The amount of friends on Social network site and the relationship with your partner

Last week we discussed the Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT) of Berger & Calabrese (1975) during a lecture. This theory assumes that people experience uncertainty in interpersonal relationships, and the uncertainty causes cognitive stress. So when you meet new people, you want to reduce this uncertainty by asking questions for example. We have to communicate with each other to reduce the uncertainty. Do not be afraid! I am not going to repeat the whole lecture, and the whole theory. If you are really interested, you can apply for ‘Communication and Information Sciences’ at the University of Tilburg and enroll in the course Communication Theory.

People experience also uncertainty in a long-lasting relationship. Probably, this is not really new for you, while we all know that after some years (or months, maybe weeks, days) you are not that certain about your relationship. But what do we choose? Excitement or boredom? In this case we assume that a relationship is equal to boredom. I have chosen for the exciting boredom, and I do not experience that much uncertainty in my boredom. Even though I think that I know my partner, he sometimes surprises me. A month ago, we both had a request from a girl on Facebook who we both did not know. I did not add her, he did. I was wondering why did he add her?

Parks & Adelman (1983) found out something interesting, that I did not know before. They assume that the growth of interaction on social network sites reduces the uncertainty in the relationship with your (romantic) partner. The amount of friends can reduce the uncertainty in your relationship. I thought that the amount of friends on the social network site of a man or woman made him a womanizer, and her a man-eater. But well… I was wondering why my boyfriend adds that girl to his network even without knowing her, and Parks & Adelman have given me the answer. Now I know (and you too) that I do not have to be afraid that he is looking for other girls. No, it is a positive thing for my relationship. More friends and more requests of ‘friends’ will make him more satisfied and will let grow his self-respect. Now he has 110 friends on Facebook. Is this number enough to minimize the uncertainty in my relationship?

By the way, I have 152 friends on Facebook, and I do not add everyone. I can afford that, so I am satisfied and have a lot of self-respect. He does not have to be uncertain about me.

Blogging for dummies

I am aware of the fact that I have started with the wrong blog, because I had to start with this one. At the beginning of February, my new semester started. After my first successful semester, I had to start new courses and make new assignments. This blog makes part of an assignment for the course Business Information Technology, and I have to blog about the content of my study.

In February I just started to blog, while I am a ‘blogdummie’. So last week I started an investigation to discover which criteria a blog has to meet, and I have found out that I am not even such a ‘dummie’ blogger. One of the tips was that you can use studies related to your branch (in my case: study) in your blog, which I already have done. And you have to choose subjects, which you like. Easy for me, I have to blog about my study, and I love my study. But another tip was: keep it short, it is not a thesis. My previous blogs were not really short.

Have I already told you that I am a very good student, and I learn very fast? I am and I do. So, my next blogs will be shorter, and this is the first one.

Social shopping

Social network sites as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn are popular nowadays. Men have already known the next fact for a long – long time, but now it has been investigated. Researchers from the University of California have scientifically determined that women talk more than men; 20,000 words a day for women versus 7,000 words a day for men. So ladies, I can determine that we are more social than men, and that is the reason why women are more on social network sites than men (http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/women-do-more-social-networking-13671/).

Something else that men already have known for a long time is that women shop more than men do. And women do not shop only in fashionable shopping centers, but they also shop online. Women conclude more transactions and spend more money than men. The Wall Street men can be proud of us; thanks to us the crisis will end sooner!


Back to online shopping
The social aspect is important to women; they trust the recommendations of their friends, but also those of strangers. Social network sites have already been used for shopping. The integration of social network sites and online shopping is called ‘social shopping’. Wikipedia classify four categories: 
1. Group-shopping sites as Groupon, Kaboodle and LivingSocial;
2. Shopping communities as Stylefeeder and Polyvore, where people can discuss, share and shop;
3. Sites where people can ask advice from other shoppers as Amazon;
4. Social shopping Marketplaces where sellers and buyers can connect and transact as Etsy and Shoply.

Social shopping in the future
The possibilities of these sites are limited, but maybe in the future we will shop in one digital shopping street. How nice will that be to shop social with other women (and some men) from all over the world who you can ask which dress looks better on you. Can you imagine? There will be one main online shopping street without lines and with neat cleared up shops, and you do not have to pay for parking. And men, you do not have to join us for an ‘enjoyable’ shopping day. You can stay at the couch and watch (social) football.

What I need is a fast computer with very fast internet, so that the dress which I want will not be out of order. Or I can tell my other shoppers that the dress does not fit them, and that it makes them fat after which I can order the dress. Women will remain the same, also on the ‘social’ shopping sites.