English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

i Dedication  ii Acknowledgements  iii List of Tables v Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Literature Review 5 Chapter 3: Methods 27 Chapter 4: Results 38 Chapter 5: Discussion 48 References 63 Appendices 70 A: Recruitment Script 70 B: Informed Consent 71 C: Survey 73 THE ROLE OF FACEBOOK IN ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS v List of Tables Table 1: Descriptive Statistic of Scales 35 Table 2: Self-Esteem by Attachment Anxiety and Facebook Surveillance 44 Table 3: Self-Esteem by Attachment Avoidance and Facebook Surveillance 45 THE ROLE OF FACEBOOK IN ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS 1 Chapter 1: Introduction Reducing uncertainty is a key aspect in the formation of relationships, romantic or otherwise. Relational uncertainty is characterized as the lack of confidence people have in their perceptions of their involvement in interpersonal connections (Knobloch & Solomon, 2009). According to Berger and Calabrese’s (1975) uncertainty reduction theory (URT), people will question others in an initial meeting in order to learn about the individual as well as to reduce unpredictability. Uncertainty reduction theory essentially states that an individual will be less satisfied with a relationship if they are uncertain about that relationship (Afifi & Burgoon, 1998). If individuals are interested in continuing to build a relationship after the initial interaction, they then follow steps and strategies to continue reducing uncertainty within that relationship. In the past, people typically had to participate in face-to-face communication when using uncertainty reducing strategies. However, this began to change when new technologies were introduced to the public. People were soon able to communicate with each other via e-mail and instant messaging. Eventually, social networking sites were developed, and as of 2014 they are a mainstay in a large number of people’s lives, with Facebook alone having over one billion registered users (Facebook Key Facts, 2013). In April of 2014, Facebook was the second most used website of any kind globally as well as in the United States (Alexa, 2014). The site provides a wealth of user-generated information via profile pages, which are often available for anyone to view, depending on security settings. Profiles can typically contain as much personal information as desired which makes Facebook a great candidate to reduce potential uncertainty for burgeoning relationships, especially because it is not always necessary to communicate in order to THE ROLE OF FACEBOOK IN ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS 2 gain the knowledge. Although reducing uncertainty passively can be positive, it might also impact how users communicate in relationships. If individuals can obtain information without speaking to one another, they might reduce communication, which could have a negative impact on their relationship. Facebook profiles can contain a wealth of information about users, so it is a great candidate for interpersonal electronic surveillance (IES), or strategies employed online to monitor someone’s behavior (Tokanuga, 2011). Although IES could potentially reduce uncertainty in a relationship and ultimately increase intimacy (Berger & Calabrese, 1975), it might also have the opposite effect or no effect at all on relationships. With little research monitoring how Facebook impacts communication within romantic relationships, it is hard to draw a conclusion. As humans we often pride ourselves on being unique, so it stands to reason that using Facebook as a way to monitor a significant other’s activity and reduce uncertainty might have different impacts for people depending on the internal workings of their relationships. Attachment styles are developed from early interactions with caregivers and may influence how individuals behave in relationships, aiding to shape how people react to events that spawn uncertainty. Someone with high attachment avoidance might elude communication of certain events all together, even on Facebook, while someone with high attachment-related anxiety might seek comfort on Facebook; keeping tabs on a partner might ease worries or create new ones. Little research exists on Facebook use and attachment-related anxiety and avoidance as a whole. It is possible that individuals with differing attachment behaviors use Facebook in different ways, especially for certain activities, like surveillance for uncertainty reduction. While surveillance and attachment THE ROLE OF FACEBOOK IN ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS 3 have not frequently been studied in relation to Facebook use, self-esteem has been researched in multiple studies and has been found to have contradicting relationships with Facebook use. Positive correlations have been found (Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe, 2007) as well as negative correlations (Neira & Barber, 2014). Typically, individuals with higher self-esteem are more satisfied in their relationships (Dion & Dion, 1975), so it is possible that being more satisfied in a relationship would lead to lower relational uncertainty. But when Facebook enters the scenario, the relationship becomes muddied. Much of the research pertaining to Facebook is solely on individual use; however, few studies have looked at users who categorize themselves through a relationship status. Facebook use might have a very different relationship with self-esteem for someone who has their relationship displayed on the site versus someone who does not. Research is also sparse concerning using Facebook for specific activities, such as internet electronic surveillance (IES). Self-esteem and Facebook use might have a different relationship when Facebook is being used for surveillance activities rather than just being measured for time spent on the site. Although Facebook can be used to monitor romantic relationships through activities like IES, little research exists examining the potential effects of the site on these relationships. The overall aim of this study was to showcase the differences in Facebook use for people with varying personalities. More specifically, this study aimed to determine if relationships existed between Facebook use in general, as well as use for surveillance, and relational uncertainty, attachment-related anxiety and avoidance, and self-esteem. Previous research has only concerned itself with one of these characteristics: self-esteem. In order to show support for the ideas presented in this study, a review of the important literature is necessary. Included in this review THE ROLE OF FACEBOOK IN ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS 4 will be hypotheses and research questions (Chapter 2), which will be followed by the methodology used to test these questions (Chapter 3). Next will be the results from the data collection (Chapter 4), followed by a discussion of these findings, and lastly a summary of the overall study (Chapter 5). This study shows the importance of researching social networking sites, specifically Facebook, and their potential impacts on romantic relationships and other individual characteristics of users. While displaying a relationship on Facebook was linked with higher relational certainty and lower attachment-related anxiety and avoidance for individuals in current romantic relationships, Facebook use for surveillance was associated with lower self-esteem and higher attachment-related anxiety. Additionally, general time spent on Facebook was also linked to lower relational certainty for individuals with their relationship status displayed. These findings support the idea that Facebook is used differently amongst individuals in romantic relationships. These ideas are further discussed in the following chapters. THE ROLE OF FACEBOOK IN ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS 5 Chapter 2: Literature Review Over the past decade, social networking sites have become some of the most widely used websites on the internet (Alexa, 2014). Facebook alone has over one billion registered users (Facebook Key Facts, 2013). In fact, residents of the United States spend more time on Facebook than any other website (Nielsen, 2011), and college students average one to two hours each day on the site (Kalpidou, Costin, & Morris, 2011). The main motivation for Facebook use is to keep in touch with friends with whom relationships have already been established offline (Joinson, 2008). However, the second most common motivation is social surveillance (Joinson, 2008). According to

It's Complicated: The Role of Facebook in Romantic Relationships Concerning Relational Certainty, Attachment, and Self-Esteem