Concurrent Sessions 2 - (NBCC CE Credit: #1 hr and Conference Attendance Credit: #1 hr)

121-01: It's a Family Affair: How Emerging Adult College Students Use Snapchat to Maintain Family Communication
Samantha LeBouef  

121-02: A Love-Hate Relationship? Examining Sibling Interactions on Twitter
Jenna R. Cassinat,  Xiaoran Sun,  Rylee E. Flint,  Emma Clayton  

121-03: Pulling Closer or Pushing Away? Ambivalence in the Dynamics Between Young Adults and Parents in the Digital Context
Xiaoran Sun,  Byron Reeves,  Nilam Ram,  Mu-Jung Cho,  Andrew Fitzgerald,  Thomas N. Robinson  

Discussant: Jodi Dworkin
Chair: Xiaoran Sun 

Summary
Digital technology both provides unique opportunities and imposes challenges for family relationships. However, still little is known about how family members interact in the digital context, despite the proliferation and pervasiveness of digital devices and social media platforms. Accordingly, this symposium brings three papers to showcase current research efforts, using innovative research methods, to inform a better understanding of how interactions among family members (i.e., college students with their family members; siblings; young adults and their parents) unfold simultaneously across a variety of family relationships and digital contexts (i.e., Snapchat; Twitter; messages and calls). Discussion will focus on important future directions toward a better understanding of the role of digital technology in family dynamics, and how the contributions and directions can inform policy and interventions.

Objectives
-- To contribute to a better understanding of the role of digital technology in family dynamics.
-- To showcase the use of both qualitative and quantitative analyses with data from a wide range of sources.
-- To facilitate the discussion about how to leverage mobile devices and online platforms for promoting family well-being.

Subject Codes: technology, media, communication
Population Codes: diverse but not representative, emerging/young adulthood, all gender inclusive
Method and Approach Codes: content analysis, multilevel modeling, direct observation