College Students’ Romantic Relationships on Facebook: Linking the Gratification for Maintenance to Facebook Maintenance Activity and the Experience of Jealousy

Abstract

Previous work indicates that one of the central motives for using Facebook is relationship maintenance and that the use of Facebook is linked with romantic jealousy. Grounded in a uses and gratifications perspective, this study examined the maintenance motive for using Facebook; positive and negative online maintenance activity; and trait, cognitive, emotional, and Facebook jealousy. Results indicate that individuals who are strongly motivated to use Facebook for relationship maintenance are more likely to engage in Facebook assurances and monitoring but that there is a curvilinear relationship between the maintenance motive and the use of online monitoring. Regarding the patterns of relationships among Facebook maintenance and the various forms of jealousy, results indicate that the more that individuals used online monitoring and Facebook openness, the more of all four types of jealousy they reported, whereas the use of Facebook positivity and assurances was negatively associated with cognitive jealousy. Finally, there was little evidence of a relationship between the use of Facebook for maintenance purposes and the experience of jealousy.

Keywords::

• New Media
• Romantic Relationships

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marianne Dainton

Marianne Dainton (Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 1994) is a Professor in the Department of Communication at La Salle University.

Alexandra Stokes

Alexandra Stokes (M.A., La Salle University, 2011) is a Project Coordinator at Global Employment Solutions, Philadelphia.