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Description
Existing research indicates that people around the world are high consumers of media. Considerable research also exists indicating how and why individuals select certain media, and what affect it has on those individuals, however, there is a lack of research examining the effects of media co-viewing. This study examined romantic couples' media habits and their affect on a partner's perception of relationship maintenance strategy usage, relational closeness, and relational satisfaction. This study addressed the following research questions and hypotheses: (RQ₁) What types of media do people consume individually most frequently?; (RQ₂) What types of media do couples consume most frequently when together?; (H₁a -- H₁g) Romantic partners' combined media use is positively associated with the use of relationship maintenance strategies (e.g., positivity, openness, assurances, shared tasks, social networks, conflict management, and advice); (H₂a -- H₂g) Individual media use alone is negatively associated with the use of each relationship maintenance strategy (e.g., positivity, openness, assurances, shared tasks, social networks, conflict management, and advice); (H₃) Romantic partners who spend more time using media together will experience higher levels of relational closeness; (H₄) Romantic partners who spend time using media together will experience higher levels of relationship satisfaction; and (RQ₃) Do couples who watch the same television genre alone and together have higher levels of relational satisfaction than couples who watch different television genres alone than when together? The study's results revealed positive relationships between couple's media use and relational satisfaction, and relational closeness. However, individual media use was not associated with a decrease in the use of relational maintenance strategies.
