Keywords

Facework, remarriage, identity management, widowhood

Abstract

Expressions of identity are increasingly occurring in online communication as a variety of social media have emerged. People establish and manage identities online, and experience challenges when changing their online image. Widows experience this challenge in a dramatic fashion, especially when they begin to date and reveal new relationships online. The purpose of this study was to examine the expressions of facework in the online writings of widows regarding their new romantic relationships. This illuminated the ways in which one population, young widow bloggers, deals with the challenge of online identity management. A systematic thematic analysis was conducted to describe how posts on widow blogs address the positive face needs of remarrying widows. This study discovered evidence of preventive facework, face threats and face attacks, and corrective facework used in online blogs written by widows.

Notes

If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu

Graduation Date

2014

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Hastings, Sally

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Communication

Degree Program

Communication; Mass Communication

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0005127

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0005127

Language

English

Release Date

May 2014

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences; Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic

Download

Share

COinS