1. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 1
Understanding Students' Attitudes and Behaviours on
Social Media Platforms
2013 Joint SELF Biennial International Conference
2013 Educational Research Association of Singapore Conference
9-11 Sep 2013

2. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 2
Agenda
 Self-Introduction
 Introduction to Presentation
 Social Media and Anti-social Behaviours
 Dimensions of Social Media
 Research Methodology
 Results and Discussion
 Conclusion

3. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 3
Self-Introduction
 Established in 1992
 7 Schools
 15,000 students
 PhD student in NIE since 2010
 Supervisor:
A/P Jonathan Goh WP
Associate Dean
Research Support
OER/PLS

4. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 4
Social Media
 “A group of Internet-based applications that build on the
ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0
and that allow the creation and exchange of User
Generated Content”
- Kaplan and Haenlein (2010)

5. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 5
Anti-Social Behaviours
 Cyberbullying
 Risky Internet Behaviours

6. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 6
Singapore Cases
Year Incident Year Incident
2003 Student‟s ticking-off goes from RJC to net
2011
PAP youth member quits over „racist‟ online posting
2005
Schools act against students for flaming' teachers on blogs Ex-boyfriend called her a 'loose woman'
2 charged with making racist remarks on Net
2012
She pleads for help, they mock her writing
2006
Revenge of the online bullies Two teens arrested over racist posts
Poly student in homemade sex video gets counselling NUS scholar punished for Net posting
2007 Pay us or we'll post video Poly student‟s offensive post sparks online furor
2008
Caught in Web of menace Police officer under probe for alleged racist remarks
Blogger arrested for racist post
Video of SIM undergrad telling racist jokes at NUS
creates uproar online
2010
JC students branded „dogs‟ on Wikipedia 2013 Student suspended from clinic postings
JC students in trouble over toilet-sex video
Facebook user made police report
Undergrad flamed on Net for arts-degree „joke‟
School tracks down student‟s vulgar tweet, tells her to remove it
ISD calls up pastor for insensitive comments

7. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 7
Why?
Dimensions Cyberbullying Risky Internet Behaviours
Anonymity
 Nobody knows their real
identity they can do what they
want
 Nobody knows their real
identity they are safe no
matter what they post
No
Regulation
 No one regulates the Internet
 Adults know nothing about it
 They won‟t do anything to
solve cyberbullying problems
anyway
 No one regulates, they won‟t
get into any kind of trouble
Lack of
Physical
Cues
 They can‟t see the suffering of
others
 It‟s just for fun or
entertainment
 They can‟t see the physical
reactions of people who want
to harm them
Effect of
Audience
 Can reach a wide audience
quickly
 Students are narcissistic and
want to show off
Freedom of
Expression
 They have the freedom of
expression in cyberspace
 No one should interfere with
how they want to portray
themselves

8. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 8
Methodology
 Survey design
o Likert-type rating scale
o 12 items for each dimension
o 5 response categories
 Administered to 407 polytechnic students
 Rasch Analysis applied to
o Clean up raw scores
o Put all respondents on a common scale of measure

9. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 9
Methodology
 Focus Group Discussions
o 5 sessions
o 34 students

10. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 10
Results – Global Run
Items
Infit
Z-std
Outfid
Z-std
Items
Remaining
Persons
Infit
Z-std
Outfid
Z-std
Persons
Remaining
- - - 60
S136 8.25 8.08
402
S263 8.17 8.55
S273 7.79 7.90
S322 9.90 9.90
S343 9.50 9.43
Standard Error Separation Reliability
Person
Real RMSE 2.50 .86
Model RMSE 2.83 .89
S.E. of Person Mean .02
Item
Real RMSE 11.92 .99
Model RMSE 12.39 .99
S.E. of Item Mean .10

11. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 11
Anchor Runs - Anonymity
 Slightly positive attitude towards
Anonymity
Q3: Nobody knows who I am in cyberspace if I hide
my identity.
Q60: When I create a user profile on a Social Media
application, I have no problem using my real
identity. (Negatively worded)
Q25: I prefer to use fake identities when I am posting
my views on the Social Media.
Q31: It is not necessary to keep my identity a secret all
the time when using Social Media. (Negatively
worded)
Q20: Users should be anonymous when using Social
Media applications.

12. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 12
Anchor Runs - Anonymity
 Slightly positive attitude towards
Anonymity
Q2: I think it can be dangerous if people can trace
who I am through my Social Media profile.
Q48: I feel safer remaining anonymous in cyberspace.
Q9: It should be easier for me to express my views
freely when I am anonymous.
Q26: I think being anonymous in cyberspace
whenever possible make it less worrying for me.

13. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 13
Anchor Runs - Anonymity
 Students do not think it necessary to
be anonymous when using Social
Media platforms, but…
 They are concerned about „people
out there‟

14. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 14
Anchor Runs – Lack of Physical Cues
 Students do not think that things
posted are only for fun or
entertainment
 They are aware that it can hurt
“I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“We don’t want to embarrass
him…”

15. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 15
Anchor Runs – No Regulation
 Students do not believe that the
Internet is unregulated
“You think of, if China controls
their Google, Singapore will
obviously censor some things
also right?”
“I don’t want to get Stomped.”

16. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 16
Anchor Runs – Freedom of Expression
 Students do not think that there should
be Freedom of Expression in
cyberspace
Q1: I won't get into trouble for what I say in
cyberspace as long as I post it using my
own account.
Q12: Nobody can interfere with what I post on
my Social Media accounts.
Q51: I will speak my mind freely in
cyberspace because I post my
comments using my own account

17. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 17
Anchor Runs – Effect of Audience
 Students are neutral about the presence of
audience
 They want to share, but do not want to get into
trouble
Q5: It is nice to 'Check In' wherever I go so that my
friends will know where I am.
Q58: I am always concerned about being attacked by other
Social Media users when I post my views or
comments.
Q24: I post my thoughts and feelings on the Internet
because I can quickly share it with people.
Q57: Posting regularly on my Social Media accounts
allows me to update people about my activities.

18. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 18
Anchor Runs – Effect of Audience
 But they must maintain the
mindshare
“Sad…”
“I just feel like crying :'( can't hold back much
longer...”
"You get this feeling like I want to share but
nobody cares."

19. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 19
Conclusion
 Students are aware of the risks associated with the use
of Social Media platforms
 Most concerned about
o Not hurting others
o Not embarrassing people
o Not being attacked
 But Social Media is a place where they must have a
presence, therefore…
 Constantly remind others that they are „alive and well‟

20. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 20
Acknowledgements
1. A/P Jonanthan Goh WP, Associate Dean,
Research Support, NIE
2. Dr Joel Lee, Director School of Chemical & Life
Sciences, NYP
3. Ms Chian Hwey Miin, School of Chemical & Life
Sciences, NYP

21. Nanyang Polytechnic | Quek Chin Joo | Slide No. 21
Thank You
quek_chin_joo@nyp.gov.sg