How Do Technologically Mediated Interactions Influence The Way We Learn About Our Relationships?

PLYMOUTH UNIVERSITY
Plymouth Institute of Education

HOW DO TECHNOLOGICALLY MEDIATED
INTERACTIONS INFLUENCE THE WAY WE
LEARN ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIPS?
Does technology make the nature of
relationships more visible?
Dissertation presented for the degree of BEd (Hons) Primary
Information and Communication Technology

Megan Douglas
April 2014

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Megan Douglas 10377685 EICT302
Abstract
Technology is constantly changing the way in which we live our lives as developments in
technological communications grow it is becoming ever more visible that technology is
affecting our social structure in terms of interactions and communications. This research
project is an autobiographical study that follows the relationships and interactions of a
twenty one year old university student. The research led to the following questions: How
do technologically mediated interactions influence the way we learn about our
relationships?. The major findings of the report found that face to face interactions are
still greatly evident and complement that of online conversations resulting in the need for
further technological work to be completed if we wish to replicate the high quality,
emotions and effects of a natural and face to face conversation.

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Contents
Abstract..2
Introduction.4
Literature Review 5
Methodology11
Method15
Results17
Discussion & Key Findings.20
Limitations...24
Conclusions.26
Reference List....28
Appendix A .33
Appendix B .35
Appendix C .42

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Introduction
The English Oxford Dictionary (2014) defines a relationship as the way in which two or
more people or things are connected, or the state of being connect.
Connection running as a key theme across the definition, a word thrown around often
when looking at developments in social technology, on sites such as LinkedIn (2014) we
have connections on Facebook (2014) we have friends and Twitter (2014) we have
followers. These all being verbs to describe a connection between two or more people.
Dunbar (1992) suggested that as humans we can only maintain approximately 150
meaningful relationships but with the growth in social networking sites and with the
average Facebook user having 338 friends (Sedghi, 2014) it is to be questioned how we
can sufficiently deal with and maintain these connections.
With the increase in methods of communications and connections it is to be researched
how the quality of these interactions are compromised and visible when using
technology. In this paper I aim to explore, make contrasts and evaluate the way
relationships are influenced through the use and presence of technology.

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Literature Review
There are many different ways in which we connect with others and cultivate our
relationships. We are social beings and most people spend a great deal of their time
engaging in some kind of social interaction, we spend time together, live together and
most choose to spend spare time with friends.
We are afraid of isolation, it is found as a form of distress in our ever growing social
society, with high rates of suicide in the Far East caused by loss of face (Argyle, 1983,
pp. 11). Despite this being aged research it highlighted the growing impact of
interpersonal theories around suicidal behaviour with those of thwarted belongingness
(Van Orden et al, 2011) and those that are perceived to be a burden within society. The
most up to date world suicide standings show that suicide is a significant national social
issue in Greenland (Leineweber, 2013) due to the lack of social interactions many have
with one another, particularly within the Inuit community.
They lack what most seek in social interaction, described by Argyle (1983, pp. 12) as; to
be approved of and to make friends, to dominate or to depend on others, to be admired,
to be helped or given social support and provide help and advice to others. Argyle noted
that social behaviour is the product of at least seven different drives, these being
biological needs, dependency, affiliation, dominance, sex, aggression, self-esteem and
ego-identity complemented with other motivations which affect social behaviour. These
are closely linked to Maslows (1943) hierarchy of needs where each of Argyles
suggested drives fit into each category for interpersonal behaviours and relationships.
Looking closer at Maslows theory it is clear that it can be argued that many may not
have the basic needs to progress to the next level and goals of the success ladder
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however does that mean that those that do not have good access to food and water or
shelter are unable to love and progress their relationships to love and belong? Tay &
Diener (2011) tested this theory with 60, 865 participants around the world compared
to Maslows 18 self-actualised personalities to find that despite the basic needs such as
hunger we are much happier with our friends.
Goffman (1956) noted that as humans we are very knowledgeable and active in
deciding how we behave around others, we devise our own conduct and therefore in
order to nurture relations with others we are successful social con artists. According to
Goffman our job is to present ourselves whilst adapting to different social settings in
order to meet society expectations in which we do through a dramaturgical process, an
aspect that may be linked to meeting the drives set out by Argyle.
In terms of dramaturgy, the emphasis of this social psychology has been on the study of
meaningful behaviour (Brissett and Edgley, 1975) and how we attach meaning to things
in order to present ourselves. Goffman described the dramaturgical approach as the
world as a stage, we are all actors with a front and backstage. The front stage, where we
can manipulate the audience to like us and to be accepted is an area where we must act
in order to make sure social interactions run smoothly to ensure we have friends and
relations. The backstage offers an area where we can be ourselves, it is hidden, closed
and we can relax as there is nobody to impress or perform to.
Goffmans theory differs slightly from that of Park (1926) who accepts the idea of a true
self and promotes that we can be who we want to be. This can be highlighted as a
negative trait in Goffmans work and can be accused of being negative towards the
nature of humans and society (Johnson Williams, 1986) as there is little appreciation of
social organisation and structure (Johnson Williams, 1986, pp.359).
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Gouldner (1970) also highlighted that Goffman failed to recognise a theory of social
action that accounts for our ability to change our environments. As well as thinking
about how we present ourselves on Goffmans stage it is also important to think about
how we interact with different types of people in our audience, Berne (1964)
researched thoroughly into the psychology of human relationships to produce the
transactional analysis theory. Berne presented three states of ego as shown in figure 1
to describe how we can change the way we act in terms of a contextualised situation
and transaction, we behave in different ways and play different games in these three
egos which unbalance the traditional structure of human relationships.

Despite changes in how we present ourselves on Goffmans stage it is still clear that we
use ways in which make us more desirable to others, especially when experiencing and
Berne, 1964 (Figure 1)
Adult
Child

Parent
Natural
Supportive
Heart wisdom (growing)
Adaptive
Critical
Head reasoning (knowing)
Rebellious
Adult
Child
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making new connections. Capra (2002) highlighted the role that technology has had on
the process of social transformation in particular when we consider the central
technology of our time as stated by Capra (2002, pp.6) as communication technology
which directly relates to the heart of our human species which is conscious and
meaningful communication. It is argued that the key to this social transformation is
payable to the obtainability of electronic information and communication technologies
that we as a network society can employ and distribute ourselves without historical
parameters of networks as forms of social interaction and organisation (Castells, 2004).
The growth of home computing and accessibility to the internet has ignited a debate on
the nature of social community in order to assess how computer-mediated
communication affects social relationships (Hampton, 2004). Physical distance and
geography now have a less significant role in communications as it is increasingly
possible to seek out social ties based on shared interests rather than a shared place.
Godin (2008) appropriately named this process of finding others with shared interests
as tribes, traditionally originating from those that aim to find part of the status quo
that needs improving. The beauty of these tribes and movements to make change is that
the focus is not using money or power but instead it is about leadership that as
described by Godin only require two factors to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to
communicate (2008, pp. 1). Technology has given opportunity for communications and
interests to be shared worldwide and therefore these tribes have multiplied allowing a
single person to have hundreds of connections and relationships despite geographical
distance.
Although we learn a lot from our primary connections (strong ties), particularly
emotional support from parents it has been shown with the use of technology and the
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allowance of a huge range of connections that it is the people with whom are the least
connected who offer us the most opportunities (Conley, 2013), these are often
described as weak ties. Our social connections are now resources for social capital,
used as monetary resources offering financial capital in terms of job opportunities and
advertising but most importantly skills that push human capital providing information,
help, services, advice and emotional support.
Choosing technologies for communications may involve mixing strong and weak ties,
these are more obvious on social network sites such as Facebook (2014) where many
connections are made through mutual friends where strong ties can link us to weak
ties (Choi et al, 2010) opening up doors to further social capital features such as dating
and job recommendations; aspects involved in Argyles seven main drives.
Social networks defined as an online place where a user can create a profile and build a
personal network that connects him or help to other uses (Lenhart & Madden, 2007,
pp.1). The freedom and ability to create and build a profile allows for the perfect
blank stage or unwritten play script for Goffmans dramaturgical approach. A user can
decide who their audience is made up of and exactly what they present to them. Turkle
(2011) noted that with the easy accessibility of technological communications such as
social media as much as we can build and create that also gives us the ability to edit and
most specifically delete, removing exactly what we wish our audience not to see.
Described as the dark side of social media (Ahn & Shin, 2013) it has been discussed
that we are beginning to expect more from technology and less from each other, a
dimension of our technological society that is launching a detrimental impact on the
most dedicated users if used in an incorrect or over-excessive way.
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Computer-mediated communication applications include social networks, email and
instant messaging and are used to communicate with unknown people or maintain
previously rooted relationships with existing friends (Gross, 2004). Antheunis et al
(2012) found that one of the key features of friendship is their quality with several
studies demonstrating that online friendships are perceived to be lower in quality than
offline (Mesch & Talmud, 2006, 2007). However research carried out by Chan & Cheng
(2004) found that when online friendships last over a year their quality can become
comparable to offline friendships. As there are so many ways in which we now manage
our interactions with our relations it is important to test the visibility of these
relationships when technology is involved. I will therefore explore if technology makes
the nature of relationships more visible and question:
How do technologically mediated interactions influence the way we learn about our
relationships?

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Methodology
It is important to look at the ways in which data should be collected for the research
question in order to carry out an appropriate method of data collection which will lead
us as close to the research question as possible. Quantitative data usually derived in the
form of collecting numeral data where the analysis is statistical (Sharp, 2012) can be
seen as easier to analyse (Cohen et al. 2011), however due to the content of the research
question it is clear that the main data type required should be that of qualitative which
provides data met with feelings of the participant along emphasising content and
meaning (Sharp, 2012).
This qualitative data can be analysed to make more sense of the real emotions and
feelings that occur with the relationships and interactions that are recorded to take an
interpretivist approach. A sample section of quantitate data will be used to gain an
understanding of the numerical amount of conversations and interactions however this
will form part in a small selection of the data and will be analysed using a qualitative
approach in order to complement the main understanding and meaning analysed
through the main qualitative data.
To make sense of findings it is extremely important that first we understand themes and
features in our own relationships and interactions. Socrates and Plato famously made
the roots for the idea of self-reflection and self-knowledge (Stern, 1999) an aspect in
which one has the ability to reflect on their own emotions, actions and thoughts
centralising self-regulation, evaluation and criticism (Carver, 2003). Grant et al (2002,
pp. 821) has also highlighted the importance that when reflecting ones self it is vital
that both inspect and evaluate ones thoughts, feelings and behaviour but also look at
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the clarity and understanding of thought, feeling and behaviour to gain an insight on
ones self (Philips & Silvia, 2011).
Questionnaires have emerged as one of the most popular and widely used tools in data
research over the past three decades (Gao, 2004) particularly due to data resulting in
structured, frequently numerical figures (Cohen et al, 2007) in which the researcher
does not have to remain present resulting in a study that can travel geographically
further than the researcher (Wright, 2006). However, Cohen also highlights that the
researcher should selectively judge the appropriateness of using a questionnaire for
data collection as this may not always be suitable. The research that will be undertaken
may seem to many as sensitive as it deals with personal relationships, something some
may find as an intrusion into private spheres and deep personal experience (Lee &
Renzetti, 1993). The research could be defined as sensitive research as it will take a
biographical and life history route in order to gain honest and true insights into
interactions and relationships we have, a method focusing and exploring on the
perceptions and experiences of particular individuals in society (Sikes, 2006).
In comparison to questionnaires, interviews are able to offer a more in-depth analysis
and questioning on a particular participant (Lambert, 2012). Despite the method being
more time consuming the researcher is able to gain a stronger understanding of the
conversation and answers given, often creating more appropriate data. Although this
may be the case it is important that if interviews are carried out that the researcher has
a true and appropriate relationship with the participant in order to gain the most
correct data, being careful not to manipulate relationships in order to obtain better
data (Sikes, 2006). As highlighted by Lambert (2012) researchers can be easily drawn
into conversation with participants which may result in the loss of a natural stance
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amongst the researcher. This raises the question of subjectivity, validity, reliability and
objectivity which all should be met suitably by the researcher and participants.
In order to learn about the data and to appropriately analyse the findings that offer an
exploration and can create recommendations for future learners Goodson (1981, pp.69)
highlighted that in understanding something so intensely personal as teaching, it is
critical we know about the person the teacher is. Without knowing about ourselves we
are less inclined or may lack in the correct skill set to analyse data about another person.
Auto-biographical studies focus on the data that the researcher collects on their self and
is frequently driven by the particular research question (Tenni et al, 2003).
Despite the study regarding oneself it is important to note that this type of research can
cause many difficulties where more specific problems in data collection and particularly
data analysis will arise in comparison to other methods such as questionnaires or
interviews. Tenni identified the main complexities to this method of research is due to
focus on self and our practice as it requires us to reveal and reveal in the most
authentic way we can. Objectivity is difficult to maintain in any context but is made
particularly more difficult when reflecting on oneself due to the holistic approach that
seeks a description and interpretation of total phenomena (LeCompte & Preissle,
1993).
Autobiographical studies allow us to take an ethnographic approach which is more
concerned with description rather than prediction and subjectivities rather than
objective knowledge (Cohen et al, 2007), as long as a researcher is honest and has a
passion for the research taking place the most natural findings may be found.
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After analysing types of methodology it appears that an autobiographical study will be
undertaken in order to learn about my own relationships to gain a clearer
understanding on how my own interactions are more visible through the use of
technology. These will be within the parameters of contextual situations I personally
understand and can therefore appropriately analyse.

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Method
The method chosen to carry out the research question followed an autobiographical
study where, as the researcher self-generated data was collected. As the researcher and
main participant the method of collection involved the study of my own interactions
and relationships on and offline over a two week (fourteen day) period.
The methods of communication for natural conversations were tracked and defined into
three categories; online, face to face and offline. These categories were used for the
quality of conversation and frequency of those conversations based on research taken
in the pilot study, a sample of data that was taken over a seven day period. Online
conversations involved those that required an internet connection in order to
communicate, for example social networking sites, email and instant messaging
applications.
Despite the autobiographical method it is important to note that due to the social aspect
of the data collection and theory there were also many other participants, those that I
had interactions with during the data research. At the time of research participants
were unaware of the research, both that the research was being carried out and their
unwilling participation in the study. This aspect of the research was necessary in order
to track the most natural and authentic conversations in terms of justified deception.
Due to the ethical features of this study (appendix A) the participants were made aware
of the research once the data had been collected and had been analysed, with the
opportunity to withdraw at any given time. Due to the sensitivity of the research all
names have been changed to ensure anonymity.
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Over the fourteen days, a log was created in order to find patterns in which people I
interacted with the most, what method of communication I used to interact with them
and the basic subject and context of the conversation. The high quality data analysed in
this study was from a diary log of the most significant conversations I had each day, a
conversation that I felt made me feel strongly in a particular way or made me think
more deeply about the relationship I had with the person.

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Results
Findings revealed that during the fourteen day period I, (as the participant) interacted
the most using online methods, closely followed by face to face interactions. The
methods of communication shown in figure 1 also complement those in figure 2 where
there is a clear correlation between face to face and online conversations with the same
people.

The data from figure 2 displays a strong correlation between face to face and online
conversations, showing that the online relationships and interactions are as appropriate
as the face to face interactions. This may suggest that there is a comfortable balance in
the relationships using mixed-mode communications. It also shows that the most
telephone conversations are with family members (Mum, Dad and Adam) where the
most mixed-modes of communications are with my oldest and most deeply rooted
relationships.

43%
52%
5%
Methods of Communication
Face to face
Online
Telephone Call
Figure 1 The three methods of communication
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Figure 3 reveals the topic most appropriate to the conversations over the data research
period involved social plans, particularly arranging social plans emphasising that we are
social in many ways in order to be physically social with others. The topics of
conversation relate to particular events that carried out during the research period (see
appendix B). The increase in online conversations regarding sport were contextualised
to specific sporting events and fixtures which as the main participant I know as I share
views and converse in communication concerning sport online with others who are
involved in similar online sporting communities.

0
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Relationships
Interactions in 14 days
Figure 2 Interactions in 14 days
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Despite results presenting how the communications take place, the topic and
relationships, in order to analyse the impact of technology in specific conversations the
emotions related to specific conversations are key to the data analysis. These individual
logged conversations of significance (appendix C) present the key themes to the
discussion of the research.

0
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Topics of Conversation
Figure 3 Topics of Conversation
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Discussion and Key Findings
The most common theme running through the data analysed from appendix C presents
us with the idea of proximity. The range of relationships offered a wide variety of
geographical distance and raises the argument of whether relationships can be
maintained with a large physical distance between the two parties, a view that Jiang &
Hancock (2013) argued when finding that long distance couples can indeed have a
much stronger relationship than those geographically close. The data in appendix C also
revealed that despite interacting with someone geographically close in distance online
methods may be favoured over face to face conversation (conversation 3). Figure 2 also
presents how many of the interactions (Jessica Rosie) are individuals that I live with
so see on a very regular basis yet interact online as much if not more than having a face
to face conversation.
Technology can mediate our interactions as a means of convenience (Pierce, 2009),
particularly when a relationship has used online applications as a term of
communication from the beginning. This is evident through the research where there is
a comfortable feeling around speaking to those that I live with both online and face to
face as our relationships has always been exposed to the internet in contrast to parental
and older relationships where as children we have learnt the most about those
relationships through face to face interaction before the innovation in communicational
technologies.
Following interaction 1 there was a 200 mile distance between myself and my mother
and despite the context of the conversation resulting in unhappy emotions there was
still a sense of relief in hearing my mothers voice on the telephone with this interaction
demonstrating Bernes (1964) real relationship egos with the parent offering support to
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an adaptive child. The interaction shows that voice in our interactions is particularly
powerful, in this interaction with my mother I describe her voice as comforting, an
aspect historically researched when a mother baby relationship is formed from as early
as the womb (Kisilevsky et al, 2003).
Face to face and telephone interactions allow the participants in the conversation to
reveal certain emotions based on tone and pitch of voice (Cook, 2002), something that
can be easily hidden or disregarded when interacting online. Interaction 8 is an example
of a successful friendship which is maintained online with a large geographical distance
where I as a participant am still offered aspects of face to face and telephone
conversations. The conversation was online using the Skype (Microsoft, 2014) video
calling service, a method of communication with both visual and vocal cues, two cues
suggested by Kock (2005) as effective in building strong relationships with the longer
the interaction, the more positive affect should be as displayed in the cheerful
emotions I recorded feeling after this interaction with an old friend. Unlike traditional
online technologies that remove the social and emotional cues video communication
such as Skype allows us to communicate with others at a geographical distance yet
maintaining the revelation of true emotion and feeling.
Although Skype allows us to interact with visual and vocal cues it is important to look at
the quality of these interactions in comparison to those of face to face in which Dunbar
(2010) deemed to be an important aspect of interactions when a touch is worth a 1,000
words any day. The lack of physical and face to face interactions were visible in many
conversations yet related closely to links made from one interaction to another despite
the participants varying. An example of this is interaction 1 where the emotions felt
during this conversation required face to face interaction in order to gain support which
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was given in interaction 2, however through a different participant, highlighting the
visibility of how our conversations are constantly interlinking with the next
conversation you make, emphasising that we seek different emotional responses and
feelings from different people. The emotions felt in interaction 1 were then exposed but
dealt with in interaction 2 and then again with the original participant in interaction 7
where the emotion of the conversation was soon relief.
It is evident that through instant messaging online there can be mixed messages and
crossed paths due to the lack of social cue, expression and temporal immediacy (Derks
et al, 2008). The lack of these cues presented problems in a relationship as shown in
interaction 14 where I comment without the barrier of distance in internet I would be
surprised as to how much of this conversation would have taken place, the visibility of
this true relationship had been masked during the online conversation. We respond to
facial and physical emotions so if the frustrated emotions I felt during this interaction
had been face to face the conversation would most likely have stopped or the content
changed but because Elliot was unable to see physical emotion and the clear
involvement of cognitive dissonance (1962) and therefore distress as the conversation
continued.
Interaction 5 logs an interaction with a newly formed connection met through a mutual
friend and a social networking site. This interaction and the amount of sporting
conversations in figure 3 emphasise interactions through Godins (2008) idea of tribes
and meeting those with similar interests, where the internet is more equipped to join
people in a larger scale. When evaluating the conversation it was noted that the
interaction felt exciting and interesting with a break from reality, an aspect similarly
described by Berne (1964, pp. 17) that conversations are like pastimes and games
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which are substitutes for the real living of real intimacy. When I was speaking with the
new connection who had little knowledge of my personality and vice versa, I was able to
think carefully about how I was acting, unknowingly picking and choosing phrases in
order to impress similar to Goffmans (1956) dramaturgical theory.
The research findings has revealed, we can learn about our relationships, both on and
offline. The key findings reflect the patterns and evidence that I, as the researcher and
main participant have learnt about, finding the visibility of the most important
relationships in the ways they are formed, maintained and mediated. Key findings
detect that the method of communication is as significant to the quality of an interaction
as it is to the history of the relationship, data raised the ideology that despite having
high quality interactions face to face this is down to the historic interactions of the
relationship, as high quality conversations also had with relations that were built,
maintained and mediated online.
The consistency of method of communication has been highlighted as key to the quality
of interactions with mixed-modes of communication complementing each other to
create relationships that are maintained in a more convenient and interesting way.
Online communications in the data were regarded as a convenience to be used
alongside face to face interactions where the online conversations allow us to also add
images, further knowledge and web page links (interaction 13) which can further
emphasise the interest of a conversation. The personal data has also revealed that I can
be comfortable in relationships that were built and maintained online and therefore the
same deep, thought-provoking contexts that are discussed face to face can also be
discussed in a technologically-mediated relationship built on the grounds of online
space (interaction 10).
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Limitations to the study
Limitations have been acknowledged in this study, particularly within the remits of time
there was available to complete the data research. Despite a seven day pilot study and a
14 day period of data collection this has only represented a small amount of
relationships and interactions that are participated in each day. A longitudinal method
of research would offer the opportunity to track these relationships over a longer
period of time (Lambert, 2012) in order to track the changes in quality of specific
relationships over a longer period of time instead of the quality between friendships
and methods.
Despite the study following my own personal relationships, the majority of qualitative
data was analysed using my emotions in the relationship with little mention of how the
other party in the conversation felt. In reality, the question of relationships has been
analysed in terms of how I learn about my relationships but the same context and
interactions could be perceived completely differently by the other half of the
relationship.
The nature of secrecy and justified deception made the research more difficult to carry
out, particularly in the underestimation before the data was collected to the sheer
quantity of conversations and interactions I participate in each day. Due to the
conditions regarding objectivity and subjectivity the results may represent the difficulty
I found to maintain objectivity as until the data collection was familiar within my daily
routine it was difficult to not naturally analyse each conversation, causing more thought
to the next conversation I would partake in.
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In spite of the limitations and implications to the study the autobiographical method did
make the allowance of learning about my own relationships and I have been able to self-
reflect own my own actions and emotions. As Stern (1999) stated it is important to
learn about ourselves in order to learn about others. Furthermore, with the impact this
study has had on the reflection of different methods of communication within my own
parameters the next step would be to look at relationships on a wider scale, exploring
how others view their online and offline interactions.

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Conclusions
As the findings show those relationships which were made and maintained online grew
in terms of the participants being comfortable with contexts that others would prefer to
handle face to face. These relationships were those that were built online in comparison
to older connections where technology would not have been visible in the early stages
of the relationship. It is seemingly difficult to predict how relationships will look in the
future with the constant increase in technology. Prenskys (2001) idea of digital natives
and immigrants reflects how online built relationships are growing in terms of the
future of children becoming more familiar with making more connections online rather
than off. Care must be taken in technologically mediated relationships as is already
highlighted as an issue where we are expecting more from technology and less from
each other. Turkle (2011) highlighted that the more we interact the online the more we
expect the technologies to do, with research up and coming revolving around technical
touch and robots able to show physical emotion will there be such a need for natural
and face to face relationships? This question is still to be researched however the
quality of face to face relationships found in this study were of quality due to facial
emotion and physical touch and if this can be replicated by technology it may seem that
we will disregard our real and true relationships for those created by technology that
are more convenient, perfected and suited to our relationship and social needs.
The findings and literature related to this study are evident in becoming suitable to
educating oneself about how they perceive their interactions and how different and
sensitive situations are dealt with in different ways when using a variety of
communication methods. This aspect is one that will be particularly useful for my
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professional development and future teaching career where the nature of relationships
between teachers, students and parents are very important to determining a childs
progress in and engagement with school (Kraft & Dougherty, 2012). In order to keep
good natured and appropriate relationships with parents it is important as a
professional to be aware of the lack of social cues and emotional state that could affect
an online interaction which is a growing method of communication used in schools, an
aspect that has become apparent through this research.
Total word count: 5319

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33 | P a g e

Appendix A Ethical Protocol
Ethical Protocol
How do technologically mediated interactions influence the way we learn about our
relationships? Does technology make the nature of relationships more visible?

Megan Douglas
The University of Plymouth

ETHICS PROTOCOL
The growth and innovation of technology is now leading the lives of many. This raises
the question of how the social psychology behind people and relationships are changing
based on the rise and increased use of social media as a tool for communication.

This study aims
To explore the use of social media as a form of communication and how it
can differ from face to face communication in relationships.
To conduct research regarding perceptions and contrasts between real life
and online identities.
To look toward how technology may affect social and communication skills
on young learners in the future.
To explore the ideology of technologically mediated relationships and how
they compare with relationships made outside of the technological village.

What it will entail
Natural conversation
Pictures and other contextual information to present communication
Voice recordings
Transcripts of conversations

Informed Consent
Permission to include an individual in the project will be checked and given by said
individual once data has been recorded. Attention and care will be taken in order to
ensure that they are fully informed of the purposes and nature of the research.
Participants will be given a copy of the ethics protocol and any questions about the
study will be answered.

Right to Withdraw
All participants will be offered the option for data to be removed and will be able to
withdraw from the study at any time once the data has been collected. Although
participants will not be informed of the study whilst they are participating in it they will
have the right to withdraw their data from the project if they so wish when I inform
them at the end of the study.
34 | P a g e


Feedback
A summary of the research findings will be available for all participants at the
conclusion of the study by contacting myself (Megan Douglas) using the methods of
contact below.
Anonymity and Confidentiality
Transcripts of the conversations and all other collected data will be kept confidential
and only used for research purposes. Names of those involved in the data will be
changed so their real identities are not revealed. Responsibility for the interpretation of
data remains with me.

Thank you very much for taking part in this research.

If you wish to discuss this study, please contact:

Megan Douglas
BEd Primary Student
University of Plymouth

Email: megan.douglas@students.plymouth.ac.uk
Alternative email: meganjpdouglas@gmail.com

Steve Wheeler (Supervisor)
University of Plymouth

Email: s.wheeler@plymouth.ac.uk

35 | P a g e

Appendix B Reflective Transcripts
Reflective Transcripts

Interaction Number: 1
Date: 7
th
February 2014
Name: Mum
Relationship: Mother Daughter
Type of interaction: Phone Call
Duration: 63 minutes (1hr3mins)
Main topic of conversation: Illness within the family
Feelings involved in conversation: Sad, unhappy, guilty
Summary:
This conversation made me feel very emotional in a negative and sad way. My mum was
telling me about how my cousin has suddenly become severely ill and is in hospital,
originally I started to feel a huge amount of sadness and compassion however it soon
turned to guilt when I was told she has now also lost her sight. With a one year age gap
in between us I feel very guilty about continuing to live my life as I do, with this gift of
sight, doing everything she will now struggle with considerably in the future. It was
made worse by the fact I am 200 miles away from my mum whom I was having the
conversation with but also because I am that far away from the rest of my family and
there is little in the way I can support them with this distance. I wanted to be able to
comfort my mum in this conversation and have the same treatment and support back.
Despite the distance it was nice to hear my mothers voice.

Date: 8
th
February 2014
Name: Jack
Relationship: Close friend
Type of interaction: Face to face
Duration: 160 minutes approx. (2hrs)
Main topic of conversation: 7
th
Feb conversation (family illness)
Feelings involved in conversation: Support, content
Summary:
After my conversation yesterday with my Mum I felt that I should speak to someone else
about my feelings in the situation with my cousin and her illness. I explained the
situation to Jack and due to our close friendship I was able to be honest about how I
have previously felt guilty about being able to live my life as normal where as my cousin
has so much to adapt to. This conversation went from me expressing my feelings to
being supported and Jack was able to give me advice that I had not even thought about.
It made me think about just how much help you can receive when you share your
thoughts and problems. I think that speaking to someone face to face about the situation
made it a lot easier for Jack to understand my feelings and for appropriate support to be
given back to me. It felt very genuine and real and made for a high quality conversation
and changed how I felt about the situation.
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Date: 9
th
February 2014
Name: Emily
Relationship: Close friend/Housemate
Type of interaction: Online (WhatsApp instant message)
Duration: 20 minutes
Main topic of conversation: Romantic relationships
Feelings involved in conversation: Interest
Summary:
A conversation with my housemate over instant message made me really think about
how relationships are formed at university. Despite being under the same roof at the
same time we were instant messaging from separate rooms, it was done in terms of
secrecy and in order to send over appropriate evidence such as screen grabs from the
particular person we were discussing. The conversation made me realise how much we
speak about our relationships with others, seeking advice and using our conversations
to aid other relationships. The conversation could have been face to face but we chose to
have it online for easy accessibility and further features of communications the
application had to offer.

Date: 10
th
February 2014
Name: Emily
Duration: 15 minutes (approx.)
Main topic of conversation: Previous conversation/Relationships
Feelings involved in conversation: Supportive
Summary:
Following on from the online conversation with Emily yesterday we spoke about her
relationship situation face to face today, it was really different as the true emotions in
the situation were being displayed rather than through mobile emoticons. I was able to
give advice to Emily knowing her genuine reactions and give her support through my
words but also the simplest of hugs. I am starting to realise that we constantly talk
about our relationships with others, particularly romantic relationships; we seek advice
of others that are seen to have successful relations with others.

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Date: 11
th
February 2014
Name: Greg
Relationship: New connection (made online)
Type of interaction: Online (instant message via mobile
application)
Main topic of conversation: Interests
Feelings involved in conversation: Excitement
Summary:
I have only recently met Greg, we met through mutual friends and we all share the same
interest of supporting the same local football club. This afternoon I had a great
conversation with Greg about other interests that we share, I always enjoy meeting
people and finding out about what others do and are interested in. I found this
conversation quite exciting once we found we shared many of the same interests. The
conversation stood out for me amongst others because I have been able to put other
serious conversations to a side and talk about something more interesting and it almost
acted as a break from reality whether this is a good thing or not it was a conversation
I enjoyed, mainly because of the informality of it.
Date: 12
th
February 2014
Name: Gemma
Relationship: University academic
Duration: 15 mins within 1 hr meeting
Main topic of conversation: University work
Feelings involved in conversation: Pressured, unsure
Summary:
The conversation that stood out the most for me today was a small formal conversation
I had with a university academic in a meeting about the progress of my course. Suddenly
I felt an awful amount of pressure resulting in feelings of uncertainty caused by big
changes. It felt more comforting having a face to face interaction and voicing my views
and worries over an email or telephone conversation. Despite the pressure and
uncertainty those feelings began to disappear as the participants in the meeting were
made to feel more at ease by the end.
38 | P a g e


Date: 13
th
February 2014
Name: Mum
Relationship: Mother-Daughter
Duration: 55mins
Main topic of conversation: Family illness
Feelings involved in conversation: Relief
Summary:
I was finally able to speak face to face with my family tonight about my cousins illness,
even being around them I could feel a sense of relief. I felt more comfortable and
content speaking to my mum face to face about this kind of serious issue and she was
able to put me at ease, much easier than before whilst over the phone or other messages
online/text.
Date: 14
th
February 2014
Name: Katherine
Relationship: Best friend
Type of interaction: Online video call (using Skype)
Main topic of conversation: Catching up/Relationships/Lifestyle
Feelings involved in conversation: Happiness, Comfort, fulfilment
Summary:
Valentines day today and me and my best friend usually see each other every year, this
year she is on her year abroad in Europe so instead we skyped. It was great because we
could still have exactly the same catch up conversations we would if we were in front of
each other, we could still see the reactions of each other in a real time and natural way.
It made me feel really comforted and fulfilled after speaking to my best friend, a close
relation however does not require constant attention or communication as catching up
after longer periods of time with a longer duration work for us. Despite the distance it
felt as if we were sitting in the room together and we were still able to have normal
conversations, without boundaries and limits of other people. We spoke about things
we had been doing and as it was valentines day we spoke about our relationships with
others, it was interesting to hear about her most recent relationship that had broken up
due to their physical distance. Having this conversation in the morning changed my
mood for the rest of the day and I was a lot happier and relaxed knowing I had had a
lovely conversation with a friend, it felt like I could take a lot more off my mind after
speaking to her.
39 | P a g e


Date: 15
th
February 2014
Name: Jessica
Duration: 12 mins (approx.)
Main topic of conversation: Making plans
Feelings involved in conversation: Excited
Summary:
After a week of a little negativity it was lovely to have a conversation that made me
feeling excited. I spoke to Jessica in order to make plans for my birthday, as well as
excited it made me feel very lucky for what I have and for the friends and families (and
therefore relationships) that a close to me. This conversation originally started using
instant messaging online in a group message to get the ideas from other friends, which
lead to this face to face conversation which I am sure will continue to lead to other
conversations on and offline as more people are involved in the events and celebrations
planned.

Date: 16
th
February 2014
Name: James
Relationship: Close Friend
Type of interaction: Online (iMessage)
Duration: 34 mins
Main topic of conversation: The future
Feelings involved in conversation: Uncertainty
Summary:
This evening I was speaking to my close friend James who lives 200 miles away, I only
see him when I am back home for short periods from university. Despite the
conversation only being brief and online it still involved a formal topic of the future and
job opportunities. Messages started short but gradually got longer with more
meaningful words, words that involved plans but also feelings, how we both felt about
different situations we may be find ourselves in the future. The conversation made me
feel uncertain about what to do in the future and life choices, something that I actually
found comfortable talking about online, this may be because we have always had a very
online friendship and are used to be able to talk about serious topics without the need
to be face to face whereas with others, even those I feel I am closer to it is harder to
have conversations with similar meaning that are not face to face.

40 | P a g e


Date: 17
th
February 2014
Name: Dad
Relationship: Father-Daughter
Type of interaction: Phone call
Duration: 46 mins
Main topic of conversation: Holiday plans
Feelings involved in conversation: Relief, excitement, motivation
Summary:
Today I had a lovely call from my Dad organising a summer holiday. It was a lovely
break from work to be asked if I wanted to join the family on holiday, it also gave me a
huge sense of motivation to complete the work I have been working on and to
successfully my year at university before the summer break. It was also a relief to speak
to my Dad on the phone who has always had a calming voice, something which would
not be relayed as much if this was an email or a text message. Excitement was brought
on from the excitement and enthusiasm he had for these plans which positively rubbed
off on me.

Date: 18
th
February 2014
Name: Adam (Brother)
Relationship: Brother-Sister (siblings)
Type of interaction: Instant Message (iMessage)
Duration: 16 mins
Main topic of conversation: Memories
Feelings involved in conversation: Reminiscent, joyful
Summary:
The conversation that stood out for me most today was the one I had with my younger
brother, it was sparked off by the posting of some photos of us when we were younger
and he messaged me to talk about the old memories we shared whilst growing up. It
made me realise how even though we live a longer distance away from each other now
it is still so easily possible to share those memories from a social network that has
logged a timeline of our relationship as siblings. The conversation would have been
more memorable had it been face to face or on the phone as it was missing expression
however it got me thinking in a pleasant and reminiscent fashion.

41 | P a g e


Date: 19
th
February 2014
Name: Jack
Relationship: Close friend
Type of interaction: Online (social media chat)
Duration: 19 mins
Main topic of conversation: University work/deadlines
Feelings involved in conversation: Anxiety
Summary:
After speaking to a number of people about university deadlines one conversation with
a close friend Jack made me a little more anxious than usual about forthcoming
deadlines. The conversation stood out because it made me feel more anxious as web
links and other reminders were used in the conversation to emphasis the worry of the
work, where as in a face to face conversation this would not be as accessible.

Date: 20
th
February 2014
Name: Elliot
Relationship: Loosely connected Facebook Friend
Type of interaction: Instant message chat (Facebook)
Duration: 43 mins
Main topic of conversation: Teaching profession
Feelings involved in conversation: Passion, anger
Summary:
Today I had a conversation that made me very frustrated and annoyed. The freedom of
speech seems even freer on the internet, more people to see it and less of a barrier to
remove to say it. I had a conversation with Elliot today about teaching and how he does
not understand how teachers can moan about working hours and pay when we only
work 9-3 and get the whole summer off. It made me frustrated because I know he
would not be as abrupt and vicious to my face, maybe I misjudged the tone through the
blur of my anger for the original comments however it frustrated me that it felt like a
personal attack, especially when he really is little educated on the matter. Despite the
anger I also felt a passion to 1) stick up for myself and 2) give him my own personal
experience of the situation. Without the barrier of distance in internet I would be
surprised as to how much of this conversation would have taken place.

42 | P a g e


Appendix C Raw Data & Notes
Face to Face Online Phone Call
Weather 28 47 3
Cooking 16 4 0
University 32 23 3
University Work 41 48 5
Personal Relationships 23 49 2
Social Plans 59 61 13
Cleaning 6 2 0
Family Members 10 13 8
Sport 28 43 6
TV 19 15 1

(Table, relating to figure 3 page 13)
Possible reasons for increases in conversation from 7th 20th February 2014:
Weather South West of England hit badly with storming weather, breaking
down travel links and causing damage and debris.
Cooking, Cleaning research data collection undertaken during two weeks
whilst living in shared accommodation where cooking and cleaning is arranged
in groups.
Sport research data collection period during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi

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