the persons in our lives. One thing that stands out is the fact that the way we relate in these relationships is different. I would love to know how you relate with different people in your life and above all, how you met them. I would also like to know how you view social proximity and third party effect in the formation of relationships. I believe that both have played a crucial role in the formation of your relationships and would like to know some of the memorable experiences you have had with these two effects. I look forward to hearing from you very soon.
Work Cited
Chapter 11: Social Networks and Life of Relationships. Pp 365- 374. PDF File
