Exploring social connectedness via mobile phone texting

This study explored social connectedness within a short-term texting service. While mobile texting is traditionally a one-to-one communication practice, one-to-many type mobile texting services are on the rise. A review of the social connectedness literature revealed a dearth of research regarding the methodologies used to explore and analyze the potential of cultivating social connectedness through mobile texting services.;The design-based methodology permitted the researcher to explore and adapt features of the service to engender social connectedness. The discussion analysis of the data highlighted how people connect with their portable community through cognitive and socioemotional processes. These processes simultaneously fostered and maintained social connectedness through diverse texting practices. That synergy was also fueled by the temporal dependence of near-synchronous texting communications. The study also indicates how the virtual realm of a mobile device can aid and extend the retention juncture points of connectedness.;In addition, the study shows that there are challenges and positive aspects to be considered for further research on social connectedness via texting. These challenges are to meet the needs of different user groups, develop guidelines for texting services, as well as create measurement and evaluation concepts for social connectedness. The positive aspects reflect the power of texting to bring individuals together, over short periods of time, leaving a sense of association and connectedness.