| The evolution of how society communicates is continuously emerging. The landscape of personal communication forever changed with the introduction of the mobile phone in 1973 (Teixeira, 2010). Ever-growing in popularity and usage is mobile communication technology (MCT), specifically text-based mobile communication (mobiText). To understand how married couples use and experience this form of communication in their marriage, a mixed-methodological approach was used to address two overarching research questions. The first question, how do married couples utilize mobile communication technology (MCT) in their relationship? was addressed through a qualitative emergent theme analysis. An interpretation of Fairclough's (1989) Critical Discourse Analysis, Discourse, common sense, and ideology was used to answer the second research question: Through the utilization of MCT, how, if at all, is a power structure present within the dyad? If a power structure exists, how is it expressed? If a power structure exists, what are the consequences of that structure?.;Qualitative theme analysis uncovered that married couples utilize MCT for five purposes: Share Experiences, Logistics, 'It's Easy,' Location Device, and Voice Disagreement. Critical Discourse Analysis allowed for the discovery that a power structure does exist in the marital relationship and is expressed by way of commanding and suggestive behavior of MCT, and mobiText use suggested a 'third spouse' in the relationship. |
