Channel complementarity and multiplexity in long-distance friends’ patterns of communication technol...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
Beteiligte: Ruppel, Erin K, Burke, Tricia J, Cherney, Maura R
In: New Media & Society, 20, 2018, 4, S. 1564-1579
veröffentlicht:
SAGE Publications
Medientyp: Artikel, E-Artikel

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Umfang: 1564-1579
ISSN: 1461-7315
1461-4448
DOI: 10.1177/1461444817699995
veröffentlicht in: New Media & Society
Sprache: Englisch
Schlagwörter:
Kollektion: SAGE Publications (CrossRef)
Inhaltsangabe

<jats:p> Understanding how people use communication technologies (CTs) in close relationships requires examining interdependencies in or patterns of CT use in those relationships. We combined channel complementarity theory and media multiplexity theory to investigate first-year college students’ ( N = 155) use of CTs (video chat, phone calls, and text messaging) in close, long-distance friendships over a 3- to 10-day period. Overall, CTs were used complementarily. However, complementary use of phone calls and text messaging was higher in closer friendships. In contrast, phone calls and video chat were complementary at low but not high levels of closeness. These findings suggest utility in combining channel complementarity theory and media multiplexity theory to understand the “web” of CTs used in daily communication in long-distance friendships and point to similarities in and differences between CTs that might affect complementarity. </jats:p>