Communication and Social Media

With engaging story lines, unpredictable plot twists, and realistic characters, the case studies in Communication and Social Media tackle real-life issues that are relevant for students. Written by communication scholars with specific expertise in social media and new technologies, the cases are presented as stories and reflect recent theory and research. The text encourages students to discuss, develop, and analyze potential solutions to the problems illustrated in each case study, including dating on social media and career development through social media. This approach increases students' interest in communication, furthers their desire to learn, and reminds them to think critically about their communication as they navigate their relationships with others through social media and new technologies.

Joseph P. Mazer is Associate Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Communication at Clemson University.

Acknowledgments

About the Contributors

Introduction: Case Studies in the Classroom

Part I: Communication and Social Media Case Studies Across Personal Relationships

Case Study 1: ''She Posted About Him Again?'' Social Media Jealousy and Conflict in Romantic Relationships
Jenna McNallie & Patricia E. Gettings

Case Study 2: ''Are you okay?'' Online Harassment and Cyberstalking
Bianca Batti & Jasmine R. Linabary

Case Study 3: Creating, Maintaining, and Navigating Interpersonal Relationships: Using Multiple Computer-Mediated Channels
Sarah Beach

Case Study 4: Facing Today: Examining Social Media Use in Developing Relationships
Samantha Dunn & Dakota C. Horn

Case Study 5: Facebook Status and Social Feedback: Dating With, Coming Out, and Checking On
John Marc Cuellar

Case Study 6: When You Don't See the Sign, Do You Push or Pull the Door? Understanding Computer-Mediated Communication and Long-Distance Intimate Partners from an Attachment Theory Perspective
Elizabeth M. Jenkins

Case Study 7: Out Online: Exploring LGBTQ Identity Through Mediated Friendship
Valerie Rubinsky

Case Study 8: Black Lives Matter, too: Creating a Movement through Facebook
Clarissa T. Williams

Case Study 9: Breaking Up the BAND: Group Communication and Social Media
Melissa Rizzo Weller

Case Study 10: The Modality Switch Effect: Public Grief Online, Social Support Offline
Jocelyn M. DeGroot & Heather J. Carmack

Case Study 11: Recognizing Warning Signs and Helping Someone in Crisis: Suicide Ideation on Facebook
Lauren Eubanks Pollard

Case Study 12: The Curious Nature of Support in Online Support Communities
Jeanine W. Turner, Mark L. Cabling, Alejandra Hurtado de Mendoza, &
Vanessa B. Sheppard

Case Study 13: #mommywars: Exploring Group Membership, Social Support, and Conflict among Subgroups of Mothers on Facebook
Jessalyn I. Vallade, Renee Kaufmann, & Kelly G. Odenweller

Case Study 14: Bridging the Digital Divide to Stay in Touch with Grandparents: Communication with Intergenerational Relatives When Away at College
Sharon Storch & Anna V. Ortiz Juarez-Paz

Case Study 15: Social Media by Different Generations: Cultural and Economic Aspects
Do Kyun Kim & Alice C. Ferguson

Case Study 16: Trouble in Paradise: Maintaining Relationships in Geographically Dispersed Families
Patricia E. Gettings & Jenna McNallie

Case Study 17: Basking in Reflected Glory (BIRG) & Cutting off Reflected Failure (CORF): A Look at Behavioral Patterns in Response to the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election
Alexandria S. Jenkins

Case Study 18: Student Academic Support: Connecting Across Modes of Communication
Blair Thompson & Cathryn Ellis

Case Study 19: Fight of the Century: Parasocial Relationships & Affective Disposition Theory
Gregory A. Cranmer & Nicholas D. Bowman

Case Study 20: Sports Identity: Making Sports Connections Through Online Fantasy Play
Colby Lanham

Part II: Communication and Social Media Case Studies Across Professional Relationships

Case Study 21: Mutual Screening: Implications for Applicants and Employers in the Digital Age
Gavin Kirkwood & Holly J. Payne

Case Study 22: To Connect or Not to Connect? Professional Networks and Social Media
Michelle Fetherston

Case Study 23: Professor Twitter Use and Student Impression Formation: The Warranting Value of Professor Social Media
Cathlin V. Clark-Gordon & Nicholas D. Bowman

Case Study 24: Self-Disclosure Through Social Media and its Influence Beyond Graduation
Jessica G. Owens

Case Study 25: Teacher Self-Disclosure, Politics, and Student Discomfort
Anna M. Wright & Brian M. Rohman

Case Study 26: Marketing or Manipulation?: The College Decision-Making Process for International Students
Madeline A. Rafi

Case Study 27: Crisis on Campus: Influence, Activism, and Dialogue Through Social Media
Brandon C. Boatwright

Case Study 28: False School Shooting: Utilizing Social Media and Sense-Making Theory as an Outlet to Distress on a College Campus
Vanessa M. Vaccaro

Case Study 29: Social Media in the Workplace: A Space for Escape
Kathryn B. Staggs

Case Study 30: Lilly Pulitzer and the Limited Edition Water Bottles: Instagram and the Wants of the Consumer
Christa Kettlewell

Case Study 31: Social Media on the Golf Course: A Need For Future Facilities
Mitchell Smith