RESEARCH PAPER
RESEARCH PAPER
1
Bruce W. Norcise
Excelsior College
LA 298 CAPSTONE
How has social Media affected today’s Youth?
Social Media is a prominent part of today's life, especially among young people. Unfortunately, the users of social media do not stop to think about the effects it has on their lives. For instance, people are becoming anti-social while they are at the same time desperate to make more friends on Facebook or get more followers on Twitter. People need to know the impact of social media, both negative and positive, rather than just engage blindly. While there are many positive aspects of social media, the negative aspects are equally many. To help make the right choices, this paper will be an analysis of the effects of social media on youths, and how the negative effects can be handled.
This paper will help youths and parents understand the dangers of social media and know the boundaries they should use as they use it. Failure to do so will cause them to fall to varying traps and dangers that will have negative consequences. Social media is one sector of the internet that is greatly used by criminals. On this site, youths get exposed to cyberbullying, online predators and sexting. These dangers should be discussed to let people know their damaging effects and how they can be avoided. Other than the above-mentioned dangers of using social media, there are effects that are rarely discussed. For instance, teens are not aware of the dangers of exposing their address on public platforms. This paper will expose these dangers and many more as well as provide the most appropriate solutions.
References
Agosto, D., & Abbas, J. (2010). High school seniors' social network and other ict use preferences and concerns. Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 47(1),
Christakis, D. (2006). Media as a public health issue. Editorial. Archives ofPediatric and Adolescent Medicine
Donath, J. (2007). Signals in social supernets. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 13(1), article
21
Journal of College & Character
The Impact of Social Media on College Students
Jeanna Mastrodicasa, University of Florida
Paul Metellus, University of Florida1
Abstract
There are numerous ways, positive and negative, in which social media impact college students.
Understanding sheer volume of time and the type of activities for which college students use social
networking sites is crucial for higher education administrators. Researchers have begun to empiri-
cally examine impacts on students’ well-being and have found some preliminary results that call for
more research. They find that social media are not the problem—the problem is the specific use and
purpose of social media activities that make the difference.
1 Jeanna Mastrodicasa is assistant vice president for student affairs at the University of Florida. E-mail: [email protected] Paul
Metellus is an undergraduate at.
1. RESEARCH PAPER
RESEARCH PAPER
1
Bruce W. Norcise
Excelsior College
LA 298 CAPSTONE
How has social Media affected today’s Youth?
Social Media is a prominent part of today's life, especially
among young people. Unfortunately, the users of social media
do not stop to think about the effects it has on their lives. For
instance, people are becoming anti-social while they are at the
same time desperate to make more friends on Facebook or get
more followers on Twitter. People need to know the impact of
social media, both negative and positive, rather than just engage
blindly. While there are many positive aspects of social media,
the negative aspects are equally many. To help make the right
choices, this paper will be an analysis of the effects of social
media on youths, and how the negative effects can be handled.
This paper will help youths and parents understand the dangers
of social media and know the boundaries they should use as
2. they use it. Failure to do so will cause them to fall to varying
traps and dangers that will have negative consequences. Social
media is one sector of the internet that is greatly used by
criminals. On this site, youths get exposed to cyberbullying,
online predators and sexting. These dangers should be discussed
to let people know their damaging effects and how they can be
avoided. Other than the above-mentioned dangers of using
social media, there are effects that are rarely discussed. For
instance, teens are not aware of the dangers of exposing their
address on public platforms. This paper will expose these
dangers and many more as well as provide the most appropriate
solutions.
References
Agosto, D., & Abbas, J. (2010). High school seniors' social
network and other ict use preferences and concerns. Proceedings
of the American Society for Information Science and
Technology, 47(1),
Christakis, D. (2006). Media as a public health issue.
Editorial. Archives ofPediatric and Adolescent Medicine
Donath, J. (2007). Signals in social supernets. Journal of
Computer‐Mediated Communication, 13(1), article
21
Journal of College & Character
The Impact of Social Media on College Students
5. digital divide exists in that there are differences among gender,
race, and income with college student use
of technology. For example, female and White students owned
cell phones at a rate more than twice as high
as that of men and African American students. Further, students
in the $100,000–$149,000 per year income
bracket were more than three times as likely to own a cell phone
than those from the median bracket. Race,
gender, and income also proved to have differing outcomes:
Being female, African American, and/or from
the highest income brackets were positively predictive of the
number of text messages sent and the amount
of time spent talking on a cell phone per week (Junco, Merson,
& Salter, 2010). Accordingly, college ad-
ministrators need to remain sensitive to the fact that all college
students do not have the same degree of
access to technology.
Social Networking Sites/Social Media
Social networking sites are websites that allow users to connect
to one another based on shared interests,
activities, or characteristics. Users can post their personal
information and pictures on a profile page, which
displays a list of the user’s connections, also known as
“friends” (Junco & Cole-Avent, 2008; Junco &
Mastrodicasa, 2007). These sites allow various forms of
communication between users, such as wall posts,
comments, pictures, and private messages as well as ways to tag
photos in order to identify those in the
picture (Junco & Cole-Avent, 2008; Junco & Mastrodicasa,
2007). Even as far back as 2007, 94% of first-
year students reported spending time on online social
networking websites during a typical week (Higher
Education Research Institute, 2007).
6. Beyond the social networking sites themselves, the popularity
of mobile technology with cell phones
has provided another layer of impact on college students.
Having near-constant mobile access provides op-
portunities for access to the Internet from any location,
anonymous communication, instant sharing of in-
formation, and quick ways to take and share photos. Students
are not using social media sites only at home
on a computer; they are also using these sites via their cell
phones.
Facebook is the most popular social networking site as of 2012,
with 90% of college students using it
(Dahlstrom, deBoor, Grunwald, & Vockley, 2011; Junco,
2011a). The most recent data showed that of the
90% of students who use social networking websites, 97% said
they used Facebook daily (Smith & Caruso,
2010). In one recent study of 5,414 college students, Junco
(2011a) found that students checked Facebook
a mean of 5.75 times per day. Students spent about 1 hour and
40 minutes per day on Facebook according
to two recent studies (Junco & Cotten, 2012; Junco, 2011a).
Junco (2011a) compiled various activities on Facebook and
distilled them to a 14-item list, and then
used a large sample of college students to determine activities
in which they participated. This list repre-
sents the best summary of activities on Facebook for college
students at this time. See Figure 1.
For the college administrator, understanding the amount of time
and the type of activities for which
college students use them is what makes the difference with
social media sites (Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe,
2011; Henry, 2012; Junco, 2011a; Junco, Heiberger, & Loken,
2010). For example, Junco (2011a) showed
8. 2012, Facebook had 950 million active users and more than 2
billion registered users, compared to Twitter’s
more than 500 million registered users, but only 140 million
active users. Other popular social media sites
that are available include LinkedIn, which provides for career
networking, and Instagram, which connects
users who post photos (Pring, 2012). However, this article will
only discuss Facebook and Twitter use due
to their overwhelmingly popular usage among college students.
Figure 1. Percentage of students who somewhat frequently (75%
of the time) or very frequently (100% of the time)
participate in these activities on Facebook (Junco, 2011a).
Checking up ..............................(37%)
Viewing photos .........................(37%)
Commenting .............................(34%)
Chatting on Facebook ............(23%)
Updating a status .....................(16%)
Posting photos ...........................(11%)
Playing games .............................. (9%)
Tagging photos ............................ (8%)
Private messages ........................ (8%)
Sharing links ................................ (6%)
Alerting to events ...................... (4%)
10. sense of community (Henry, 2010, 2012).
Henry also found that students with less social motivations for
using technology or social media, such as
procrastinating or learning more about interests, contributed to
less positive scores on measures of psycho-
social well-being and sense of community.
Henry (2012) found that when students were using technology
to seek support for personal issues or
problems, those students reported higher scores on measures of
loneliness, depression, shyness, and social
anxiety and lower scores on perceived social skill, social self-
confidence, and social self-efficacy (p. 22).
She also found that when students were procrastinating or
wasting time using technology or social media,
they showed higher measures of loneliness, depression, shyness,
and social anxiety; in addition to lower
scores on perceived social skill, social self-confidence, and
social self-efficacy. Her conclusion was that
students who experience psychological stressors are using
technology and social media to cope and find
sources of support, as well as to procrastinate or to pass time (p.
22).
The work of Gonzales and Hancock (2011) showed that
selective self-presentation using social media
sites like Facebook can have a positive influence on self-
esteem, especially when the individual selectively
self-presents by editing information about the self.
Social Capital
Individuals receive benefits from their social relationships and
interactions such as emotional support, ex-
posure to diverse ideas, and access to new information. Those
benefits are called social capital. College
12. of social media provides an opportunity to build and maintain
social capital.
Identity Development
Just as previous generations of college students established
identities as part of their student development
(e.g., Chickering & Reisser 1993; Erickson, 1963), today’s
college students also develop their identity on-
line through their profile and postings. Gonzales and Hancock
(2011) described social networking sites as a
means to provide multiple opportunities for selective self-
presentation through photos, personal details, and
witty comments. They stated that “social-networking sites
exemplify how modern technology sometimes
forces us to reconsider previously understood psychological
processes” (p. 82). Social networking sites
provide a method to showcase one’s ideal identity in a virtual
manner by updating status, posting to walls,
sharing photos, and making comments on each other’s pages
(boyd & Ellison, 2007; Hum et al., 2011;
Junco & Mastrodicasa, 2012; Kramer & Winter, 2008; Pempek,
Yermolayeva, & Calvert, 2009). Further,
those identities are honed as students choose to indicate
membership of certain subgroups, such as race,
gender, sexual orientation, and subcultures (e.g., music,
movies), in constructing their online identity (Hum
et al., 2011; Junco & Mastrodicasa, 2012; Pempek,
Yermolayeva, & Calvert, 2009).
Another relevant aspect to today’s students and the role of
social media is the concept of the electronic
tether, which has been a factor in the college student-parent
relationship (Hofer, 2008). College students
frequently communicate with their parents on a regular basis.
Hofer and Moore (2010) found students com-
13. municated 13 times per week with parents, and Junco and
Mastrodicasa (2007) found that the median num-
ber of times was 1.5 per day. At the same time, college students
should be developmentally attempting to
become self-regulating, autonomous individuals (Chickering &
Reisser, 1993). The role of the cell phone,
electronic communication, and social media in the relationships
of college students and their parents is still
being studied, but Hofer (2008) argued that those devices,
acting as an electronic tether, hinders the devel-
opment of autonomy of college students. Hofer and Moore’s
(2010) book The iConnected Parent discussed
the topic and offered advice to parents of college students on
letting go.
Relationships With Peers
Technology and social media sites can help facilitate offline
social interaction for college students, not re-
place it (Jacobsen & Forste, 2011). Jacobsen and Forste (2011)
pointed out that students are multitasking,
and are likely sending and receiving text messages, checking
social media sites while hanging out with
friends, and using those to make plans with friends.
The hook-up culture of today’s youth also has a role with social
media and their ability to connect
sexually with partners (Heussner, 2011; Reddick, 2012). In
particular, gay college students use social media
and websites to facilitate anonymous sexual encounters
(Reddick, 2012). The ability to peruse photos and
videos, and to find others online provides yet another method
for couples to meet (Heussner, 2011).
The frequent use of “checking up” as reported by Facebook
users (Junco, 2011a) also applies to ex-
15. Even in academic settings or in settings where studying is
taking place, students also divide their attention
among various media sources. One study found that two-thirds
of first-year college students reported using
electronic media while in class, studying, or doing homework
(Jacobsen & Forste, 2011). Another study
found that college students frequently searched for content not
related to courses, used Facebook, corre-
sponded by e-mail, talked on their cell phones, and texted while
doing schoolwork (Junco & Cotten, 2012).
Wood et al. (2012) found that students who used Facebook
during a lecture scored significantly lower on
tests on lecture material than those who were only allowed to
manually take notes. This lack of focus by
college students showed a negative impact on academic grades
(Jacobsen & Forste, 2011; Junco & Cotten,
2012; Wood et al., 2012).
As previously stated, it is more important to examine the actual
use of the social media site to deter-
mine its impact than merely just the time on the site. For
instance, Junco (2011a) showed that how Facebook
is used is a better predictor of academic outcomes than how
much time is spent on the site. Specifically,
Junco (2011a) differentiated between using Facebook for merely
checking up on others, as compared to
actively interacting with others and engaging in real-world
campus activities.
Student Engagement
Several researchers have analyzed uses of Facebook and Twitter
using the Astin’s construct of engagement,
and they have found that there are both positive and negative
outcomes from using these social media tools
17. today’s students’ lives. One must remember
that technology is merely a tool for concepts that have been
around for decades—communication and con-
nections. How college students use these sites makes all of the
difference; some researchers have found
positive impacts of various activities, while others have found
the exact opposite. It is a slightly murky field
of understanding for student affairs professionals from which to
draw conclusions. Nevertheless, social
media sites are evolving in use, purpose, and even existence;
and a basic grasp of the options and what is
happening with our students is truly important. The list of
activities on Facebook presented in this article
represent what is current in 2012; the list will certainly change
as various applications and preferences
evolve based on interests and opportunities.
Here are some recommendations for student affairs
professionals:
• Make a decision on how much social media will play a part in
your personal and professional life. If
you wish to keep your Facebook profile private and not allow
students to be added as friends, that is
perfectly fine. However, your department might wish to have a
Facebook presence through a fan page
or group, as appropriate.
• Take the time to learn the basics of Twitter. There is much
opportunity for professional and academic
interaction in this tool that allows you to keep your personal
life separate.
• Enhance student engagement through the use of a common
hashtag on Twitter, encouraging partici-
pants to participate virtually. Many modern major events have a
18. unique Twitter hashtag as part of the
added dimension of a “backchannel,” representing individuals
of a networked audience who are con-
nected in real time who are learning with each other, and
anyone can join (Bingham & Conner, 2010).
Knowing that most college students own and use a smartphone
regularly, adding a Twitter component
to major events such as graduation adds an additional dimension
of participation, focus, innovation,
contributions, connections, and evaluation (Bingham & Conner,
2010).
• Understand the usage of social media and other forms of
technology at your campus. There may be
survey statistics, but more importantly, you can simply ask
students to show you what they use and
how.
• Consider how your resources are offered to those who might
seek them out first on the Internet. Do
you have enough information for students available? Is it easy
to find? Further, is your website mobile
friendly? Further, would there be value in providing Internet-
based services for those who wish to
connect but cannot visit or call? Those barriers may stop
assisting a student who might be seeking
help or information but cannot find it easily.
• Educate your students about their privacy, safety, and general
best practices about using social media.
The information is constantly changing, and this is something
that affects not only your students, but
also your faculty and staff.
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