Facebook, blogs, and other electronic communication: How students construct new environments

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Facebook, blogs, and other electronic
communication How students construct new
environments
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Presentation overview

• Facts about Facebook
• Theoretical implications
• Survey results
• Educational applications for social networking
• Discussion, experiences and questions

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Facebook facts

• Launched 4 February 2004 by a Harvard
  undergraduate.
• Now headquartered in Palo Alto, CA.
• Site is free to users and is financed by
  advertising.
• 70 million registered users.
• Average of 3 weekly growth since January 2007
• Fastest growing demographic People aged 25 and
  older.
• 14 million photos uploaded daily.
• Average user signs on 6 times daily about 20
  minutes per day.
• Sixth most trafficked website in the world.
• Maintains an 85 market share of
  colleges/universities.
• Facebook Statistics page, 20 May 2008

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UM student time on Facebook

• CIRP 2007 (UM entering undergraduate students)
• 54.2 estimated spending 1-5 hours per week on
  social networks such as Myspace.com and Facebook.
  
• Another 12.8 estimated spending 6 or more hours
  per week on these networks.
• This is slightly less time than their peers spend
  nationally
• Only one third (33.2) report reading internet
  blogs frequently or occasionally.

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Time online
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Benchmarking
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The popularity of social networking sites

• Social networking sites are the number one online
  community to which students belong.
• Top two things students do on these sites
• Message people they know.
• Look at profiles of people they know.

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Reframing the question

• Facebook is a powerful tool
• Facebook influences community and identity
  development
• Universities can foster many communities on
  campus in a positive way through Facebook
• Facebook can be a way for students to explore who
  they are and try on different identities in
  ways that are less loaded.

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Theoretical frameworks

• Allows for integration into the campus community
• Transition between past and new communities.
• The multitude of communities (or groups) provide
  students many ways to integrate into campus life.
• Community and having a sense of community play
  an important role in the culture of college
  campuses Tinto

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Survey supports theory

• The primary reasons students participate in
  on-line communities
• 21 stay connected to friends on campus
• 3 meet new people
• 22 stay connected with high school friends and
  others not on campus
• 4 share common interests

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Blogging The complement

• Of the students that belong to blogging
  communities,16 "generate conversation with
  others who share their interests."
• The top 3 reasons students participate in
  blogging communities- to catch up on their
  friends' lives- to journal about their own
  lives for themselves - to journal about their
  lives for others

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Surveying students

• Varied class levels were selected at random
• 1300 students in 2007
• 1100 students in 2008
• Asked questions about their on-line participation
• Gained insight into the role of social networks
  and ways in which tools may be used to better
  reach out to students

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Who is on Facebook?
Answer Nearly every student!
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Student Facebook use

• 99.5 have Facebook accounts
• 22 view videos posted of they know
• 20 view photos of people they know
• Only 6 add their own videos

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Social networking replacing other community
development?
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Social networking replacing friendship
connections?
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Social networking helping students meet others?
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Social networking combating isolation?
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Identity developmentTraditional theories

• Arthur Chickering - Seven vectors
• Focused on college student development.
• Developing Autonomy - Disengage from parents.
  Reliance on peers or other reference groups.
• Establishing Identity - Refers to the person a
  student feels he/she is.

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Identity developmentNew theories

• Emerging Adulthood term coined by Jeffrey
  Arnett.
• A developmental phase between ages 18 and 35 when
  people assume adult responsibilities more
  gradually than previous generations.

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Identity developmentNew theories

• Electronic Tether term coined by Nancy Fullman
• Describes connection students and parents
  maintain through cell phones, IM, and other cheap
  and convenient communication.
• Extends Emerging Adulthood to describe the role
  technology plays in extending relationships with
  home instead of creating independence.
• Delays development of Chickerings Autonomy
  vector.

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Do you believe who you are is reflected in your
profile?
DSA Facebook Survey 07 - Initial Results
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Do you believe who you are is reflected in your
profile? (Why not?)

• Facebook is not intended to be taken seriously
• Representing oneself in any type of profile is a
  difficult thing to do
• My profile has only minimal information
• The format of Facebook only allows for a partial
  representation of myself

• 16.71
• 14.50
• 12.29
• 11.30

DSA Facebook Survey 07 - Initial Results
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Online communitiesSelf expression?
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• Fans pages
• Events
• Groups
• Individual staff profiles
• Your examples?

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http//www.umich.edu/rsa

• Also, check out our Division of Student Affairs
  Research Symposium.Plan to attend in May 2009!

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Fears of privacy violations
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Which Facebook privacy features do you know
about?
DSA Facebook Survey 07 - Initial Results
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How often do you use privacy features? (2007)
DSA Facebook Survey 07 - Initial Results
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Which of these have happened to you as a result
of your Facebook experience?
DSA Facebook Survey 07 - Initial Results
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Have you ever joined a group and then left based
on re-thinking its appropriateness?
DSA Facebook Survey 07 - Initial Results
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In what ways do you use Facebook?