Women's Peer-helping with Romantic Relationships on Social Media

Gaylord National 

A literature review reveals several gaps in current research: (1)romantic relationship scholars have paid little attention to how individuals' interactions with other social media users impact relationship building compared to in-relationship interactions; (2)unlike relationship presentation functions, social media's other functions for building opinion communities on romantic relationships have not received sufficient recognition; (3)extensive studies on influential peer support movements fail to adequately examine women's routine online discussions. To bridge the knowledge gaps, this study will explore women's peer-helping behaviors related to romantic relationships that are emerging and routinely occurring on Chinese social media.

At the current stage of research, the focus is on refining research methods. Based on preliminary thoughts, data will be collected from the popular Chinese social media Red using a python program. The researcher will conduct a content analysis on posts and replies from female users about romantic relationships. The anticipated outcomes of this study comprise a comprehensive description of various relationship-related discourses among female users, classifications of different peer-helping behaviors, and a concise definition of the phenomenon. Upon completion, this study is expected to provide insights into the complex and networked ecosystem of romantic relationships, illuminate social media functions that foster online peer discourses, and augment the current feminism study with narratives from Eastern cultures and voices that have not mobilized any social movements but are still making impressive progress.