Thursday, December 22, 2011

Love and Technology

Good morning LOVEanese, I have a lot of exciting updates and news! The first is that for all of those waiting to hear about my thesis... I'll be starting the rough draft of the results by tomorrow. So, hopefully it will be written by the end of the first week of January. Also, I hope to have a rough draft of my entire thesis by the end of January/beginning of February! We'll see if I can do it :)

Second, you are all great. The blog already has over 4,751 views! Thank you for reading, and thank you for commenting (y'all loved the last post about platonic friendship with the opposite sex!). But now I have a request. It would be an amazing Christmas present if we could hit over 5,000 views by 11:59 on December 31. Do you think we can do it? Spread the blog around: post it to Facebook, e-mail it to friends, Tweet it, Google+ it, post it on your blog, to your RSS feed, tell your friends, check out the LOVEanon Facebook Page... whatever you want! It would really mean the world to me if it could get to that number.

Today's post isn't going to be long. All I want to do other than give you my news is post about a couple links about computer mediated romance. Last night, an article came out in the Daily Star written by my friend Brooke Anderson. She wrote about technology and love. You can read it here. She also interviewed me, and mentioned LOVEanon. Another good story was written on a blog I like to read (IvySays) also related to dating and technology. It can be found here. Check out both of them. What do you think about it? Tell me in the comments below! Bonus: this article discusses why it's so easy to fall in love online.

Also along those lines, I just wanted to highlight some other technology and love-related articles. One of which is this one, which spotlights 5 pretty decent-sounding post-break-up apps for a smartphone. Another is this infographic about relationships and Facebook:


In case it's difficult to see, once again, you can check out the original, bigger version here. Another interesting infographic related to Facebook was created by Science of Relationships (available here if it's too small):


Another cool article to check out is from Mashable, and presents statistics on how technology is used in dating and within relationships. For instance, 1/4 people send a friend request on Facebook before the first date (assuming there IS a first date). It also includes stats on when people think it's acceptable to become "Facebook Official," how individuals in their teens, 20s, 30s, and 40s follow-up after a first impression, and statistics on sexting. Here's a bonus too: apparently, people are using smartphones everywhere--including in bed.


(+961): "Dude, I thought foreplay was an app!"
(+91): "That's Foursquare you idiot!"

In another Mashable article, the author looks at oversharing on social media, and how it can not just be detrimental to a relationship, but people are increasingly trying to show off their relationships online.

Lastly, a really interesting article (also from Science of Relationships) is this one about the connections between predicting relationship satisfaction and longevity and your mobile phone. I really suggest you read it, but one of the most interesting reviews of the findings was that: "[the researchers] quickly realized that the number of text messages mattered far less than why couples were getting in touch in the first place. Surprisingly, "expressing affection" (e.g., "I miss you already," or "XOXO"), was the most common reason couples were texting each other. In fact, couples said they texted for affection 75% of the time, followed by discussing serious issues (25%), apologizing (12%), broaching confrontational subjects (6%), or hurting their partner (3%)." This is interesting because it sheds light on a more positive side of phones in a relationship context, as they often get a bad rap and are associated with negative effects.


"Mmmm! Thx 4 da pza babe! *Instagram*"
"NP! Lol, jk, luv u!! <3"

Something I think is interesting is that, compared to my American friends back in the States, people here in Lebanon really do seem to put their relationship status' (and in fact, a lot of information) on Facebook. Is it because people are trying to keep some information private from their friends, or more likely, their parents/family? Do people here just "trust" Facebook and the Internet less? Is it because people's networks are just so much bigger here than they are on average in the US? Let me know what you think!

I'm not sure if I will post next week or not, but keep the conversation going. Have a great Christmas/New Year/Holiday (no matter what religion you are), and enjoy the time with your friends and family!

Spread the (holiday) love,

-Ogie

3 comments:

  1. Good luck with your thesis!
    You oghie you're very actif in bloging;)
    I think that people who are sharing every thing about there relationship in facebook (espacially young couple) because most (i said most)of there prents are not very good with computers (espacially in lebanon)so they beleive that there isn't a parent control. Second reason is that most of people are not aware of the problem of security with the net.
    and finally your blog is good ;)
    anonymous_h.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anon: Thank you so much!

    I understand your point about Internet security. And what you're alluding to is the concept of agency (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agency_(philosophy)). Basically, they feel like they have the ability to act more independently in this virtual world, free from structural and institutional control. That's a really interesting point, and it's definitely popular within the discourse of the Internet (e.g., that it's a virtual space where you (largely) control what happens).

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