Generative AI for Technical Writer or Information Developers
Presentation1
1. In#macy
&
Social
Media
The
rela#onship
between
digital
technology
and
roman#c
rela#onships
of
today’s
youth
Sarah
Boucher
2. "Young
people
are
at
the
forefront
of
developing,
using,
reworking,
and
incorpora8ng
new
media
into
their
da8ng
prac8ces
in
ways
that
might
be
unknown,
unfamiliar,
and
some8mes
scary
to
adults"
(p.
117).
3. History
of
Contemporary
Da#ng
• Contemporary
da#ng
and
courtship
prac#ces
are
a
20th
century
development
• Emerged
out
of
working-‐
class
"calling"
prac#ces
• Supported
by
"the
movement
of
youth
from
work-‐places
to
public
schools,
the
development
of
school
dances,
and
the
independence
afforded
by
the
spread
of
automobile
• Current
rituals
are
less
formal
and
uniform
than
those
of
their
historical
counterparts
4. Modern-‐day
Rela#onships
• Romance
is
a
salient
feature
of
social
development
in
adolescence
• Teens
learn
about
da#ng,
in#macy,
and
romance
from
their
friends
and
social
circles
• Teen
romance
and
rituals
take
place
both
publicly
and
collec#vely
• Da#ng
and
romance
prac#ces
and
themes
are
a
central
part
of
teens'
new
media
prac#ces
• "Using
social
media,
contemporary
teens
con#nue
to
craM
and
reshape
da#ng
and
romance
norms
and
rituals
that
are
now
deeply
#ed
to
the
development
of
new
media
literacies"
(p.
120)
• Youth
u#lize
3
primary
technologies
in
their
in#macy
prac#ces:
mobile
phones,
instant
messaging,
and
social
network
sites
5. “Controlled
Casualness”
of
Digital
Communica#on
• New
media
allows
teens
to
meet
and/or
further
poten#al
roman#c
interests
in
a
way
that
might
feel
less
vulnerable
then
face-‐to-‐
face
communica#on
• The
asynchronous
nature
of
technologies
provides
teens
with
the
ability
to
deliberate
and
carefully
construct
messages
that
appear
to
be
casual
6. Language
of
“Controlled
Casualness”
• Online
communica#on
supports
the
“whatever
theory
of
language”,
in
which
people
are
increasingly
using
more
informal
linguis#c
forms
to
write
and
communicate
• Casual
online
language
is
used
to
create
an
inten#onal
ambiguity
• Such
communica#on
is
a
“contextually
specific
literary
prac#ce,
acutely
tuned
to
the
par#culars
of
given
social
situa#ons
and
cultural
norms”
(p.
125)
• The
text
cites
Bob,
a
white
19
year
old,
who
reported
carefully
edi#ng
his
grammar
and
spelling
to
give
the
appearance
of
an
“off-‐
the-‐cuff”
comment
• Public
venues
afforded
by
social
network
sites
(such
as
“walls”
on
Facebook)
provide
yet
another
layer
of
casualness
and
protec#on
7. New
Media’s
Role
in
Mee#ng/Flir#ng
• Flir#ng
via
the
online
networks
of
“controlled
casualness”
promotes
offline
mee#ngs
and
deepens
casual
#es
to
online
friends
• Networks
are
relied
upon
to
do
some
of
the
verifica#on
work
in
online
secngs
8. Con#nuous
Contact
• Technology
mediates
teens’
long-‐
term,
steady,
and
commided
rela#onships
• The
“always
on”
possibili#es
of
new
media
intensify
teens’
high
expecta#ons
of
contact
with
and
availability
of
their
significant
others
• Much
of
rela#onship
and
emo#onal
work
is
done
through
the
usage
of
new
media
• Affec#on
is
demonstrated
through
private
and
public
media
channels;
such
as
intensified
reciprocity
in
online
communica#ons,
exchanging
digitalized
symbols
via
text
or
instant
messenger,
and
affirming
their
rela#onship
publicly
via
social
network
sites
9. Social
Network
Sites
&
Rela#onships
• Social
network
sites
are
the
embodiment
of
teens’
rela#onships
• Friends
are
ranked
to
according
to
strength
and
seriousness
of
their
rela#onship
and
commitment
• Rela#onship
status
indicates
dedica#on
to
their
significant
other
• Public
messages
and
posted
“couple”
pictures
further
convey
the
nature
of
the
rela#onship
11. Breaking
Up
Online
“New
communica#on
prac#ces
oMen
require
that
teens
take
a
variety
of
steps
to
sweep
up
the
digital
remnant
of
a
given
rela#onship
and
to
deal
with
access
to
and
the
con#nuing
digital
presence
of
their
former
significant
others”
(p.
132).
12. Breaking
Up
Online
• Breaking
up
online—whether
through
tex#ng,
IM’s,
or
a
SNS—is
generally
viewed
as
disrespeclul
• The
consensus
views
face-‐to-‐face
interac#on
as
the
preferable,
more
respeclul
course
of
ac#on
when
ending
a
rela#onship
13. Breaking
Up
Online
• For
teens
today,
changing
a
public
representa#on
of
a
rela#onship
is
a
normal
part
of
the
now-‐mediated
rela#onships
• Digital
representa#ons
of
rela#onships
on
public
venues
ensues
a
public
performance
of
breakups,
showcasing
individuals’
emo#onal
reac#on
to
the
situa#on
• Public
documenta#on
of
rela#onships
and
breakups
indicate
the
need
for
valida#on
and
support
from
one’s
peers
• Breakups
can
be
reflected
passively,
or
displayed
ac#vely
14. Passive
Communica#on
• Despite
the
demise
of
a
rela#onship,
teens
oMen
s#ll
inhabit
the
same
networked
publics,
and
thus
retain
an
indirect
channel
to
monitor
each
other
and
communicate
aMer
breaking
up
• Teens
can
passively
communicate
through
their
online
profiles
and
presence
15. Privacy
&
Boundaries
• Digital
communica#on
circumvents
geographic
and
ins#tu#onal
constraints,
providing
teens
with
a
sphere
of
privacy
to
communicate
with
their
significant
others
• However,
it
requires
a
nego#a#on
of
new
boundaries
and
spheres
of
privacy
in
one’s
in#mate
rela#onships
due
to
the
expecta#ons
of
high
contact
it
creates
and
the
amount
of
personal
informa#on
shared
16. Vulnerability
• New
media
allows
teens
to
manage
their
emo#onal
vulnerability
(i.e.
controlled
casualness)
• However,
new
media
also
makes
youth
more
suscep#ble
to
the
sharing
of
informa#on
about
them
outside
of
their
control
17. Conclusion
• For
teenagers
today,
par#cipa#ng
in
the
mediated
world
of
technology
is
essen#al
to
being
part
of
an
offline
social
world
• Youth
are
developing
new
kinds
of
social
norms
and
literacies
through
the
rela#onal
and
emo#onal
prac#ces
of
digital
technologies
• This
peer-‐based
learning
is
significantly
changing
how
in#mate
communica#on
and
rela#onships
are
structured,
expressed,
and
publicized
