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Cultivating Connections in 140 Characters: A Case Study of Twitter Relationship Building


Affiliations
1 Wichita State University, Elliott School of Communication, 1845 Fairmount Street, Wichita, Kansas 67260-0031, United States
2 Wichita State University, United States
     

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Social media use is ubiquitous in the United States. Not surprisingly, an academic debate has emerged about whether or not computer-mediated communication facilitates or hurts interpersonal relationships. This exploratory case study adds to the conversation by assessing how Twitter users in the Wichita, Kansas community view the impact of Twitter on their social lives, specifically, communication and relationships. Using a grounded theory approach and inductive thematic analysis, this paper analyzed data from a two-phase study involving key informant interviews (N=15) and six focus groups (N = 32). Three themes emerged: Twitter and professional relationships; Twitter and personal relationships, and Twitter and community. Analysis indicated that Twitter is a robust tool used to build and maintain interpersonal and community relationships that range from shallow and impersonal to deep and meaningful, depending on the desires of users, all in 140 characters or less.

Keywords

Twitter, Personal Relationships, Community, Social Media.
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  • Cultivating Connections in 140 Characters: A Case Study of Twitter Relationship Building

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Authors

Jessica D. Bertapelle
Wichita State University, Elliott School of Communication, 1845 Fairmount Street, Wichita, Kansas 67260-0031, United States
Deborah Ballard-Reisch
Wichita State University, United States

Abstract


Social media use is ubiquitous in the United States. Not surprisingly, an academic debate has emerged about whether or not computer-mediated communication facilitates or hurts interpersonal relationships. This exploratory case study adds to the conversation by assessing how Twitter users in the Wichita, Kansas community view the impact of Twitter on their social lives, specifically, communication and relationships. Using a grounded theory approach and inductive thematic analysis, this paper analyzed data from a two-phase study involving key informant interviews (N=15) and six focus groups (N = 32). Three themes emerged: Twitter and professional relationships; Twitter and personal relationships, and Twitter and community. Analysis indicated that Twitter is a robust tool used to build and maintain interpersonal and community relationships that range from shallow and impersonal to deep and meaningful, depending on the desires of users, all in 140 characters or less.

Keywords


Twitter, Personal Relationships, Community, Social Media.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.15655/mw%2F2015%2Fv6i3%2F77888