
Social Network Sites: An Overview
UMBC IS-303: Fundamentals of Human-Computer Interaction
Jessica Vitak
Michigan State University
University of Maryland
vitakjes@msu.edu / @jvitak

SNSs: What are they?
boyd and Ellison (2007) define SNSs as “web-based services that allow
individuals to:
(1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system;
(2) articulate a list of
other users with whom
they share a connection,
and
(3) view and traverse their
list of connections
and those made by others
within the system.”

SNSs: Updated Definition
Ellison and boyd (in press): A social network site is a networked
communication platform in which participants:
1) have uniquely identifiable profiles that consist of user-supplied
content, content provided by other users, and system-level
data;
2) can publicly articulate connections that can be viewed and
traversed by others; and
3) can consume, produce, and interact with streams of user-
generated content.

Source: Madden & Zickhur, 2011. Pew Internet Project.
Who uses SNSs?

v
SNS users are more likely
to be:
• Women
• Young
No statistically significant
differences based on:
• Race
• Income
• Education
• Geographic location
Source: Madden & Zickhur, 2011. Pew Internet Project.

What other SNSs exist besides Facebook?
 Foreign-based SNSs (Cyworld, QQ)
 Children’s SNSs (Club Penguin, Webkinz)
 Demographic-specific SNSs (BlackPlanet)
 SNSs for animals (Dogster, Catster)
 Professional SNSs (LinkedIn)
 And on… And on…

Why do people use SNSs?
Joinson (2008) Papacharissi & Mendelson (2011)
“Looking at,” “Looking up” or “Keeping up Toward a New(er) Sociability: Uses, Gratifications
with” People? Motives and Uses of Facebook and Social Capital on Facebook
 Social connection  Expressive info seeking
 Shared identities  Habitual pass time
 Viewing/sharing photos  Relaxing entertainment
 Social investigation  Cool, new trend
 Social network surfing  Companionship
 Status updating  Professional achievement
 Escape
 Social interaction
 Meet new people

Why do people use SNSs?

What SNS users do: Broadcasting

What SNS users do: Commenting

What SNS users do: “Liking”

What SNS users do: Private Messages

Impression Management on SNSs
Impression
Management:
Sum of behaviors
individuals engage in
to either control or
manipulate observers’
attributions of them

What are negative effects of using SNSs?
 Facebook addiction?
 Negative social outcomes
 Losing your job
 Getting caught in a lie
 Losing health benefits
 Underage drinking
 Making us more narcissistic? More depressed? Lonelier?
Increased fear of missing out (FOMO)?
* Take these with a grain of salt. Many are based on anecdotal rather than empirical evidence.

Benefits to Using SNSs
Social Capital: benefits derived from interactions with
your social network
Bridging Bonding

Bridging Social Capital

Bonding Social Capital

Maintained Social Capital
* Source: Bernie Hogan

Research at MSU
 Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe (2007)
 Intensity of Facebook use (FBI) predicts social capital
 Steinfield, Ellison, & Lampe (2008)
 People with lower self-esteem benefit more from their use of
Facebook than those with higher self-esteem
 Vitak, Ellison & Steinfield (2011) & Ellison, Vitak, Gray & Lampe (r&r)
 Engaging with your network is important

Research at MSU
Lampe et al. (2011): How do
students use Facebook to
collaborate on school work?
 Positive Collaboration:
 Arrange group meeting
 Ask for help
 Manage group project
 Negative Collaboration
 Sharing homework answers
 Sharing quiz/test answers

Research at MSU
 Gray et al. (2012): Can Facebook improve college retention?
 Example: Inigral’s Schools application
Facebook + Bonding
Collaboration Social
Behaviors Capital
+
College + Social + Persistence
Friends on Adjustment
Facebook at College
to College

Research at MSU
How much I like you
Tong et al. (2008): When you have
too many “friends” on a SNS, people
rate you as less socially attractive
# of FB Friends
Total FB Friends
 Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe (2011)
 Actual friends matter more than Actual
total friends when it comes to Friends
perceptions of social capital
Among undergrads: 25%
Among MSU staff: 37%

What does it mean to be a Facebook “Friend”?
 Robin Dunbar claims you can only manage meaningful
relationships with 150 people.
Dunbar: “Our minds are not designed
to allow us to have more than a very
limited number of people in our social
world. The emotional and
psychological investments that a close
relationship requires are considerable,
and the emotional capital we have
available is limited.”

Facebook users have *a lot* of Friends
 Vitak (2012): Most users
reported having many Facebook
Friends
 M = 500, Median = 433, SD = 2nd
Tier
361, range: 62 – 1600
Weak
 And many were weak ties* Ties
3rd
 8% of network considered close Tier
ties
 52% of network considered very
weak ties
* Measured using four of Aron et al.’s (1992) Inclusion of Other in Self items

Pew data: SNS users vs. non-users
 How big is your social
network?
 Average American: 634 ties
 Average Internet user (669)
vs. non-user (506) ties
 Average cell phone user:
664 ties
 Average SNS user: 636 ties
* Source: Hampton et al. (2011)

Public Displays of Connection*
 On SNSs, links
between two users
are (sometimes):
 Mutual
 Public
 Unnuanced
 Displaying
connections can help
someone else
establish that you are
who you say you are
* Donath & boyd (2004)

SNSs & Context Collapse
Selective Self-Presentation:
We present different versions
of the self depending on our
audience
Ego
Context collapse occurs when
we “perform” for different
audiences at same time (e.g.,
weddings)

Context Collapse on Facebook

Impact of Context Collapse
 Marwick & boyd (2011)
 Treat public space (Twitter) as if it were bounded
 Vitak, Lampe, Gray, & Ellison (2012)
 Strategies for maintaining work/personal life boundary
 Vitak (2012)
 Engaging with privacy features
 Increased disclosures
 Increased perceptions of social capital

Resources
Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook "friends:" Social capital and college students' use of online
social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12, 1143-1168.
Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2011). Connection strategies: Social capital implications of Facebook-enabled
communication practices. New Media & Society, 13, 873-892.
Madden, M. & Zickhur, K. (2011). 65% of Online Adults Use Social Networking Sites, Pew Internet & American Life Project,
Washington.
Tong, S.T, .Van Der Heide, B., Langwell, L., & Walther, J.B. (2008). Too much of a good thing? The relationship between number of
friends and interpersonal impressions on Facebook. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13, 531-549.
Stutzman, F., Vitak, J., Ellison, N., Gray, R., & Lampe, C. (2012). Privacy in interaction: Exploring disclosure and social capital in
Facebook. In Proceedings of the 6th annual International Conference on Weblogs and Social Media (ICWSM).
Vitak, J., Lampe, C., Ellison, N., & Gray, R. (2012). “Why won’t you be my Facebook Friend?”: Strategies for dealing with context
collapse in the workplace. In Proceedings of the 7th Annual iConference (pp. 555-557). New York: ACM.
Lampe, C., Wohn, D. Y., Vitak, J., Ellison, N., & Wash, R. (2011). Student use of Facebook for organizing collaborative classroom
activities. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 6, 329-347.
Gray, R., Vitak, J., Easton, E., & Ellison, N. (2012, May). Harnessing social technology in students’ transition to college: Facebook’s
role in student adjustment and persistence. Paper presented at the International Communication Association 62nd Annual
Conference, Phoenix.
Vitak, J. (2012, May). The impact of context collapse and privacy on social network site disclosures. Paper presented at the
International Communication Association 62nd Annual Conference, Phoenix.