Relating Through Technology Everyday Social Interaction Advances in Personal Relationships Series

This book answers one of the most critical questions of our time, does the vast connectivity afforded by mobile and social media lead to more personal connection with one another? It offers an evidence-based account of the role of technology in close relationships that confronts such pressing questions as where face-to-face communication belongs in this digital age, whether social media is harmful to our well-being, and how online communication spills-over into our offline communication and relationships. Each chapter explores the positive and negative influences of media on relationships, coalescing into a balanced assessment of how technological advancement has altered our connections with each other. By zeroing in on communication with the most important people in our lives and tracing the changes in computer-mediated communication over time, Relating Through Technology focuses the conversation about media on its use in our everyday lives and relationships.

Introduction; 1. Social ecology and personal media; 2. The social construction of technology; 3. Theoretical perspectives on personal media and relationships; 4. Niche, media displacement, and multimodal relationships; 5. Mode comparison and coexistence; 6. Three ways of seeing social media; 7. Five enduring tensions in personal media; 8. Digital stress; 9. Social displacement; 10. Connectivity and connection.

Jeffrey A. Hall is Professor of Communication Studies at University of Kansas, USA. He is the founding Editor of the journal, Human Communication and Technology, and won the 2015 Early Career Award from the Interpersonal Division of the National Communication Association.