Context Collapse and Student Social
Media Networks:
Where Life and High School Collide
Vanessa P. Dennen, Stacey A. Rutledge
Lauren M. Bagdy, Jerrica T. Rowlett
Shannon Burnick, Sarah Joyce
Florida State University
Paper: https://doi.org/10.1145/3097286.3097318 or http://bit.ly/SSMS_CC
Contact: vdennen@fsu.edu @vdennen / lb14x@my.fsu.edu @laurenbagdy
Slides / Project Updates: http://studentssocialmediaschools.com

Introduction
Social
Media
SchoolHome
photo from pixabay: janeb13

Method
Participants: 48 HS Students (10th/12th grades)
Data Collection: 3 class periods
• survey
• worksheets
• discussion
• small group discussion
• observations
• field notes

WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS ARE HIGH
SCHOOL STUDENTS USING?
Research Question 1

Social Media Use
• Most frequently used social media tools:
– Snapchat (79% daily use)
– Instagram (63% daily use)
• Gender differences:
– Males: Online games
– Females: Image-based media

Facebook / Twitter
Conflicting data on Facebook
– During discussion: claim no use
– Survey: 62% report using Facebook; 46% weekly
• Tool for family connection
– Elder relatives use it
– Students did not want to be connected with
family on other platforms
– Students do not want to connect to peers on FB
Twitter
– “It’s like a Facebook, right?”

WHAT DO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’
PERSONAL AND SCHOOL
COMMUNITIES LOOK LIKE?
Research Question 2
HOW DO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS USE
SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS TO ACCESS AND
INTERACT WITH THEIR PERSONAL AND
SCHOOL COMMUNITIES?
Research Question 3

Personal Communities
• Students had few groups with who they
regularly interact
• 10th grade: church, school-based groups
• 12th grade: work, community-based groups;
sport, club actvities
• Tools
– Instagram / Snapchat – friends/peers
– Twitter – other following
– Facebook – family

School Community
School Context
• 1700 students across 13 grades
• Many students attend for entirety of K-12
• Variety of school-sponsored sports and clubs
• Friendship groups (best friends, lunch group)
Tool Use
• GroupMe – communicate about school
activities

WHAT TYPES OF CONNECTIONS DO
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS MAINTAIN
WITH SCHOOL ADULTS AND OFFICIAL
SCHOOL CHANNELS VIA THEIR SOCIAL
MEDIA NETWORKS?
Research Question 4

Teens, School Adults & SoMe
• Students were more likely to interact online
with new people than adults from school
• Students follow official school accounts
• Use messaging apps with select teachers
– Extracurricular groups
– Homework help

IN WHAT WAYS ARE HIGH SCHOOL
STUDENTS MANAGING CONTEXT
COLLAPSE?
Research Question 5

Example: School/Community Overlap

Example: Tool Overlap

Managing Context Collapse
• 10th grade
– avoid adult connections, certain peers
– get around/hide from parents
– appease parents
• 12th grade
– expanded networks (work, pre-college)
– manage identity and networks
– self-censoring

Next Steps
• Year 2: Interviewing students, teachers, and
administrators (data collected)
• Year 3: surveying students; extension to
university (transition)

Context Collapse and Student Social
Media Networks:
Where Life and High School Collide
Vanessa P. Dennen, Stacey A. Rutledge
Lauren M. Bagdy, Jerrica T. Rowlett
Shannon Burnick, Sarah Joyce
Florida State University
Paper: https://doi.org/10.1145/3097286.3097318 or http://bit.ly/SSMS_CC
Contact: vdennen@fsu.edu @vdennen / lb14x@my.fsu.edu @laurenbagdy
Slides / Project Updates: http://studentssocialmediaschools.com
Thank you! Any questions?