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Introduction: our increasingly distracted lives -- Attention, distraction, and multitasking -- Getting and keeping the attention of others -- Distraction and the workplace -- Relationships -- Technology and education -- Technology and the developing brains of children -- Cross-cultural dimensions -- Conclusion: staying connected without losing focus

To understand why the virtual design strategies that organizations create to foster innovation may in fact hinder it, we unpack four characteristics often associated with the term 'virtuality' (geographic dispersion, electronic dependence, structural dynamism, and national diversity) and argue that each hinders innovation through unique mechanisms, many of which can be overcome by creating a psychologically safe communication climate. We first tested the plausibility of our arguments using in-depth qualitative analysis of interviews with 177 members of 14 teams in a variety of industries. A second study constituted a more formal test of hypotheses using survey data collected from 266 members of 56 aerospace design teams. Results show that the four characteristics are not highly intercorrelated, that they have independent and differential effects on innovation, and that a psychologically safe communication climate helps mitigate the challenges they pose. We discuss the implications of these findings for theory and research.

Research on online communities has emphasized the individual benefits of social support for members, but less is known about how such communities are regulated through organizing processes of support and control. Drawing on a survey of 214 members of a particular online message board community, we develop and test a model of social support, strength of ties, normative influence, and concertive control and their influence on members' sense of virtual community (SOVC). We find that all four factors predict SOVC, but that normative influence and concertive control have the strongest effects. Furthermore, social support and concertive control mediate the effects of number of strong ties and normative influence (respectively) on SOVC. Finally, we find no association between SOVC and time-lagged posting frequency. Our findings have important implications for understanding the factors that lead to attachment in online communities, and they suggest that sense of belonging works through tandem communicative processes of support and control.

Enterprise social network sites (ESNSs) are increasingly being introduced into large multinational organizations. In this article, we consider their potential for supporting knowledge-sharing practices within the organization. First, we build on prior work on affordances by applying notions of collective affordances and affordances for organizing to the study of social media, and we theorize how ESNSs may provide organizational affordances for knowledge sharing in distributed multinational organizations in particular. Second, we articulate ways in which ESNS affordances may shape knowledge sharing through consideration of social capital dynamics, support for relationships and interactions, context collapse, and network interactions. Finally, and building on these ideas, we propose a research agenda and suggestions for future research on this topic.

This study investigates relationships between privacy concerns, uncertainty reduction behaviors, and self-disclosure among online dating participants, drawing on uncertainty reduction theory and the warranting principle. The authors propose a conceptual model integrating privacy concerns, self-efficacy, and Internet experience with uncertainty reduction strategies and amount of self-disclosure and then test this model on a nationwide sample of online dating participants ( N = 562). The study findings confirm that the frequency of use of uncertainty reduction strategies is predicted by three sets of online dating concerns—personal security, misrepresentation, and recognition—as well as self-efficacy in online dating. Furthermore, the frequency of uncertainty reduction strategies mediates the relationship between these variables and amount of self-disclosure with potential online dating partners. The authors explore the theoretical implications of these findings for our understanding of uncertainty reduction, warranting, and self-disclosure processes in online contexts.

This study investigates self-disclosure in the novel context of online dating relationships. Using a national random sample of Match.com members ( N = 349), the authors tested a model of relational goals, self-disclosure, and perceived success in online dating. The authors' findings provide support for social penetration theory and the social information processing and hyperpersonal perspectives as well as highlight the positive effect of anticipated future face-to-face interaction on online self-disclosure. The authors find that perceived online dating success is predicted by four dimensions of self-disclosure (honesty, amount, intent, and valence), although honesty has a negative effect. Furthermore, online dating experience is a strong predictor of perceived success in online dating. Additionally, the authors identify predictors of strategic success versus self-presentation success. This research extends existing theory on computer-mediated communication, self-disclosure, and relational success to the increasingly important arena of mixed-mode relationships, in which participants move from mediated to face-to-face communication.

Collaborating across boundaries is important for organizational innovation, but it poses a key challenge for large, distributed organizations. New technologies such as enterprise social media (ESM) are often heralded for their open infrastructure, democratic nature, and ability to break down traditional hierarchies and barriers to communication; thus, such tools may be expected to play a role in facilitating cross-boundary interaction. Usage patterns are likely to be shaped by existing cultural factors within the organizational and national contexts, however. Drawing on a case study of a large Russian telecommunications company, we empirically assess the introduction of an ESM application and the degree to which it promotes cross-boundary communication (across geographical and hierarchical lines), through analysis of server log data and in-depth interviews. Our findings demonstrate that ESM promotes cross-boundary communication, although there are distinct patterns for hierarchical and regional boundaries. Implications for ESM implementation and distributed collaboration are discussed.