Page 93 - Never Too Far Away? The Roles of Social Network Sites in Sojourners’ Adjustment

functions) (Dainton & Aylor, 2002; Stafford & Canary, 1991). Due to distance, traditional (face-to-face) expressions of relational maintenance behaviors may be limited among LDRR couples. To compensate, they may use SNS to enact relational maintenance behaviors. For instance, they may send a private message saying ‘‘I love you’’ to their partner (strategic) or post a status update of their thoughts at a given time (routine) (Stafford, Dainton, & Haas, 2000). Thus, it was hypothesized that:
H2: Individuals in LDRR will have higher levels of expression of strategic and routine maintenance behaviors via SNS than individuals in GCRR.
Gauging a partner’s relationship involvement via SNS. Individuals in a
relationship often seek information about their partners, especially concerning their involvement in the relationship (Afifi, Dillow, & Morse, 2004). In GCRR, SNS are used to gain information about the partner (Utz & Beukeboom, 2011). Utz and Beukeboom (2011) suggested that SNS are not only a passive source of information, users also intentionally gather information about their partner’s activities via SNS. Tokunaga (2011) found that individuals in GCRR monitor their partner’s SNS activities via interpersonal electronic surveillance (e.g., visiting their partner’s page often, reading comments about their partner on friends’ walls). Individuals in LDRR compared to GCRR have less direct communication and less access to social information regarding their partner. Given that limited physical togetherness reduces access to the partner’s social information, it was hypothesized that:
H3: Individuals in LDRR will engage more in SNS partner surveillance than individuals in GCRR.
Information gathered via SNS, whether directly or indirectly, may be
interpreted and used as a gauge of a partner’s involvement in the relationship. SNS information may be a basis to infer a partner’s loyalty and commitment. Observations of a partner’s interactions with others displayed on SNS may lead individuals in GCRR to interpretations that elicit jealousy (Muise et al., 2009; Utz & Beukeboom, 2011). Muise et al. (2009) showed that ambiguous scenes on SNS of a partner interacting with past romantic and sexual partners as well as unknown others may trigger jealousy, which is related to doubts about a partner’s fidelity. Moreover, those who engage actively in SNS partner surveillance are likely to experience jealousy related to their partner’s SNS activities (Utz & Beukeboom, 2011). Because LDRR have fewer opportunities to observe their partners in public contexts, it was predicted that they engage in more SNS partner surveillance and
SNS and Romantic Relationships 91