Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Michael Hazel

Second Advisor

Dr. Pavel Schlossberg

Abstract

Facebook as a social media technology is prominent in a variety of scenarios, including interpersonal relationship management. There have been numerous studies on how social dynamics are informed by social media, especially in regards to young adults. Within this group, female social dynamics have garnered much attention; however, there is a dearth of research, which explicitly examines how males utilize the technology. Thus, this study collected data via an online survey of college students that examined various aspects of online interpersonal relationship dynamics. The theoretical framework of this study was based on Petronio’s (1991) communication privacy management theory, Baxter and Montgomery’s (1996) relational dialects theory, and Walther’s (1992) social information processing theory. The results confirmed that disclosure and non-disclosure are used to inform social dynamics experienced by males on Facebook; thereby suggesting the media serves as a relationship management tool. Significant differences in how male college students use Facebook in comparison to females and other genders were also identified. These findings will inform future research on male social dynamics both on and offline.

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