RESEARCH_FILE
Jesse Fox
The Ohio State University
Known for:Research on relational uncertainty, attachment, and partner surveillance on social networking sites
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“They're online but not replying to me”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“A timestamp is not a sentence. It's a timestamp.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
Close the app. Write down the exact time you last checked their status. Do not reopen the app to verify their status for 15 minutes. Notice what the silence actually feels like without the timestamp feedback.
Key findings
- 2014
Relationship uncertainty, more than any confirmed partner behavior, predicted partner surveillance on Facebook; attachment anxiety was what drove that uncertainty upward in the first place, replicating and extending earlier attachment-and-surveillance findings. Social Networking Sites in Romantic Relationships: Attachment, Uncertainty, and Partner Surveillance on Facebook ↗