Uncertainty Reduction and Technologically Mediated Communication: Implications to Marital Communication during Wartime Deployment
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2018
Abstract
The experience of deployment is a common occurrence in contemporary American military culture, and these tours of duty are often trademarked by stress, anxiety, fear, and uncertainty for the service members and their loved ones. Coping with frequent geographic separations, coupled with the intensity and turbulence of these events, forces the constant readjustment in domestic roles and communicative norms in military marriages and families. Further, this era of war coincides with the implications of utilizing Internet-based technologies to maintain relationships. Social media platforms allow for more frequent communication and increase the flow of information, which raise questions about the role of technologically mediated communication in marriages during deployment. This study provides the findings of interviews with ten military wives to discuss their experiences with using select new media platforms to communicate with their husbands during wartime deployment. Uncertainty arises as a leading theme in the study, and is discussed in the context of uncertainty reduction theory. Next steps and future directions for continued research are discussed
Publication Title
Ohio Communication Journal
Volume
56
First Page
136
Last Page
148
Citation Information
Stewart, Margaret C., "Uncertainty Reduction and Technologically Mediated Communication: Implications to Marital Communication during Wartime Deployment" (2018). UNF Faculty Research and Scholarship. 3266.
https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/unf_faculty_publications/3266