Communication: Have you asked how your partner is doing today?

"95% of college students own a computer, 99% own a mobile device, and nearly 89% use some form of social networking to interact with others in their age group" (Rappleyea et al., 2014).   

With the amount of access to these communicative technologies, it is safe to assume every young adult uses them daily with young adults ages 18-24 being the most prevalent users of the internet daily (Rappleyea et al., 2014).   

Dependence on our use of cell phones falls into two categories. The first is an instrumental use which is a safety and security blanket for us, then there is an expressive use which is what we use to enhance or maintain our self-presentation along with communicating with others (Rappleyea et al., 2014). The image on the right shows that text messaging is the most used daily form of communication for teens in romantic relationships; the second most common is talking on the phone. This shows the importance of technology and really shows how dependent we have come to be on the use of cell phones.

      

It is also likely that communication technology plays a critical role in the initial stages of finding a partner. Despite all the advances in communication technology, a prominent finding is the importance of face to face interaction in the development of relationships (Rappleyea et al., 2014).      

Article:

http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/01/teens-technology-and-romantic-relationships/

Discussion Questions:

1) How often do you text your romantic partner?

2) Do you feel as though you can have a genuine conversation with your romantic partner through text messaging? Or do you believe that it is just more convenient, but would be more beneficial to have a conversation by talking on the phone or using other ways of communicating?

References:

Pew Research Center. (2015). Teens, technology, and romantic relationships. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/01/teens-technology-and-romantic-relationships/

Rappleyea, D. L., Taylor, A. C., & Fang, X. (2014). Gender differences and communication technology use among emerging adults in the initiation of dating relationships. Marriage & Family Review, 50(3), 269-284. doi:10.1080/01494929.2013.879552