Relationship Management

Dagstuhl Perspectives Workshop:
Digital Social Networks
24-29 January, 2010
Psychological Dimensions of
Digital Social Networks
Nicola Döring
www.nicola-doering.de

Ilmenau University of Technology
Institut für Medien und Kommunikationswissenschaft
www.ifmk.de
Media Design / Media Psychology

Internet Psychology
Research Object
- online (& offline) behaviors and experiences
- of individual internet users (and groups)
- embedded in social contexts
Research Perspective
• Rejection of Media/Technology Determinism
(„what media/technologies do to people“)
• Affirmation of Active Audiences / Active Media Users
(„what people do with media/technologies“)
Theories of Action

Internet Psychology
Basic Research
- Understanding/explaining online behaviors and
experiences by developing new psychological theories
- Online behaviors and experiences as testbed
for established psychological theories
Applied Research
• Psychological input for fostering media literacy
(reducing digital inequalities)
• Psychological input for critical analysis of public discourses
about media innovations
• Psychological input for human-centered media development

Research Methods in
Internet Psychology
Offline Data Collection
(quantitative & qualitative)
Online Data Collection
(quantitative & qualitative)
Non-Experimental
Studies:
- Survey Paper Questionnaire Online Questionnaire
- Interview Oral Interviews
Focus Groups
- Observation Observation in Offline
Contexts
- Document Analysis Analysis of Offline
Documents
Experimental
Study
Case
Study
Online Interviews
Field Observation in Online
Contexts
Analysis of Online
Documents
Laboratory Experiment Online Experiment
Extensive Offline and/or Online Data Collection
5

Population-Representative Surveys of Online Behavior
Germany:
- ARD/ZDF-Online-Studie ARD/ZDF
- KIM-Studie Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest
- JIM-Studie Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest
USA:
- PEW Internet & American Life
6

Weekly Web 2.0-Use in % (14 to 29 years old)
ARD/ZDF-Onlinestudie 2009
Professional SNS
SNS
7

SNS Usage by University Students 2010 (1st Semester)
23,1
Frequency of usage in percent (N=114)
9,1
3,2
58,7
several times a day
once a day
several times a week
more seldom
9

oyd, d. m., & Ellison, N. B. (2007).
Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship.
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), article 11.
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html
Definition:
We define social network sites as web-based services that
allow individuals to
(1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded
system,
(2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a
connection, and
(3) view and traverse their list of connections and those
made by others within the system.
The nature and nomenclature of these connections may
vary from site to site.

Identity Management
Online Profile
Privacy Settings
Use of Multiple Platforms
Psychological Research on SNS
Relationship Management
List of Friends
Social Network Structure
Interpersonal SNS Behavior

Identity Management
Self Presentation on SNS Profiles:
a) mostly authentic demographic information (name, age, gender, location etc.)
b) implicit rather than explicit identity claims („show rather than tell“)
group and consumer identities (friends, tastes, fandom, brands etc.)
c) both self-produced and re-used artefacts (status updates, photos, videos etc.)

Identity Management
Self Presentation on SNS Profiles:
a) mostly authentic demographic information (name, age, gender, location etc.)
b) implicit rather than explicit identity claims („show rather than tell“)
group and consumer identities (friends, tastes, fandom, brands etc.)
c) both self-produced and re-used artefacts (status updates, photos, videos etc.)
Identity Work (self-directed implications of SNS self presentation)
- reflection/affirmation of different aspects of self
- opportunities of identity de-marginalization
Impression Formation (other-directed implications of SNS self presentation)
- successful/unsuccessful self presentation (e.g. attractive, likable, competent)
- differences/similarities between online and offline impressions (e.g. personality)
- privacy issues (privacy settings, multiple separated profiles,
online-reputation management, expiration dates for digital documents)

New Yorker, 1997
2009

Relationship Management
List of Friends:
a) number of „SNS friends“
b) relationship types („SNS friends“ ≠ friendship)
c) social network structure

Number and types of StudiVZ friends
(University Students 2010, 1st Semester)
20

Relationship Management
List of Friends:
a) number of „SNS friends“
b) relationship types („SNS friends“ ≠ friendship)
c) social network structure
Social Integration and Social Capital
- Maintained Social Capital (members of previously inhabited community)
- Bridging Social Capital (weak ties)
- Bonding Social Capital (strong ties)
Relationship Formation, Maintenance, Termination
- Interpersonal SNS Behavior
- Social Norms regarding SNS friendship requests
- Experience of Online Social Presence

Media Use in a Close „Real“ Friendship
(University Students 2010, 1st Semester)
23

Psychological Research on SNS
Identity Management Relationship Management
Basic Research
- Testing new and established psychological theories
Different Empirical Research Methods
Applied Research
• Psychological input for fostering media literacy
(reducing digital inequalities)
• Psychological input for critical analysis of public
discourses about media innovations
• Psychological input for human-centered media
development

References
relevant journals:
- Journal of Computer Mediated Communication JCMC
- Computers in Human Behavior

Identity management through SNS
boyd, d. (2004). Friendster and Publicly Articulated Social Networks. Conference on Human Factors and Computing Systems
(CHI 2004). Vienna: ACM, April 24-29, 2004.
boyd, d. (2007). Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life. In:
Buckingham, David (2007): Youth, Identity, and Digital Media, Seite 119-142. Cambridge, MIT Press
boyd, d. (2008). Taken Out of Context. American Teen Sociality in Networkes Publics. Dissertation zur Erlangung des Grades
eines Doktors der Philosophie. Online im Internet: http://www.danah.org/papers/TakenOutOfContext.pdf
boyd, d. & Ellison, N. (2007). "Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship." Journal of Computer-Mediated
Communication, 13 (1)
Döring, N. (2003). Sozialpsychologie des Internet. Die Bedeutung des Internet für Kommunikationsprozesse, Identitäten,
soziale Beziehungen und Gruppen. 2. Auflage. Göttingen, Hogrefe.
Goffman, E. (2003). Wir alle spielen Theater. Selbstdarstellung im Alltag. München, Piper.
Ito, M. et al. (2008). Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project. The John D.
and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media and Learning. Online im Internet:
http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/report
Mummendey, H. D. (1995). Psychologie der Selbstdarstellung. 2. Auflage. Göttingen, Hogrefe
Prommer, E.; Brücks, A.; Mehnert, J.; Neumann, H.; Räder, A. & Roßland, F. (2009). „Real life extension“ in Web-basierten
sozialen Netzwerken. Eine Studie zur Selbstrepräsentation von Studierenden in studiVZ. Forschungsbericht.
http://www.hff-potsdam.de/fileadmin/hff/dokumente/aktuelles/Medienwiss_Forschungsbericht_studivz.pdf
Skog, D. (2005). Social interaction in virtual communities: the significance of technology. International Journal of Web Based
Communities 1(4) S. 464 – 474.
Weiterführende Literatur unter:
http://www.webnographers.org/index.php?title=Papers#Social_Networking_Sites_and_Older_People.27s_.2860.2B_yrs.29_Us
e

Relationship Management through SNS
Burt, R. S. (2000). The Network Structure of Social Capital. In: Research in Organizational Behavior, 22, Seite 345-423
Coleman, J. (1988). Social Capital in the Creation of human Capital. In: American Journal of Sociology (AJS), 94, Seite S95-
S120
Donath, J. & boyd, D. (2004). Public displays of connection. BT Technology Journal, 22(4), 71.
Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook "friends:" Social capital and college students' use of
online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4), article 1.
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue4/ellison.html
Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. In: American Journal of Sociology (AJS), 78(6), Seite 1360-1380.
Hampton, K. & Wellman. B. (2003). “Neighboring in Netville: How the Internet Supports Community and Social Capital in a Wired
Suburb.” City and Community 3(2), 277-311
Kavanaugh, A., Carroll, J. M., Rosson, M. B., Zin, T. T., and Reese, D. D. (2005). Community networks: Where offline
communities meet online. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10(4). Online im Internet:
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue4/kavanaugh.html
Lin, N. (2001). Building a Network Theory of Social Capital. In: Lin, Nan; Cook, Karen & Burt, Ronald S. (Hrsg.): Social Capital.
Theory and Research. New York, de Gruyter
Lin, N.; Cook, K. & Burt, R. S. (Hrsg.) (2001). Social Capital. Theory and Research. New York, de Gruyter
Prommer, E.; Brücks, A.; Mehnert, J.; Neumann, H.; Räder, A. & Roßland, F. (2009). „Real life extension“ in Web-basierten
sozialen Netzwerken. Eine Studie zur Selbstrepräsentation von Studierenden in studiVZ. Forschungsbericht.
http://www.hffpotsdam.de/fileadmin/hff/dokumente/aktuelles/Medienwiss_Forschungsbericht_studivz.pdf
Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling Alone. The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York [u. a.], Simon & Schuster
Resnick, P. (2001). Beyond bowling together. Sociotechnical capital. In J. Carroll (Ed.), HCI in the New Millennium (pp.247-272).
Boston, MA: MIT Press.
Weiterführende Literatur unter:
http://www.webnographers.org/index.php?title=Papers#Social_Networking_Sites_and_Older_People.27s_.2860.2B_yrs.29_Use