1. G I A N C A R L O V I T A
Long Distance Relationships

2. Research Questions
 How affective is the use of CMC when there is a long
distance relationship?
 Can relationships truly prosper through geographical
distances, or is CMC not efficient enough to salvage
relationships?

3. Acronyms and Terminology
 SNS: Social Networking Site
 CMC: Computer-mediated communication
 LD: Long-Distance
 Weak ties: responsible for the majority of the fixity and structure of
social networks in society.
 Bridging social capital: Large network of weak ties between friends
and acquaintances
 Bonding social capital: Relationships with close family and friends
 Maintained social capital: Relationships from a long-distance
network, such as high school friends.

4. High School Separation
 After graduation, most
friendships must part ways
because colleges may introduce
geographical distances.
 Some of these friendships may
end, regardless of emotional ties
in high school.
 High school relationships are
faced with the decisions of:
 A) Breaking things off before leaving
 B) Trying to make things work
together

5. CMC in Interpersonal Communication
CMC and the Conceptualization of “Friendship”
Johnson, Amy J., Becker, Jennifer A.
 Increased the possibility and expectations for sustaining close
connections despite geographic distance.
 Former theories suggested that lack of face-to-face interaction would
have “high maintenance costs.”
 Because of technology, friendships are aptly described as flexible
 “Highly elastic” which means that it all depends on the individual who
is pursuing to continue this relationship

6. Long-Distance Failure Theories
 Individuals must invest more time and
energy in long-distance friendships;
 Individuals cannot as easily engage in
frequent talk;
 Individuals cannot as readily provide
emotional and instrumental support.

7. Support
Differences in the quality of social support between geographically close and
long-distance friendships.
Weiner, A.
 A total of 142 undergraduate students
completed a survey which questioned the social
support obtained through friendship networks.
 Geographically close friends provide more
received support than their long-distance
counterparts.
 There was no consistent difference between
groups for perceived support.

8. Uncertainty
“Will It Ever End?’’: A (Re)examination of Uncertainty in College Student
Long-Distance Dating Relationships
Maguire, K.
• “Results indicated that participants, who were
uncertain about ever living in the same city, as their
partners were significantly more distressed, less
satisfied, and rated communication coping
strategies as less helpful than those who felt
more certain about reunion.”

9. Uncertainty Cont.
 “Research in the area of stress and coping suggests that a
close relationship with a romantic partner helps individuals
cope with stress.”
 “Given that somewhere between 25% and 50% of college
student-dating relationships can be classified as “long-
distance” and therefore may be subject to distress, it becomes
important the possible sources of difficulty.”

10. Absence
Absence makes the communication grow fonder: Geographic
separation, interpersonal media, and intimacy in dating relationships
Jiang, L.
• “Research suggest that long-distance (LD) romantic
relationships are of equal or even more trust and satisfaction
than their geographically close (GC) counterparts.”
• LD couples:
• Engage in more adaptive self-disclosure,
• Form more idealized relationship perceptions

11. Opinions from Students
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr_Am6SQldo

12. Additional Sources
 http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/17/living/relationships-long-
distance-benefits/
 http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/11/lots-
of-college-freshmen-are-about-to-dump-their-high-school-
sweethearts/281860/
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-solis/social-media-
obstacle-to-_b_3815356.html
 http://well.wvu.edu/articles/should_we_stay_together__tip
s_for_long_distance_relationships