SOCI 2120 Week 8 - Technology-Mediated Social Relationships

Chapter 10
Technology-Mediated Social
Relationships
A Big Question
o Has social media improved the quality of our
social relationships (friend + romantic)?
The Impact of the Internet on Social
Relationships
o Prensky (2001) identified two groups in terms of
usage patterns:
o Digital immigrants came to the Internet later in
life and have been generally slower to adopt
o Digital natives have a significantly higher
adoption rate, mainly because they have grown
up with the Internet and are unfamiliar with pre-
Internet time
The Impact of the Internet on Social
Relationships, cont’d
o Technology plays a significant role in how we
build and maintain social relations.
o Our understanding of friendship has changed
since the introduction of social media tools.
o Since 2005, social media have revolutionized the
communication landscape, becoming an integral
part of how we communicate.
The State of Social Media in
Canada
How Has Technology Affected Our
Relationships?
o Technology plays a significant role in the
creation, maintenance, and dissolution of social
relations.
1. Presentation of self online
2. Rethinking friendship on social media
3. Romance online
4. Virtual mourning
1. Presentation of Self
o The self is often defined as containing
information such as one’s name, how one
perceives oneself, likes and dislikes, personal
beliefs, and values.
o These attributes are not perceived as stable, but

rather as changing over time depending on new
life experiences.
Erving Goffman – dramaturgy and the presentation of self
Dramaturgy – theory of interaction that suggests that life is like acting
Two selves:
Character – image we want to present to others
Performer – person playing “characters” in different situations
Goffman called this performance “impression management” because

the performer wants to create a certain impression of him/herself that
will be seen by others.
Like an acting performance in a theatre, in our everyday
lives there are moments when we are “in character” and
performing. This is when we are “front stage”.
When not performing, we are “backstage”, and this is

when our ‘true’ self comes out.
Goffman says that most of the time we live on the front

stage, and do not reveal our backstage selves very often.
1. Presentation of Self, cont’d
o Do you think the virtual self is different from

the real-life self?
o Which one is the ’true’ self? (which one is
”front stage” and which is ”backstage”?)
o Turkle (1995) argued that the Internet allows for
identity exploration of and experimentation with
variations of the self.
o For Sundén (2003), the crafting of the self
online is more complex than its offline
counterpart.
o She introduces the concept of writing oneself into
being to emphasize the active engagement that goes
into digital self-presentation.
o In some cases, the e-identity has a greater
tendency to show deviant behaviour through
online flaming, harassment, and personal
attacks.
o This is referred to as the disinhibition effect,

which results from a lack of interpersonal cues,
anonymity, and limited enforcement of social
norms.
2. Rethinking Friendship on Social Media
o The transparency of online friendship:
o Creates tension: changes social norms and creates
expectations
o Pressure to compete with others’ # of ’friends’
o Activates latent ties: loose, undeveloped ties with
others through social networks can develop into more
formal relationships and friendships
o Users must explicitly declare friendships by
choosing whom to add and by drawing
boundaries.
2. Rethinking Friendship on Social Media,
cont’d
o Relationships are rarely initiated online and the majority
of online exchanges occur to maintain existing ties.
o Avg. Facebook user has 338 ’friends’ – but the relationships
rarely begin online
o A persisting issue with online friendship is the concept of
identity:
o To what extent is your online identity truthful to who you are?
o What aspects of your online identity do you construct or
customize to portray a chosen identity? What are some typical
characteristics of online identities (i.e. what do people choose
to present online?)
• What do you think of Instafamous people? Are they truthful to
their true selves?
2. Rethinking Friendship on Social Media,
cont’d
• Social comparison: the self is evaluated using
information in the environment and in particular
relying on the opinions of peers
• Feedback seeking: looking for peers to like

posts and to engage positively with digital
content as affirmation.
3. Romance Online
o Social media are used for many different purposes:
o to learn about a person’s interests or unique personality
o to move the relationship forward more quickly
o to declare relationship status and sexual orientation
o To some extent social media has made relationships better and
more efficient
o Easier to meet people
o Screening partners
o Romances that start online tend to develop into more long-lasting
relationships
o Are there any drawbacks to the ”efficiency” of online
dating?
3. Romance Online, cont’d
o Social media have made breaking up more difficult
(breakup 2.0).
o Digital traces make it hard to leave the relationship behind.
o Problematic breakup practices that are unique to social
media:
o Changing status
o Re-reading posts and comments
o Online stalking (cyber-stalking)
o Ghosting
o Defriending
 Anything else about social media that makes breaking up harder?
4. Virtual Mourning
o Carroll and Landry identified four activities on

SNSs after loss:
o Creation of a narrative of the dead person’s life
o Public expression of loss and solidarity
o Praise for the deceased
o Asking the deceased for guidance, comfort, and
understanding
4. Virtual Mourning, cont’d
o Virtual stranger loss demonstrates the power of
the Internet for forming social connections even
with those we have never met.
o Creates possibility for a new kind of intimacy on a
mass scale (?)
4. Virtual Mourning, cont’d
o When we mourn a celebrity we did not know
personally, it is called para-social grieving and
is based on para-social interaction (not in
person).
o While the bonds are perceived as being very
personal and real, they are in fact mediated by
technology and are one-sided.
 Can you think of any examples of collective
mourning on social media? Have you participated in
online collective mourning?

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Chapter 10

o These attributes are not perceived as stable, but

Dramaturgy – theory of interaction that suggests that life is like acting

Goffman called this performance “impression management” because

When not performing, we are “backstage”, and this is

Goffman says that most of the time we live on the front

o Do you think the virtual self is different from

o This is referred to as the disinhibition effect,

• Feedback seeking: looking for peers to like

o Carroll and Landry identified four activities on

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