Online communication and adolescent well-being: Testing the stimulation versus the displacement hypothesis.
P.M. Valkenburg & J. Peter (2007) Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12; 4, 1169-1182
This study was to contrast the validity of two opposing explanatory hypotheses about the effect of online communication on adolescents’ well being. The two opposing hypotheses are the displacement hypothesis, which predicts that online communication reduces adolescents’ well-being because it takes time away from existing friends, which reduces the quality of these friendships. The stimulation hypothesis states that online communication does stimulate well-being via its positive effect on time spent with existing friend and the quality of those friendships. An online survey was conducted among 1210 Dutch adolescents between 10 and 17 years of age, 54% girls, 47% boys. Several measures where used; IM use, chat use, time spent with friends, quality of friendships, and well-being. The results of this study where more inline with stimulation hypothesis rather than the displacement hypothesis. They found that time spent with IM was positively related to the time spent with existing friends. In addition, the quality of friendships positively predicted well-being and acted as a first mediator between time spent with IM and well-being. They also found that time spent with friends mediated the effect of time spent with IM on the quality of friendships. Over the study suggests that the Internet communication is positively related to the time spent with friends and the quality of existing adolescent friendships, and , via this route, to their well-being.
The MySpace Generation
Jessi Hempel, with Paula Lehman in New York. Business Week. New York: Dec 12, 2005. , Iss. 3963; pg. 86
Abstract Summary from Article
Being online is a way of life for millions of young Americans across the country. And increasingly, social networks are their medium. As the first cohort to grow up fully wired and technologically fluent, today's teens and twentysomethings are flocking to Web sites like Buzz-Oven as a way to establish their social identities. It's where you go when you need a friend to nurse you through a breakup, a mentor to tutor you on your calculus homework, an address for the party everyone is going to. Preeminent among these virtual hangouts is MySpace.com, whose membership has nearly quadrupled since January alone, to 40 million members. Millions also hang out at other up-and-coming networks such as Facebook.com, which connects college students, and Xanga.com, an agglomeration of shared blogs. A second tier of some 300 smaller sites, such as Buzz-Oven, Classface.com, and Photobucket.com, operate under--and often inside or next to--the larger ones. Meanwhile, the phenomenon of these exploding networks has companies clamoring to be a part of the new social landscape. News Corp. Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch has spent $1.3 billion on Web acquisitions so far to better reach this coveted demographic. Silicon Valley venture capitalists such as Accel Partners and Redpoint Ventures are pouring millions into Facebook and other social networks.
Friend networking sites and their relationship to adolescents’ well-being and social self-esteem
P.M. Valkenburg, J. Peter & A.P. Schouten (2006) CyberPsychology & Behavior 9:5, 584-590
The goal of this study was to investigate the consequences of friend networking sites for adolescents’ social self-esteem and well-being. They indicate that there is little research at the time of this study that specifically focuses on the uses and consequences of such sites. Social self-esteem is defined as adolescents’ evaluation of their self-worth or satisfaction with three dimensions of their selves: physical appearance, romantic attractiveness, and the ability to form and maintain close friendships. Well-being is referred to as a judgment of one’s satisfaction with life as a whole. The study was conducted in the Netherlands with 881 adolescents between the ages of 10-19 years old who at the time were members of a networking site names CU2, 45% were boys and 55% were girls. Several hypotheses are tested; H: Social self-esteem will predict well-being, and by doing so, it may act as a mediator between the use of friend networking sites and well-being. H: The use of friend networking sites will increase the chance that adolescents; form relationships on those sites and receive reactions on the profiles. H: The more reactions adolescents receive to their profiles, the more positive these reactions will become. H: The more reactions adolescents receive the more relationships they will form. H: Most adolescents who use the friend networking sites will be positively related to their social self-esteem. H: A positive tone of reactions will positively predict social self-esteem, whereas a negative tone will negatively predict social self-esteem. Several measures were used in the study; use of friend networking sites, frequency of reactions to profiles, tone of reactions to profiles, relationships established through CU2, social self-esteem and well-being. The results showed that adolescents’ self-esteem was affected solely by the tone of the feedback that adolescents received on their profiles: Positive feedback enhanced adolescents’ self-esteem and negative feedback decreased their self-esteem. However, the number of friendships and romantic relationships formed via the site did not affect adolescents’ social self-esteem.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Additional Articles for Paper
The Benefits of Facebook "Friends:" Social capital and college students' use of online social network sites.
N.B. Ellison, C. Steinfiled & C. Lampe. (2007) Journal of Computer-Meidated Communication. 1143-1168
This study examines the relationship between use of Facebook, and the formation and maintenance of social capital. It explores a dimension of social capital that assesses one’s ability to stay connected with members of a previously inhabited community; maintained social capital.
Social capital is seen as a positive effect of interaction among participants in social networks. This allows individuals to draw on resources from other members of the networks to which they belong. The concept of maintained social capital explores whether online network tools enable individuals to keep in touch with a social network after physically disconnecting from it, for example staying in touch with high school friends if you go away to college.
The method was a random sample of 800 Michigan State University undergraduate students. All 800 students were sent an email with a short description of the study, information about confidentiality and incentives, and a link to the survey. A total of 286 students completed the online survey and female, younger, in-state, and on-campus students were slightly overrepresented in the sample.
In the sample, 94% of the undergraduate students that were surveyed were Facebook members. These members report spending between ten and thirty minutes on average using Facebook each day and report having between 150 and 200 friends listed on their profiles. The data suggested that students’ primary audiences for their profiles are people whom they share an offline connection with. The data also showed that students reporting low satisfaction and low self-esteem appeared to gain in bridging social capital if they used Facebook, suggesting that the affordances of the social networking systems might be especially helpful for these students. Facebook appears to play an important role in the process by which students form and maintain social capital and suggested how social networking sites maintain relations as people move from one offline community to another.
Digital relationships in the ‘MySpace’ Generation: Results from a qualitative study.
C. Dwyer (2007) Proceedings of the 40th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. 1-10
The main objective of the research was to undertake a qualitative study of how individuals use technology to develop and maintain interpersonal relationships.
Social networking sites encourage social interaction by emphasizing connections through shared interests or causes. Facebook, intended for college students and MySpace, a large site with an emphasis on popular culture and music.
The research method used was the semi-structured interview. The interview was conducted primarily by undergraduate students as part of a class project for a required course within their degree program. The student researchers had to recruit subjects and complete a single interview and post transcripts for review. Then they each recruited two more subjected and completed two more interviews for a total of three each. Seventeen of the Eighteen student researcher interviews were used in the study, plus two additional interviews from a training session were added to the data set, for a total of 19 participants. They consisted of six females and thirteen males, two were graduate students and seventeen were undergraduate students.
Sixteen out of nineteen reported using social networking sites, they reported that their heavy use was motivated by convenience, easy access to friends and overall enjoyment when using these systems. One issues mentioned was that use of these sites is “addictive”. The data showed that 79% of the participants reported accessing these sites at least once a week, and 21% reported doing so several times a day, this demonstrates there is a regular use of these sites among the participants interviewed.
The study has found that convenience, easy access, low cost and enjoyment are the main drivers when using electronic communications media to maintain social connections.
Why Youth (heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life.
D. Boyd (2008) Youth, Identity, and Digital Media 119-142
Danah Boyd conducted a two year study of U.S.-based youth engagement with MySpace. She examined the practices of "teenagers" on social network sites, primarily focusing on MySpace. By early 20o6, many considered participation on the key social network site, MySpace, essential to being seen as cool at school. Danah's study questions why teenagers flock to these sites? What are they expressing on them? How do these sites fit into their lives? What are they learning from their participation? Are these online activities like face-to-face friendships or are they different, or complementary? The goal is to address these questions and explore their implications for youth identities. While particular systems may come and go, how youth engage through social network sites today provides long-lasting insights into identity formation, status negotiation, and peer-to-peer sociality.
The method employed was defined as “participant observation” and “deep hanging out” alongside qualitative interviews. Danah moved systematically observing, documenting and talking to young people about their practice and attitudes.
Teenagers use social network sites like MySpace as an avenue to hang out, jockey for social status, work through how to present themselves, and take risks that will help them to assess the boundaries of the social world. They do this because they seek access to adult society.
N.B. Ellison, C. Steinfiled & C. Lampe. (2007) Journal of Computer-Meidated Communication. 1143-1168
This study examines the relationship between use of Facebook, and the formation and maintenance of social capital. It explores a dimension of social capital that assesses one’s ability to stay connected with members of a previously inhabited community; maintained social capital.
Social capital is seen as a positive effect of interaction among participants in social networks. This allows individuals to draw on resources from other members of the networks to which they belong. The concept of maintained social capital explores whether online network tools enable individuals to keep in touch with a social network after physically disconnecting from it, for example staying in touch with high school friends if you go away to college.
The method was a random sample of 800 Michigan State University undergraduate students. All 800 students were sent an email with a short description of the study, information about confidentiality and incentives, and a link to the survey. A total of 286 students completed the online survey and female, younger, in-state, and on-campus students were slightly overrepresented in the sample.
In the sample, 94% of the undergraduate students that were surveyed were Facebook members. These members report spending between ten and thirty minutes on average using Facebook each day and report having between 150 and 200 friends listed on their profiles. The data suggested that students’ primary audiences for their profiles are people whom they share an offline connection with. The data also showed that students reporting low satisfaction and low self-esteem appeared to gain in bridging social capital if they used Facebook, suggesting that the affordances of the social networking systems might be especially helpful for these students. Facebook appears to play an important role in the process by which students form and maintain social capital and suggested how social networking sites maintain relations as people move from one offline community to another.
Digital relationships in the ‘MySpace’ Generation: Results from a qualitative study.
C. Dwyer (2007) Proceedings of the 40th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. 1-10
The main objective of the research was to undertake a qualitative study of how individuals use technology to develop and maintain interpersonal relationships.
Social networking sites encourage social interaction by emphasizing connections through shared interests or causes. Facebook, intended for college students and MySpace, a large site with an emphasis on popular culture and music.
The research method used was the semi-structured interview. The interview was conducted primarily by undergraduate students as part of a class project for a required course within their degree program. The student researchers had to recruit subjects and complete a single interview and post transcripts for review. Then they each recruited two more subjected and completed two more interviews for a total of three each. Seventeen of the Eighteen student researcher interviews were used in the study, plus two additional interviews from a training session were added to the data set, for a total of 19 participants. They consisted of six females and thirteen males, two were graduate students and seventeen were undergraduate students.
Sixteen out of nineteen reported using social networking sites, they reported that their heavy use was motivated by convenience, easy access to friends and overall enjoyment when using these systems. One issues mentioned was that use of these sites is “addictive”. The data showed that 79% of the participants reported accessing these sites at least once a week, and 21% reported doing so several times a day, this demonstrates there is a regular use of these sites among the participants interviewed.
The study has found that convenience, easy access, low cost and enjoyment are the main drivers when using electronic communications media to maintain social connections.
Why Youth (heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life.
D. Boyd (2008) Youth, Identity, and Digital Media 119-142
Danah Boyd conducted a two year study of U.S.-based youth engagement with MySpace. She examined the practices of "teenagers" on social network sites, primarily focusing on MySpace. By early 20o6, many considered participation on the key social network site, MySpace, essential to being seen as cool at school. Danah's study questions why teenagers flock to these sites? What are they expressing on them? How do these sites fit into their lives? What are they learning from their participation? Are these online activities like face-to-face friendships or are they different, or complementary? The goal is to address these questions and explore their implications for youth identities. While particular systems may come and go, how youth engage through social network sites today provides long-lasting insights into identity formation, status negotiation, and peer-to-peer sociality.
The method employed was defined as “participant observation” and “deep hanging out” alongside qualitative interviews. Danah moved systematically observing, documenting and talking to young people about their practice and attitudes.
Teenagers use social network sites like MySpace as an avenue to hang out, jockey for social status, work through how to present themselves, and take risks that will help them to assess the boundaries of the social world. They do this because they seek access to adult society.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Continuation of Thesis Statement
Updated Thesis Statement: Through social website use, such as myspace and facebook, individuals have effective interpersonal relationships.
MULTIPLE DETERMINANTS OF LIFE QUALITY: THE ROLSE OF INTERNET ACTIVITIES, USE OF NEW MEDIA, SOCIAL SUPPORT AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES.
(Select Volume 22, Issue 3)
Louis Leung, Paul S.N. Lee
School of Journalism & Communication, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, Hong Kong
The quest for quality of life (QoL) is a growing concern for individuals and communities seeking to find sustainable life satisfaction in a technologically changing world. Industry, consumer groups, academics, and policy makers have sought to better understand how the Internet contributes to or detracts from society. This study examined the effects of Internet activities, new media use, social support, and leisure activities on perceived quality of life. Correlational results showed that Internet activities, such as using the Internet for sociability, fun seeking and information seeking, and new media use, correlate positively with various dimensions of social support. However, use of the Internet, especially for sociability, and computer use were inversely linked to QoL. Furthermore, hierarchical regression analysis revealed that affectionate, positive social interaction, and emotional and informational social support, received from either online or offline sources, are the strongest determinants of quality of life. More important, QoL can also be enhanced if suitable amounts of time are spent on media-related activities, namely, less time on using the Internet for intimate selfdisclosure and in playing computer games, and more time on listening to music on CD/MD/MP3. Finally, participating in community or religious activities for leisure was also a significant predictor of QoL. Implications regarding policy formulation to improve life quality are discussed.
SOCIABILITY, INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS AND THE INTERNET: RECONCILING CONFLICTING FINDINGS
Norman H. Nie, Stanford University
The American Behavioral Scientist; Nov 2001; 45, 3, 420-435 (2001)
During the course of the past year, at least four different academic surveys have been conducted, each focusing to some extent on the impact of Internet use on the quantity and quality of interpersonal communication and sociability. Remarkably, these studies arrive at starkly different conclusions regarding the social repercussions of Internet use. At the heart of this debate is whether Internet use can be a potentially isolating activity or one that leads to substantially greater communication among people and thus enhances human connectivity and sociability. Based on an analysis of these studies' key findings and methodological approaches, this article attempts to understand the role of the Internet in shaping our interpersonal relations. The key findings suggest that Internet users do not become more sociable; rather, they already display a higher degree of social connectivity and participation, due to the fact that they are better educated, better off financially, and less likely to be among the elderly. And simply because of the inelasticity of time, Internet use may actually reduce interpersonal interaction and communication.
MULTIPLE DETERMINANTS OF LIFE QUALITY: THE ROLSE OF INTERNET ACTIVITIES, USE OF NEW MEDIA, SOCIAL SUPPORT AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES.
(Select Volume 22, Issue 3)
Louis Leung, Paul S.N. Lee
School of Journalism & Communication, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, Hong Kong
The quest for quality of life (QoL) is a growing concern for individuals and communities seeking to find sustainable life satisfaction in a technologically changing world. Industry, consumer groups, academics, and policy makers have sought to better understand how the Internet contributes to or detracts from society. This study examined the effects of Internet activities, new media use, social support, and leisure activities on perceived quality of life. Correlational results showed that Internet activities, such as using the Internet for sociability, fun seeking and information seeking, and new media use, correlate positively with various dimensions of social support. However, use of the Internet, especially for sociability, and computer use were inversely linked to QoL. Furthermore, hierarchical regression analysis revealed that affectionate, positive social interaction, and emotional and informational social support, received from either online or offline sources, are the strongest determinants of quality of life. More important, QoL can also be enhanced if suitable amounts of time are spent on media-related activities, namely, less time on using the Internet for intimate selfdisclosure and in playing computer games, and more time on listening to music on CD/MD/MP3. Finally, participating in community or religious activities for leisure was also a significant predictor of QoL. Implications regarding policy formulation to improve life quality are discussed.
SOCIABILITY, INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS AND THE INTERNET: RECONCILING CONFLICTING FINDINGS
Norman H. Nie, Stanford University
The American Behavioral Scientist; Nov 2001; 45, 3, 420-435 (2001)
During the course of the past year, at least four different academic surveys have been conducted, each focusing to some extent on the impact of Internet use on the quantity and quality of interpersonal communication and sociability. Remarkably, these studies arrive at starkly different conclusions regarding the social repercussions of Internet use. At the heart of this debate is whether Internet use can be a potentially isolating activity or one that leads to substantially greater communication among people and thus enhances human connectivity and sociability. Based on an analysis of these studies' key findings and methodological approaches, this article attempts to understand the role of the Internet in shaping our interpersonal relations. The key findings suggest that Internet users do not become more sociable; rather, they already display a higher degree of social connectivity and participation, due to the fact that they are better educated, better off financially, and less likely to be among the elderly. And simply because of the inelasticity of time, Internet use may actually reduce interpersonal interaction and communication.
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