Date of Award

12-2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. John Caputo

Second Advisor

Dr. Lisa Davis

Abstract

Using the Internet is extremely common among college students, and one major function of Internet use is communicating with friends from their offline lives. With the popularity of social networking sites, it is important to explore how the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) is impacting female college students' relationships. Two theories provided a foundation for this study: Walther's social information processing theory (2002) and Baxter and Montgomery's relational dialectics theory (1996). Quantitative research was done for this work by surveying female college students regarding their feelings about Facebook's potential impact on their interpersonal friendships. Some initial findings include that, of this research population, most respondents use Facebook because of its convenience, but still prefer face-to-face or over the phone communication. It was also discovered that Facebook did add an element of conflict within some friendships. Convenience was the most positive aspect of Facebook that was reported.

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