Open AccessCying for Me, Cying for Us: Relational Dialectics in a Korean Social Network Site
Author(s) -
Kim KyungHee,
Yun Haejin
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of computer‐mediated communication
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.15
H-Index - 119
ISSN - 1083-6101
DOI - 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00397.x
Subject(s) - dialectic , contradiction , collectivism , cognitive reframing , interpersonal communication , openness to experience , context (archaeology) , social psychology , social network (sociolinguistics) , psychology , autonomy , negotiation , social relation , relation (database) , sociology , epistemology , individualism , computer science , social media , political science , social science , world wide web , paleontology , database , law , biology , philosophy
This study employs a relational dialectics approach to gain insights into the nature of relational communication via Cyworld , a Korean social network site. Qualitative analysis of in‐depth interview data from 49 users suggests that Cyworld users routinely negotiate multiple dialectical tensions that are created within the online world, transferred from face‐to‐face contexts, or imposed by interpersonal principles that relate to Korea’s collectivistic culture. The interviewees experienced a new relational dialectic of interpersonal relations versus self‐relation, analogous to Baxter and Montgomery’s (1996) connection‐autonomy contradiction. Their responses suggest that Cyworld’s design features and functions encourage users to transcend the high‐context communication of Korean culture by offering an alternative channel for elaborate and emotional communication, which fosters the reframing of relational issues offline. Cy‐Ilchons (online buddies) virtually extend the Korean cultural concept of blood ties, called yons, in ways that intensify the openness‐closedness contradiction at early stages of relationship formation.