Love at First Like: A Case Study of New Media Activities Toward the Opposite Sex at an All Girl High School

Abstract

This study analyzes the usage of texting and other social media messenger tools of college freshmen who attended all girl high schools by exploring their lived experiences and social interactions with the opposite sex. The purpose of this case study is to determine the experiences of students at an all girl high school with their use of texting (and social media messenger tools) to build and nurture relationships with the opposite sex, and to uncover specific behaviors of a distinct group of students. The findings for this research include recognition of unwritten rules among females, that females are more apt to break the unwritten rules when communicating with males, and texting serves as tool for nurturing relationships with significant others. The results encompass females using social media more observantly, while texting is used for indepth conversations. Females also have specific online images to attract males, and used texting and “sexting” as the two main foundations for their romantic relationships. The significance of this study is that it provides an example of a body of people that are more dependent upon social media sites (because of the all girl school environment) to begin creating relationships with the opposite sex, which could be generalized to larger groups who share similar challenges.