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The proliferation of social networking sites (SNSs) has drawn attention to different parties in realising their goals. Advertisers utilise SNSs to promote new products and services; politics optimise SNSs to gather support from the public, while ordinary users use SNSs as a unique platform to practice self-disclosure, develop networks, and sustain relationships. This study explores how social anxiety affects self-disclosure on SNSs and well-being. It also examines the moderating effects of two contextual factors, namely, online disinhibition and psychological stress. Two hundred and thirty-four valid responses were collected via an online survey. A positive relationship between social anxiety and self-disclosure, and self-disclosure and well-being was found. Furthermore, a positive moderation effect among social anxiety, online disinhibition, and self-disclosure was revealed. This research contributes to the development of social networking literature. It also enhances the understanding of disclosure patterns on SNSs among socially anxious individuals, thereby providing important insights for practitioners, educators, and clinicians.

The present study explored the demographics and associations between the use of technology and romantic relationships among 171 young adults.

Participants completed a self-administered anonymous, online survey that included 66 questions assessing demographic information, use of technology, sexting activity, and sexual behaviors. Crosstabs were performed between demographic factors and questions assessing online engagement with romantic partners. A chi-square test for independence (with Yates Continuity Correction) was done among the remaining questions on Internet use and demographic variables, with the exception of age. Independent-samples t-tests were conducted to compare age with the questions posed on how technology influences romantic relationships. The authors used Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model and Johnson’s addition of the technosubsystem to examine the influence of the Internet on relationships.

Results showed variation with the Internet’s impact on close relationships by ethnicity; Caucasians were more likely to see the Internet as increasing their relationship while African Americans saw it as negatively impacting it. In addition, men were more likely to use technology to maintain long-distance relationships, as well as search for a partner, flirt, and ask a partner out online.

As relational scientists, it is particularly important to understand if and how interpersonal relationships are affected by the use of technology. Suggestions are provided on how to guide partners toward healthy relationships by managing the impact of technology. Studying the current trends in technology to better understand modern relationships is critical to future social scientists and relationship helpers.

This chapter explores communication processes within online support groups. Online support group researchers have drawn upon a variety of theories in the decades of empirical research that has been conducted within this context. The chapter focuses on motivations for using online support groups, key theoretical frameworks that have been applied to the study of online support groups, supportive messages and communication processes within these groups, and the relationship between social support and health outcomes for online support group participants. The chapter concludes with several key limitations of previous work as well as a number of areas for theory development and future research studies.

Digital cameras and social networking have made photo-taking and photo-sharing more ubiquitous than ever before. In recent years, scholars and the popular press have raised concerns over the practice of posting photographs on social networking sites, especially when the images contain problematic or incriminating content. These concerns are often directed toward college students, who are among the most active users of social media. To that end, this chapter offers a comprehensive overview of the extent and emerging research pertaining to college students' photo-sharing habits on social networking sites. Much of our attention focuses on Facebook, which has emerged as the largest and fastest growing photo-sharing Web site in the world. While research on text-based disclosure will be addressed, a greater emphasis is placed on college students' photo-related behaviors, including uploading, viewing, tagging, and untagging photos. Further, this chapter discusses research on problematic or damaging content in college students' photos posted on Facebook, including depictions of alcohol use, drug use, and sexual promiscuity. This chapter provides a glimpse of some recent data (collected by the author) from a national sample of U.S. college students, which further shed light on their experiences and attitudes regarding their photo-related Facebook behaviors, the types of incriminating photos they report posting, and the consequences they have experienced due to visual images shared by themselves or others on Facebook. Finally, this chapter concludes with a discussion of the strategies utilized by college administrators, faculty, athletic coaches, and others within higher education to address the concerns and consequences often associated with college students and the photographs they share on Facebook and other social networking sites.

Since the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic in March 2020, higher education institutions (HEIs) across the globe have shifted – entirely or partly – to online teaching and learning; Lebanese HEIs were no exception. Such an unprecedented and “forced” transition to online teaching and learning has created a landscape for scholars and researchers to inquire into the efficiency and effectiveness of online teaching and learning, students’ satisfaction with this virtual educational experience, and instructors’ satisfaction with such an experience. This chapter presents a study about Lebanese instructors’ satisfaction with online teaching and learning during the pandemic. Instructors’ satisfaction was measured in terms of three satisfaction constructs of psychometrically validated “Online Instructor Satisfaction Measure” (OISM): instructor-to-student interaction (ISI); student-to-student interaction (SSI); and course design, development, and teaching (CDT). Data were collected through an online questionnaire from 102 Lebanese instructors across 7 Lebanese universities: 6 private universities and the national public Lebanese higher education institute (Lebanese University). This study found that there were no significant changes between the satisfaction levels in relation to each of the ISI, SSI, and CDT constructs between STEM education background instructors and their non-STEM education background counterparts. Despite their dissatisfaction with the level of interaction between them and their students (ISI), the participating Lebanese instructors were satisfied with the SSI, except for students’ collaborative and group work, and were also satisfied with the CDT, except for the preparation time required for delivering an online course.