Social Media and Close Relationships

Featuring contributed chapters written by experts in the communication discipline, Social Media and Close Relationships provides readers with a dynamic exploration of the interplay between technology, social media, and personal interactions. The book begins with an introduction to the core framework of social media affordances, examining how digital platforms foster connectivity, agency, and visibility, ultimately affecting the fabric of intimate connections.

The text is structured around four sections, each exploring different relationship contexts. The first section focuses on social media identity and community, considering topics like privacy management, identity performance, and online activism. The second section considers romantic relationships, analyzing the implications of digital well-being, the use of dating apps, and phenomena such as sexting and ‘back burner’ relationships. Friendships in the digital age are explored in the third section, covering adolescent friendships, relational maintenance, grief and loss, and networked interactions. The final section shifts the perspective to family dynamics, spotlighting parent-adolescent communication patterns, parental mediation of children's social media use, and the unique social support networks built by mothers online.

Social Media and Close Relationships is the ideal text for courses and programs in communication, media studies, family studies, psychology, and sociology.

Chapters and Contributors Include:

Preface
Introduction: Introducing Social Media and Close Relationships - Stephen A. Rains, Shelby N. Carter, and Levi S. Ross
Chapter 1. Social Media, Disclosure, and Identity Management: Interaction with Others - Jeffrey T. Child and Matthew J. A. Craig
Chapter 2. (Re)Drafting Coherent Selves Across Social Media: Illuminating the Experiences of Marginalized Social Media Users - M. Cody Coker and Samantha F. Quinn
Chapter 3. Social Media, Activism, and Ethical Witnessing: A Case Study of Self-Disclosure and Relationships in the #MeToo Movement - Leandra H. Hernández and Stevie M. Munz
Chapter 4. Social Media and Digital Well-being in Romantic Relationships - Scott E. Caplan, Claire Wanzer, and Emily Pfender
Chapter 5. Dating Apps and Mate Selection - Cassandra Alexopoulos and Liesel L. Sharabi
Chapter 6. Social Media and Romantic Relationships: Oversharing, Sexting, and Relational Maintenance - Sydney E. Brammer and Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter
Chapter 7. Social Media and Back Burner Relationships - Jayson L. Dibble
Chapter 8. Hit Me Up: Exploring How Relational Partners Switch and Weave Between Channels - Leah E. LeFebvre and Cameron Panhans
Chapter 9. “You want to meet up? Wait…where did you go?”: Ghosting on Social Media - Rhiannon B. Kallis and Anna V. Ortiz Juarez-Paz
Chapter 10. Social Media Use and Friendships in Adolescence - J. Loes Pouwels and Sanyogita S. Khare
Chapter 11. Maintaining Friendships on Social Media - Erin K. Ruppel, Tricia J. Burke, Matthew Moon, and Maura D. Corder
Chapter 12. Networked Maintenance: Maintaining Friendships through Social Media - Bree McEwan and Michelle N. Bélanger
Chapter 13. Experiencing Loss Online: Grief and Social Support - Tennley A. Vik and Jocelyn M. DeGroot
Chapter 14. Parent-adolescent Relationships in a Digital World - Jodi Dworkin and Eunyoung Park
Chapter 15. "Once You Post Something, You Can Never Take It Back:” Parents’ Talk with Their Children about Social Media - Aimee E. Miller-Ott and Lynne Kelly
Chapter 16. The Momhive: Support, Social Comparison, and Motherhood Online - Lauren Amaro
Chapter 17. Making Connections: Exploring How Academic Mothers of Color Are Creating Communities of Care on Social Media - Lisa K. Hanasono
Index