Technology-Mediated Relationships in a Socio-technical System

This work presents an exploratory study of the different types of technology-mediated relationships that are formed in a sociotechnical system. More people each day are connecting with each other through social networks, online communities, and other forms of virtual environments. This study offers a framework for understanding how technology, user interactions, and user relationships are connected within a sociotechnical system, and uses this framework to uncover the kinds of interactions that take place in such systems and the relationships that are constituted by these interactions.