Work from Di’s PhD has just been published! This is very much Di’s work. My contribution was making the figures in R. Very proud of Di! This is my first social research article – my publication record becomes increasingly eclectic.
Levine DT and Stekel DJ 2016. So why have you added me? Adolescent girls’ technology-mediated attachments and relationships. Computers in Human Behaviour 63:25-34.
Highlights
- Adolescent girls can develop attachment with others through, and with, technology.
- Adolescent girls use technology to meet others and mediate relationships.
- Facets of relationships can be understood as functions of secure relationships.
- Functions include proximity-seeking, trust, exploration and return to secure base.
- Technology use can amplify girls’ secure relationships with peers and parents.
Abstract
Technology plays an almost ubiquitous role in contemporary British society. Despite this, we do not have a well-theorised understanding of the ways adolescent girls use digital devices in the context of their developing secure relationships with their families and friends. This study aims to address this gap in understanding. Fifteen young women based in the Midlands and from across the socio-economic spectrum participated between 2012 and 2013. Participants completed three research tools exploring technology-mediated attachment and relationships, and participated in a face-to-face interview. The findings suggest that it is possible for girls to develop attachments with others through, and with, technology; technology use brings people together and mediates relationships in a range of ways encapsulated by attachment functions. The study highlights the ongoing importance of parental and peer relationships by suggesting that technology can act as a means by which the positive and negative attributes of existing relationships can be amplified.
Dov Stekel's Laboratory 