The Effect of Newer Communication Technologies on Relationship Maintenance and Satisfaction in Long-Distance Dating Relationships

This paper explores the influence of computer-mediated communication (CMC) on long-distance dating relationships (LDDRs), and how new technologies such as Skype and Facebook have evolved as important platforms in relationship maintenance and relational satisfaction. Twenty participants participated in a closed-ended questionnaire that included a scale to measure relational satisfaction as developed by Hendrick (1988), as well as Stafford and Canary’s (1992) revised relational maintenance scale. Results of the study showed that Skype has become the preferred medium for communication in LDDRs over email, where previous research claimed email as a dominant platform of CMC

Development and Maintenance of Self-Disclosure on Facebook: The Role of Personality Traits

This study explored the relationships between Facebook self-disclosure and personality traits in a sample of Italian users. The aim was to analyze the predictive role of Big Five personality traits on different parameters of breadth and depth of selfdisclosed behaviors online. Facebook users, aged between 18 and 64 years of age (Mage = 25.3 years, SD = 6.8; N = 958), of which 51% were female, voluntarily completed an online survey assessing personality traits and Facebook self-disclosure. Results at a series of hierarchical regression analyses significantly corroborated the hypotheses that high extroverted and openness people tend to disclose on Facebook a significant amount of personal information, whereas high consciousness and agreeableness users are less inclined to do it. Furthermore, more extroverts and agreeableness people develop less intimacy on Facebook, differently from those with high levels of openness. Results also corroborated the hypothesis of a full mediation of time usage in the relationship between personality factors such as extroversion and conscientiousness with breadth of Facebook self-disclosure. Overall, according to the findings of the current study, personality traits and Facebook self-disclosure become central both as predictive variables for depicting the different profiles of potential addicted and as variables to help educators, teachers, and clinicians to develop training or therapeutic programs aimed at preventing the risk of Internet addiction. Limitations of the study are discussed, and directions for future research are suggested

Making Complaints—Proficiency Effects on Instructor- and Peer-directed Email Correspondence

Computer-mediated communication tools have allowed users to interact across geographical and temporal borders. Among them, emails are extensively used for communicative, pedagogical, and social purposes, but relatively little research attention has been paid to the social interaction or speech styles in them. This study explored complaint strategies and discourse features, focusing on supportive moves and internal modifiers, of instructor- and peer-directed emails produced by English learners of low and intermediate levels, with each group being consisted of twenty-two participants. The results showed that the two groups were similar in complaint strategies used towards the instructor and peers by preferring explicit complaints and also in the production of significantly more supportive moves and downgraders towards the instructor to reduce the face threat. Nonetheless, justification, preferred by the intermediate learners as a supportive move, offered a legitimate stance to complain and appeared to make emails more appropriate and more effective to appease the addressee’s unhappiness than the sole use of formulaic expressions of politeness, utilized most often by the low learners. This study suggested that whereas the low learners were still at the first phase of the interlanguage development characterized by the use of simple formulas, the intermediate learners had slightly moved forward

The Use of Media Technologies in Long-Distance Relationships

Communication technologies have helped reduce personal distances and stay connected. This study pursued the following questions: What are the most popular media used to communicate in long-distance relationships? Are those in long-distance relationships more likely to use rich or lean media? Do family, friends, and romantic partners differ in their selection of media? Instant Messaging, social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat), telephone (cellular, mobile, or landline), online video chat, online audio chat, SMS, and regular mail were the most used media. Respondents were significantly more likely to use rich media. Romantic partners were more likely than either family or friends to use Instant messaging, the telephone, audio chat, and video chat. Additional findings are presented

The dialectics of mobile communication in South African romantic relationships

Abstract: Communication technology such as the mobile phone often presents a double-edged sword in romantic relationships. While the mobile phone can enhance the quality of communication, it can simultaneously become a source of conflict. The dialectic framework of Communication Privacy Management presents a nuanced lens from which to investigate the rules for the use of the mobile phone in the dyad of romantic relationships. This study sought to investigate mobile phone usage rules that are negotiated by South African adolescents and young adults in their romantic relationships and the factors that influence the negotiation. The study specifically focused on rules around mobile privacy management. Findings from survey data indicate that the negotiation of mobile phone usage rules is a crucial part of young adult relationships’ health. Variables of gender and length of relationship were important factors in the rule development process. Implications, limitations, and future research are discussed

Measuring the Impact of Technology on Couple Relationships: The Development of the Technology and Intimate Relationship Assessment

The goal of this study was to develop an instrument to operationalize the impact of technology use on romantic relationship intimacy. The sample consisted of 241 undergraduate and graduate students who identified as being in a committed, monogamous intimate relationship. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted on an initial set of test items to reduce the number of items to those that explained the relationship between technology and romantic relationship intimacy. The factor structure and psychometric properties of the resulting instrument, Technology and Intimate Relationship Assessment, are described, along with implications for couple therapy and future research

Geographically Dispersed Community Networks: Exploring Social Networking Site Experiences and Relationships in the Intercollegiate Forensics Community

A survey administered to current intercollegiate forensics competitors indicated members of the geographically dispersed forensics community extend existing community spaces using social networking sites (SNS). Results indicate participants connected and interacted with team members, fellow competitors, and judges using multiple SNS about forensics and non-forensics related topics. Participants reported differing levels of self-monitoring behaviors, which manifested in emphasizing or stifling particular personality attributes. Emphasized attributes included the participant’s education level, professionalism, or consistency with perceived community values. Stifled content included competitive secrets, politics, profanity, and other negative personal images. Experienced competitors noted the overwhelmingly positive impacts on competitive success of networking with judges, both in person and using SNS. Finally, participants noted online interactions impacted offline interactions and identity portrayals within forensics

Long-Distance Relationships in the First Year of College

Previous research highlights long-distance relationships’ negative impact on academic adjustment, social life, and personal-emotional well-being for individuals in college. This study examined the impact of long-distance relationships on college adjustment, specifically in the first year of college. The concept of societal location—whether one’s partner also attended a traditional 4-year institution or not—and its impacts on college adjustment and relationship satisfaction were also investigated. Through an online survey sent to first-year students, 77 participants completed the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire. Of these participants, 33 were in a long-distance relationship and completed the Couples Satisfaction Index. During Time I, the hypothesized negative effects of long-distance relationships on college adjustment were not supported (p = .49). Partners’ societal location also had no significant effect on college adjustment or relationship satisfaction (p = .40). During Time II, relationship type had a significant effect on college adjustment (p = .01). The hypothesized negative effects of staying together with long-distance partners were not supported (p = .20). With the current sample, relationship satisfaction significantly decreased from the fall semester to the spring semester for individuals who remained in their long-distance relationships (p = .01). As there is no research on societal location, this factor should be further examined in additional studies. The primary limitation of this study involved the short time frame and the sample’s homogeneity. Additional results and conclusions are discussed

Relational Maintenance Strategies on Facebook

This study explored how college students utilize the social networking site Facebook to maintain relationships. Focus group data was analyzed to develop a list of 58 Facebook relational maintenance strategies. Canary, Stafford, Hause, and Wallace’s (1993) relational maintenance typology was used to organize Facebook relational maintenance strategies. A new category was created to represent a popular relational maintenance strategy on Facebook: surveillance. This study also examined how maintenance strategies vary in different Facebook relationships; close friends, casual friends, acquaintances, romantic partners, and outsiders (e.g. parents, bosses, teachers). Participants suggested Facebook is an adequate stand-alone tool to maintain casual or acquaintance relationships, yet cannot convey enough intimacy to maintain close relationships. Participants expected close friends and romantic partners to put forth extra effort to maintain relationships through additional communication media such as text messaging, phone calls, and face-to-face interaction