Introduction
During the past few years, social media has become immensely popular. Since its inception, it has increasingly changed the way people communicate and build relationships. One of its platforms, Facebook, takes the relationship-building aspect of computer mediated communication further by focusing on interacting with a variety of people in an organized format. With the increasing amount of time spent on these networks, the question of how interpersonal relationships are affected arises.
Some research has particularly targeted the
There has been little research specifically examining the impact of these sites on current romantic relationships. Muise et al. (2009) brought the attention to a negative effect Facebook use might have: …show more content…
Kujath found that communicating on networks such as Facebook and MySpace served as an extension, rather than a substitute, to communicate face to face. Additionally, Whitty (2008) said that CMC might actually be a better way for people to communicate because individuals are more likely to be their true self online. The feeling produced by CMC can result in greater feelings of love and support, even if that person is not receiving face-to-face communication (Whitty, 2008).
Considering the potential effect on interpersonal relation-ships, it is important to closely examine the effect social media, in particular social networking sites have on romantic relationships. The goal of this essay was to reveal information about Facebook – one of the most popular SNS and the effects it has on relationships during four stages of relationship which were mentioned in the Social Penetration theory. By examining Facebook behaviours of couples, this essay demonstrates the role of this SNS in developing, maintaining romantic relationships and leading to relationship happiness. …show more content…
The most apparent illustration of romantic relationships can be found through the profile picture (Bowe, 2010; Mansson & Myers, 2011; Papp, Danielewicz, & Cayemberg, 2012; Utz & Beukeboom, 2011). In general, this means couples tend to display their relationships by depicting themselves and their partner in their default profile photo, or photo that is displayed on their main profile page. Moreno, Swanson, Royer, and Roberts (2011) stated that people judged newly acquainted friends by their uploaded and tagged pictures online. Tagging pictures is a Facebook function where the program uses facial recognition as a way to identify the individuals within the picture. Once a picture is tagged that image will show up on an individual’s profile page. Moreno et al. (2011) further claim the well-known phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” applies directly to social media usage today. SNS encourage the uploading and sharing of photos, which provide more opportunities to judge those images. In 2010, Bowe reported that there were over 300 million photos being uploaded daily, and in 2007, Clark, Lee, and Boyer (as cited in Mansson & Myers, 2011) found that more than half (57%) of users post pictures of themselves in a romantic situation. A picture showing a romantic situation was described as any way to put value on the relationship by displaying affection. This expression of affection and self-disclosure is a way users
During the past few years, social media has become immensely popular. Since its inception, it has increasingly changed the way people communicate and build relationships. One of its platforms, Facebook, takes the relationship-building aspect of computer mediated communication further by focusing on interacting with a variety of people in an organized format. With the increasing amount of time spent on these networks, the question of how interpersonal relationships are affected arises.
Some research has particularly targeted the
There has been little research specifically examining the impact of these sites on current romantic relationships. Muise et al. (2009) brought the attention to a negative effect Facebook use might have: …show more content…
Kujath found that communicating on networks such as Facebook and MySpace served as an extension, rather than a substitute, to communicate face to face. Additionally, Whitty (2008) said that CMC might actually be a better way for people to communicate because individuals are more likely to be their true self online. The feeling produced by CMC can result in greater feelings of love and support, even if that person is not receiving face-to-face communication (Whitty, 2008).
Considering the potential effect on interpersonal relation-ships, it is important to closely examine the effect social media, in particular social networking sites have on romantic relationships. The goal of this essay was to reveal information about Facebook – one of the most popular SNS and the effects it has on relationships during four stages of relationship which were mentioned in the Social Penetration theory. By examining Facebook behaviours of couples, this essay demonstrates the role of this SNS in developing, maintaining romantic relationships and leading to relationship happiness. …show more content…
The most apparent illustration of romantic relationships can be found through the profile picture (Bowe, 2010; Mansson & Myers, 2011; Papp, Danielewicz, & Cayemberg, 2012; Utz & Beukeboom, 2011). In general, this means couples tend to display their relationships by depicting themselves and their partner in their default profile photo, or photo that is displayed on their main profile page. Moreno, Swanson, Royer, and Roberts (2011) stated that people judged newly acquainted friends by their uploaded and tagged pictures online. Tagging pictures is a Facebook function where the program uses facial recognition as a way to identify the individuals within the picture. Once a picture is tagged that image will show up on an individual’s profile page. Moreno et al. (2011) further claim the well-known phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” applies directly to social media usage today. SNS encourage the uploading and sharing of photos, which provide more opportunities to judge those images. In 2010, Bowe reported that there were over 300 million photos being uploaded daily, and in 2007, Clark, Lee, and Boyer (as cited in Mansson & Myers, 2011) found that more than half (57%) of users post pictures of themselves in a romantic situation. A picture showing a romantic situation was described as any way to put value on the relationship by displaying affection. This expression of affection and self-disclosure is a way users