Romantic Relationships and Social Networking Sites

             The article I will be discussing is called “The role of Social Networking Sites in Romantic Relationships: Effects on Jealousy and Relationship Happiness”. In this article they discuss and break down the different roles that social networking sites (SNS), such as Facbook, play within romantic relationships. A survey was given to subjects who were currently involved in a romantic relationship. These results were then broken down into categories.

            The big debate at hand is whether or not social networking sites such as Facebook cause relationships to be unhealthy. The first issue that came up was that Facebook allows the couple to find out more information about their partner than they might find out without the use of a social networking site. I think this is very true. It is often easy to judge what type of person someone is based on how they interact with other people via Facebook without having any actual physical proof. Another issue discussed in this article is that social networking sites allow you to unnecessarily monitor your partner. Again, I believe this to be true as well. While viewing wall posts, comments, and pictures online, it can be easy to over analyze things and take things out of context. This often leads to jealousy, which can be the demise of a great relationship.

            Another issue covered is whether or not people in a romantic relationship should post personal information about the two of them, and if so, how much is ok to share with the rest of the world. I personally do not think that my relationship is the business of anyone else, and my personal relationships should stay private. For example, from personal experience, if you look online and see that one of your friends is always posting great things about their boyfriend or girlfriend, you may start to compare your significant other to that of your friend. These comparisons can often create standards that often cannot be reached. This is proof that relationship satisfaction is negatively related to SNS jealousy (Utz, 2011).

            In conclusion, I do not think there is any set of definite answers in deciding how one should go about sharing their romantic relationship on a social networking site. I do, however, think that putting or viewing too much information about your or anyone else’s relationships online is unhealthy. In the end it is up to the users to determine what is ok to post and how much information they want to gather by looking at their significant others profile. If you’re are not careful, the implications can be a negative relationship or can even cause a great relationship to end.

References:

Alcott, L. (2010, April 18). Twi-quilters: eclipse charity quilt: bella's broken heart. Twi-quilters. Retrieved November 17, 2011, from http://twilightquilterscoven.blogspot.com/2010/04/eclipse-charity-quilt-bellas-broken.html

Utz, S. (2011). The role of social networking sites in romantic relationships: effects on jealousy and relationship happiness. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 16(4), 511-527. Retrieved November 17, 2011, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2011.01552.x/full

            

My Technology Use

        I never really thought about how much I use different forms of technology on a daily basis until I actually wrote down and kept track of everything I’ve used in a single day. It all started at 8am in the morning when I turn off the alarm clock that I have set on my phone. Shortly after, I am out the door and the real techno addiction begins. As I walk to and from class, I listened to music for about ten minutes at a time. When I add up all of the classes I walk to and from, that ends up being about forty minutes of music play each day just with my iPhone alone. The next thing I did, often while listening to music on the way to class, is checking my email. After adding up each time that I checked my email throughout the day, it added up to be about twelve to fifteen minutes. That is way more than I spend checking my email on my actual computer. Texting played a smaller role of my day than I thought it would; I found myself only sending and receiving about 10 messages that day, which added up to about ten minutes of use. I think my low use of texting is due to the Critical Mass theory (Fox, 2011). I think that since practically everyone is on Facebook and also have a smart phone, I have a lower need to text because Facebook has become so mobile and immediate. The amount of people using Facebook has increased the value of Facebook and lowered the value of texting for me.

        The next thing I kept track of is my Facebook account. Throughout the day, I check Facebook via my iPhone at around fifteen times a day depending on what type of things are going on such as making plans with friends or the amount of comments I received on any given status I’ve posted. Also, when I get home from class, I find myself checking Facebook on my computer at least another five times. My total time spent on Facebook each day is sadly around forty-five minutes to an hour and fifteen minutes. Another piece of technology I used was my TV. I used it, although most of the time I just turn it on for background noise while doing something else, for a total of two hours a day.

        I think my use of technology was fairly well spent although I probably could have been spending more time studying or being productive than checking my Facebook the amount I did. I think smart phones can be very useful because they are always on and with us, however, with the amount of tasking and social connectivity, they are becoming more and more distracting than a lot of other forms of technology. In the end, I am not afraid, as I’m sure many others aren’t either, to admit that I am a true Troglodyte.

Photo Source: 

Technology. (n.d.). AARP global network. Retrieved November 10, 2011, from              https://www.aarpglobalnetwork.org/netzine/Industry%20News/TechnologyforSeniors%20News/Pages/default.aspx

Fox, Jesse. "Basic design principles." COMM 450. School of Communication. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. 10 Oct. 2011. Lecture.