Page 97 - Never Too Far Away? The Roles of Social Network Sites in Sojourners’ Adjustment
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                                SNS use in gauging a partner’s relationship involvement
H3 predicted that individuals in LDRR, more than those in GCRR, engage in SNS partner surveillance. As predicted, participants in LDRR reported higher levels of SNS partner surveillance, M = 4.48, SD = 1.17, n = 119, than participants in GCRR, M = 3.66, SD = 1.25, n = 90; t(207) = -4.86, p < 0.001, d = 0.68, thereby supporting H3.
Lastly, H4 predicted that individuals in LDRR, more than those in GCRR, experience SNS-related jealousy. LDRR participants reported higher levels of Facebook jealousy, M = 3.70, SD = 1.54, n = 118, than GCRR participants, M = 2.84, SD = 1.54, n = 89; t(205) = -3.95, p < 0.001, d = 0.55. These results are consistent with H4.
Discussion
The current study examined the use of SNS in romantic relationship maintenance. Individuals who were involved in LDRR and GCRR were compared in terms of their intensity of use of SNS and their specific uses of SNS for relationship maintenance. In general, individuals in LDRR had higher SNS use intensity than individuals in GCRR. Also, those in LDRR used SNS more for relationship maintenance than those in GCRR.
SNS and relationship involvement expressions
Individuals in LDRR, more than those in GCRR, use SNS to perform relational maintenance behaviors, similarly for strategic and routine efforts. Access to SNS is easy, convenient, and relatively cheap, allowing constant connectivity. The range of SNS features enable people to choose from private and public interactions, direct and indirect sharing, and narrow and wide bandwidth communications. The accessibility of SNS and the choices of communication modalities allow people to communicate not just strategic messages but also routine and mundane information. The regular sharing of information, both relevant and mundane, provides maintenance functions (Dainton & Aylor, 2002). Previous research on the use of CMC in relationship maintenance failed to capture the value of mundane sharing of day-to-day experiences (Tong & Walther, 2011). This study contributes to existing knowledge by providing initial evidence for routine and mundane relational maintenance via SNS.
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