MySpace or OurSpace? The impact of partners’ social networking sites on relational uncertainty, satisfaction, and trust

• In Event: The Changing Nature of Relationships in Social Network(ing) Sites

Abstract

This study used an uncertainty reduction framework to examine the relationships between partners’ social networking site (SNS; the extent to which individuals know their partner’s SNS friends and the visibility of individuals on their partner’s SNS), relational uncertainty, and relational outcomes (satisfaction and trust) in romantic relationships. Results of a survey supported the proposed mediation of the relationship between SNS features and relational outcomes by relational uncertainty. Implications for relational maintenance research are discussed.

Author

• Erin Ruppel, University of Arizona