Interpersonal Communication Dynamics among Members at ‘Toygraphy ID’ Community

Abstract

In general, in a community, various relationship dynamics are created within its members, and the Toygraphy ID community is no exception. In it, an interpersonal communication process takes place where members can build good, open, intimate relationships, and obstacles and solutions arise in building relationships with each other. For this reason, qualitative research examining the Social Penetration Theory will describe the phenomenon among Toygraphy ID members. The use of Social Penetration Theory as an analytical tool is intended by the author to identify the stages that occur and are experienced by resource persons who are members of communities connected online but active in face-to-face activities/events. In general, the initial stages are not constrained, where members will try to explore each other based on the common hobbies they have. Therefore, starting from a qualitative-descriptive approach, it was found that from the informants' accounts, each member interacted with each other in developing relationships, the majority of which was carried out in the form of discussions/toy photography activities. However, this kind of communication often encounters obstacles because each member comes from diverse backgrounds. In the end, based on the results of research on five sources, it was found that members of the Toygraphy ID community had experienced five stages in social penetration theory, namely orientation, affective exploration, affective exchange, stable exchange, and the depenetration stage. For this reason, it is hoped that the results of this research will provide theoretical implications in the future with the emergence of group communication studies.