Cyberintimacy: Technology-mediated romance in the digital age

Digital technology has had a transformative effect on our romantic lives. This scoping review reports on measurable outcomes for the three stages of the romantic relationship lifecycle—initiation, maintenance, and dissolution—as described in the peer-reviewed journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.

"As our knowledge of human-computer interactions mature, future research could explore the potential of behavior-change interventions specifically designed to enhance cyberintimacy," state coauthors Ian Kwok and Annie Wescott, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University.

"Providing new opportunities for microinteractions, such as texting, and new challenges, such as privacy issues, digital media has altered real world romantic relationships. This review helps to identify emergent themes in this important area of research," says Editor-in-Chief Brenda K. Wiederhold, Ph.D., MBA, BCB, BCN, Interactive Media Institute, San Diego, California and Virtual Reality Medical Institute, Brussels, Belgium.