Understanding How Technology is Changing Relationships

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In our culture, technology serves as an instrumental aspect of our lives. Regardless of where you turn, you are constantly surrounded by technology. Whether it is our cellphones that spend their entire lives within an arm’s reach of us, our computers, or the newest wave of technology that is moving us towards tablets, much of our life is lived in front of screens. With these advancements comes the notion that there is an application that can solve every life problem we may have. Thanks to technological advancements like text messaging or social media networks, there are plenty of ways a relationship can be sustained for a significant period without personal contact. Unfortunately, most people have a misconstrued belief that these resources are a great substitute for personal time in relationships that have periods of long distance separation. Scientists and relationship experts debate the usefulness of technology in relationships and many do not share the above mentioned belief. They debate if technology helps sustain relationship or helps ruin relationships. Just as social media can be a great way of keeping up with others while they are away, it can also be used to spy on others and assume an intimate connection between anyone who posts on your significant other’s wall often.

An aspect of technology that is not often discussed is the effect it has on personal communication. When presented with a situation in which one wants to tell their significant other “I love you” many would opt say this via text message rather than in person. Technology also provides us with the ability to solve the uncertainty associated with a situation. But, rather than meeting people in person to solve uncertainty, one can choose to browse the person...

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...2). The Facebook phenomenon: online self-disclosure and uncertainty reduction. China Media Research, 8(1), 48-53.

Park, N., Jin, B., Jin, S.A. (2011). Effects of self-disclosure on relational intimacy in Facebook. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(5), 1974-1983.

Shih, D., Hsu, S., Yen, D. C., & Lin, C. (2012). Exploring the Individual's Behavior on Self-Disclosure Online. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 28(10), 627-645.

Special, W.P., & Li-Barber, K.T. (2012). Self-disclosure and student satisfaction with Facebook. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(2), 624-630.

Theiss, J.A., & Solomon, D.H. (2008). Parsing the mechanisms that increase relational intimacy: the effects of uncertainty amount, open communication about uncertainty, and the reduction of uncertainty. Human Communication Research, 34(4), 625-654. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2958.2008.00335.x

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