The reciprocal relations between facebook relationship maintenance behaviors and adolescents’ closeness to friends

Abstract

IntroductionScholars suggest that social networking sites such as Facebook offer adolescents an ideal setting for engaging in relationship maintenance behaviors. Despite these suggestions, it remains an open question whether adolescents' online relationship maintenance behaviors can improve aspects of positive friendship quality, such as feelings of closeness. Additionally, it is unclear whether adolescents’ feelings of closeness can motivate them to engage in online relationship maintenance behaviors. The aim of this two-wave longitudinal panel study was to investigate the reciprocal relations between Facebook relationship maintenance behaviors (FRMB) and adolescents' closeness to friends. MethodA sample of 12- to 18-year-old Flemish adolescents (NTime1 = 1840) filled out a paper-and-pencil survey twice within a six month-interval. We estimated cross-lagged structural equation models in AMOS to test the reciprocal relations between FRMB, closeness to friends, and receiving positive Facebook reactions. To test whether the hypothesized relations were moderated by gender and/or age, we conducted multiple group comparison tests. ResultsFindings revealed that FRMB and adolescents' closeness to friends were reciprocally related over time: FRMB positively predicted adolescents' closeness to friends and closeness to friends positively predicted FRMB. In addition, receiving positive Facebook reactions mediated these reciprocal relations. ConclusionBy revealing that receiving positive Facebook reactions mediates the reciprocal relationships between FRMB and adolescents' closeness to friends, we now better understand how FRMB can increase adolescents' closeness to friends and how increased closeness to friends can enhance adolescents’ FRMB. The discussion focuses on the understanding of these findings, directions for future research, and key limitations.