Computer-Mediated Communication in Personal Relationships

This is the first collection of readings on computer-mediated communication focusing exclusively on interpersonal interactions. Examining messages exchanged via email, Twitter, Facebook, websites, and blogs, the authors analyze communication issues of ongoing importance in relationships including deception, disclosure, identity, influence, perception, privacy, sexual fidelity, and social support. The book examines subjects that attract intense student interest - including online performance of gender, online dating, and using computer-mediated communication to achieve family/work life balance - and will inspire further research and course development in the area of computer-mediated communication in personal relationships. Because it provides a synthesis of ideas at the nexus of interpersonal communication theory and computer-mediated communication theory, the book can serve as a textbook for advanced undergraduate as well as graduate courses.

Contents: Kevin B. Wright/Lynne M. Webb: Preface - Erin M. Bryant/Jennifer Marmo/Artemio Ramirez, Jr.: A Functional Approach to Social Networking Sites - Jeffrey T. Child/Sandra Petronio: Unpacking the Paradoxes of Privacy in CMC Relationships: The Challenges of Blogging and Relational Communication on the Internet - Catalina L. Toma/Jeffrey T. Hancock: A New Twist on Love's Labor: Self-Presentation in Online Dating Profiles - Deborah Ballard-Reisch/Bobby Rozzell/Lou Heldman/David Kamerer: Microchannels and CMC: Short Paths to Developing, Maintaining, and Dissolving Relationships - W. Scott Sanders/Patricia Amason: Communication Competence and Apprehension during CMC in Online and Face-to-face Relationships - Stephanie Tom Tong/Joseph B. Walther: Relational Maintenance and CMC - Andrew C. High/Denise H. Solomon: Locating Computer-Mediated Social Support Within Online Communication Environments - Kevin B. Wright/Ahlam Muhtaseb: Personal Relationships and Computer-Mediated Support Groups - Jinsuk Kim/Kathryn Dindia: Online Self-Disclosure: A Review of Research - Jeanine Warisse Turner/N. Lamar Reinsch, Jr.: Multicommunicating and Episodic Presence: Developing New Constructs for Studying New Phenomena - Paige P. Edley/Renée Houston: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: The Role of ICTs in Work and Family Connections - Amy Janan Johnson/Jennifer A. H. Becker: CMC and the Conceptualization of «Friendship»: How Friendships Have Changed with the Advent of New Methods of Interpersonal Communication - Katheryn C. Maguire/Stacey L. Connaughton: A Cross-Contextual Examination of Technologically Mediated Communication and Social Presence in Long-Distance Relationships - Theodore A. Avtgis/E. Phillips Polack/Sydney M. Staggers/Susan M. Wieczorek: Healthcare Provider-Recipient Interactions: Is «Online» Interaction the Next Best Thing to Being There? - Gustavo S. Mesch/Michal Frankel: Family Imbalance and Adjustment to Information and Communication Technologies - Mark L. Hans/Brittney D. Selvidge/Katie A. Tinker/Lynne M. Webb: Online Performances of Gender: Blogs, Gender-Bending, and Cybersex as Relational Exemplars - Norah E. Dunbar/Matthew Jensen: Digital Deception in Personal Relationships - Makenzie Phillips/Brian H. Spitzberg: Speculating about Spying on MySpace and Beyond: Social Network Surveillance and Obsessive Relational Intrusion - Andrew R. Schrock/Danah Boyd: Problematic Youth Interactions Online: Solicitation, Harassment, and Cyberbullying.