How will your relationship be remembered?: virtual relational curation following a breakup

ABSTRACT

The Relationship Dissolution Model (RDM) was used to analyze what and why virtual possessions people retain or delete after a romantic relationship breakup. Participants (N = 406) completed online open-ended survey questions to understand their decision-making process for retaining or deleting relationship possessions. Upon completing an emergent thematic analysis, findings showed that people retained and deleted virtual possessions for a variety of reasons, including documenting memory, documenting emotion, managing the past – moving on, and managing the present – emotional regulation. Based on these findings, the RDM was adapted to include a relationship curation process, which describes the management of relationship memories tied to virtual possessions. The implications offer a foundation for expanding on memory management processes.

KEYWORDS:

• Relationship dissolution model
• relationship curation
• virtual relationship memory
• romantic relationship breakups
• management types

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Preparation of this manuscript was aided by grants from the John Templeton Foundation [#48503 and #62256] and Federal Bureau of Investigation [15F06718R0006603].

Notes on contributors

Kate G. Blackburn

Kate G. Blackburn (Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin) is a member of the Obelus. Previously, she was a research fellow in social psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin exploring the perceptual and behavioral processes of language used in people's stories and social interactions online. Recent articles appear in Science Advances, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, First Monday, and Communication Theory.

Leah E. LeFebvre

Leah E. LeFebvre (Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Alabama. Her research focuses on the communicative intersections of interpersonal communication, romantic relationships, and emerging technology. She examines pre-initiation behaviors, relationship trajectories, rejection processes, ghosting behavior, and memorialization in romantic relationship initiation and dissolution. Recent articles appear in Communication Theory, Discourse Processes, Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, Journal of Loss and Trauma, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Mobile Media & Communication, Personal Relationships, and Social Media & Society.

Nick Brody

Nicholas Brody (Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Puget Sound. His research interests focus on the social implications of technology in relational and interpersonal contexts, with a particular focus on relational dissolution and online harassment.