Unfriended: The Role of Computer-Mediated Communication in Maintaining Long-Distance Friendships

In recent years, social media has become a significant communication medium through which friends interact. As the ease of interaction increases, social network services, specifically Facebook, have come to facilitate friendships differently than in previous generations by making physical proximity less necessary for communication. However, proximity, or propinquity, is an important aspect of both communication and friendship because it promotes more face-to-face interaction. Face-to-face interaction is defined social presence theory as the most potent form of communication. In this study, I examine the role of face-to-face interaction in friendship maintenance, and how computer-mediated communication affects strength of friendship over time. I ask how important is the amount of face-to-face interaction, influenced by propinquity, to maintaining friendships? Furthermore, how effective is Facebook in maintaining the strength of friendships when propinquity declines? I administered a survey to college students to learn about their relationships with high school friends. I found that respondents who interact with these friends less frequently in person reported a greater decrease in friendship strength over time. Also, respondents who text these friends less frequently reported a similar decline in friendship strength. This questions the relevance of propinquity, face-to-face interaction, and social presence theory. However, I found more frequent Facebook interaction between friends to be strongly associated with a decrease in friendship, suggesting its inability to maintain friendship strength when propinquity is reduced.Bachelor of Art