K. HOLMES
the overall level of communication, this increase has been most
pronounced for local social ties” (Goldenberg & Levy, 2009: p.
1). Mok and Wellman and Carrasco (2010) questioned how
much distance mattered before the internet, and found that
physical distance seems to matter whether or not there was
internet, although it has changed how relationships persist over
time. For example, friendships that may have stayed snugly in
memory as dim high school recollections may now enjoy a
repartee online reflective of relationships and habits from the
past, when discussing recent news stories or seeking advice on
childrearing items. Whether these rekindled relationships are
positive, neutral, or negative will of course depend on how
much old, renewed, but previously abandoned relationships
bump up against the present.
Shaw (2010) discussed the relevance of Hägerstrand’s (1970)
concept of “bundle” within the context of conceptual restraints,
meaning that individuals perform tasks or a specific activity in
unison in order to complete an outcome. Shaw updates this
concept by linking the notion of online social networks with the
linking of physical locations to a virtual one. “We could argue
that locations of nodes and links in a virtual network are not
relevant according to a topological perspective. This is true
only if we are interested in the connectivity and flows between
different nodes on social networks” (p. 2). He went on to
illustrate by stating that someone who wants to complete a task
with a friend who lives 1000 miles away is unlikely to suggest
meeting at a local coffee shop.
Recent literature on the geographical location of users of
social media is fairly meager, with the same literature reviews
pointing to the same handful of studies. However, as supported
by Backstrom et al.’s (2010), observations from even the
earliest studies have not changed: “the further you get from a
person, the lower likelihood you will find her friends there” (p.
3). These researchers also found that those who lived in cities
were more likely to have friends scattered throughout the
country. Gilbert, Karahalios, and Sandvig (2008) found results
in a related topic when they found that the strength of
relationship ties of urbanites were more loosely defined than
those from rural communities, and concluded that rural and
urban residents use social media in different ways. Rural
participants claimed fewer friends, and those friends were
located close to their place of residence. Further, rural
participants maintained higher privacy settings than their urban
counterparts, revealing a lower level of trust in others. This
researcher was interested in the relationship between user
location (geographical) and possible differences in perception
regarding relationship maintenance online, and found that
existing literature was lacking in answers.
Hypothesis 2: Participants from rural areas will be less
trusting of others’ personal information posted online than
those from metropolitan areas.
Social Networking Analysis Theory
Social network analysis is grounded in the systematic analy-
sis of empirical data, although it was once seen as a method of
inquiry rather than a stand-alone theory. People now actively
think of their social networks (how and whom they are con-
nected to in real life) the way sociologists have for many dec-
ades because of the influence of online social networks such as
Facebook and Twitter. These networks have long been re-
searched by sociologists as an acknowledged way to maintain
relationships (Keller, 1968) share information, and fit in with
those surrounding oneself in a community (Freeman, 2004).
The biggest difference in then and now is the ease with which
one is included in or isolated from particular networks, and the
easier tracking by researchers with an eye for electronic data
mining that is now available in numbers that would have been
incomprehensible 30 years ago (Butts, 2009). Wellman (2008)
stated, “Thirty years ago, I could not even sell the term ‘social
network’ to sociologists” (p. 2).
Granovetter in 1973 defined a tie and its strength as related
to an investment of time, emotional intensity, mutual confi-
dence, and reciprocity. Festinger, Schachter, and Back (1950)
simplified the idea of propinquity by showing that the term
meant that, in the simplest terms, people befriend their
neighbors. Festinger’s social comparison theory ties in further
with how people view themselves (and the contents of one’s
social networking profile) with regards to their felt perceptions
about how others are superior or inferior to themselves.
Still, however, even with all of the data available, it seems
that people’s networks, although globally available in a way
never before imagined, generally support very localized rela-
tionships (within driving distance). Rather than “the end of
geography” (Graham, 1998) as we know it, at this point it ap-
pears that while the availability helps one forge new connec-
tions, at its core, electronic social networking in many ways
continues to reflect the way things have historically been with
relationships online reflecting the connections one has in real
time. People continue to make comparisons of themselves in
relationship to others in the community. This study explores
what this researcher views as simply a newer mode of com-
munication and how participants perceive its role in supporting
or taking away from relationships. How close ties are to begin
with may play a role, as Gilbert (2012) suggested, in that the
perceived ease or difficulty may depend on the intimacy of the
relationship in the first place. It was suspected by this re-
searcher that, in the end, while technology changes at a rapid
pace as do the options available to communicate, the more in-
timate the relationship, the more likely the desire to prefer
face-to-face interaction. Although technology such as Skype
(free online video conferencing software) is easily accessible to
most users of social networking technology in their own homes,
most people at this point don’t prefer to use Skype to commu-
nicate “faux face to face” over other electronic means. Tak-
hteyev, Gruzd, and Wellman (2012) stated simply, “Social
contacts benefit from physical proximity” (p. 1). Physical ge-
ography then, of course, would have an effect on the perceived
ease of maintaining relationships via electronic means.
Method
An online survey was distributed through Facebook via a
web-based platform, targeting ages 18 and over (Appendix A).
Participants were from 38 states in the United States and 24
participants resided outside of the United States. This sample
was heavily Caucasian and well educated. The survey consisted
primarily of closed-ended quantitative questions.
Of the 296 participants, 81 identified as male, 209 identified
as female, 1 identified as “other”, and 5 declined to answer the
question. During analysis, the researcher decided to eliminate
the responses from the participant who identified with the
“other” category in order to restrict the research analysis to two
sexes as opposed to three when exploring gender.
Copyright © 2012 SciRes.
310
