Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Blogging Love After Loss: How Widows Use Facework When Revealing Their New Relationships Online, Sunshine Baker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Expressions of identity are increasingly occurring in online communication as a variety of social media have emerged. People establish and manage identities online, and experience challenges when changing their online image. Widows experience this challenge in a dramatic fashion, especially when they begin to date and reveal new relationships online. The purpose of this study was to examine the expressions of facework in the online writings of widows regarding their new romantic relationships. This illuminated the ways in which one population, young widow bloggers, deals with the challenge of online identity management. A systematic thematic analysis was conducted to describe …