How Students Use Social Media - Term Paper Example

A FORMAL REPORT ON HOW USE SOCIAL MEDIA By 17th, January, Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 The Current Trends in Social Media amongst the Student Population 4 The Various Types of Socially Acceptable Media Available 6 The Changes of How Students Receive Information and News in the Past Five Year 6 The Economic and Technological Factors Influencing Students Choice of Media  7 Conclusion 8 Works Cited 9 Executive Summary Introduction of social networking sites has attracted several people particularly teenagers and students to start using different social media for purposes such as connecting with friends and family as well as for educational purposes. Social media include the medium used by people to connect or communicate indirectly. Additionally, students are increasingly depending on social media to receive different kinds of information including news around the world. The purpose of this formal report is to report on how students use social media. The report examines the different websites used by student, which include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and blogs. The report will: briefly describe the current trends in social media amongst the student population summarize the various types of socially acceptable media available discuss the changes in the past five year of how students receive information and news explain any economic or technological factors which may influence a student’s decision to select a particular way of consuming media  Introduction The advent of Web 2.0 changed the social world greatly. Since its commencement, social media has appealed to many users and have become a daily practice for some users. In the recent past, there has been advanced use of social networking. Social networking refers to the process of using social networks to connect with friends and family. Use of social networks has become a common phenomenon especially amongst the young people. Most students use social networks for socializing and legitimacy purposes. However, some students tend to use social media for discussion that are at times academic. Currently, there are hundreds of social media networks, most of which students are using for communication purposes. Moreover, there are numerous technological too that support the various social media website (Elmore 2009) Social media is becoming a preferred tool that can be used for teaching since most students are familiar with the social networks and most of them are easy to use. Moreover, it allows students to make use of their creativity since they can make and post their own stuff such as videos or articles in the blogs. In the recent past, advancement in technology has led to emergence of certain trends of social media use amongst networks. Moreover, the availability of various socially acceptable social media has increased their usage not just for connecting purposes but also for academic purposes. Most students prefer the use of social network to access news and other form of information since they are informative and easily accessible through various portable gadgets. Moreover, most students are familiar with the sites and use of various technologies. The Current Trends in Social Media amongst the Student Population Most students use social networking sites to communicate with peers and family especially during their free time. However, some institutions are increasingly encouraging students to use the social media for educational purposes. Some learning institutions have even set certain policies regarding the use of social network within the institutions premises (Elmore 2009).  A research done by National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) showed that first year students are more likely to use social media as compared to students in upper years. Moreover, the study showed that the first year students use social media for purposes such as interacting with peers, relating with faculty advisors, as well as learning of the various campus events. Moreover, most first year students may feel lonely and thus opt to use the social networks to interact with their friends. The study by NSSE entailed a survey of 19,000 students who were drawn from 42 higher education institutions. The study showed some students make use of the social networks to organize for group discussions while a higher number, nine out of ten, use social medial to interact with family and friends (National Survey of Student Engagement 2012). Although most students have used social media positively, there is increasing fear that social networking could affect students negatively. This is because some students use social networks such as Facebook to connect with friends even when in class. This reduces the concentration. Fears such as this have led to enactment of laws in some countries to enhance the use of internet by students (Elmore 2009). A study that was published in The Journal of College Admission showed that most colleges and universities encourage use of social networks by students since the institutions also use social media. Universities have adopted about 3.7 social networks. Some universities use more than one social network while one university was found to use seven different social sites. (Tilsley 2012). According to Lytle (2012), high school students make use of social networks to search for colleges. This depicts the increasing uses of social media amongst students. The Various Types of Socially Acceptable Media Available Numerous social media have emerged. However, not all have become socially acceptable. Socially acceptable social media include Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, My Space, You tube, Google+ and blogs (Elmore 2009). Currently, Facebook and twitter are the most used social media networks. However, You Tube is often used for academic purposes since some learning institutions integrate YouTube videos in their curriculum. Most students use google+ to share academic information (Lytle 2012). Facebook remains one of the most used social media since it is easy to use and allows wide sharing since students can share different experiences with increased ease. MySpace has reduced in popularity but teenagers are still using it. Blogs are popular amongst students since they allow them to be creative and discuss a given issue exclusively. Moreover, they are quite informative hence a helpful learning tool (Lane & Coleman 2012; Dechter 2007). The Changes of How Students Receive Information and News in the Past Five Year Over the last decade, numerous changes have occurred on how students receive information and other news. There has been increase in online teaching where some instructors send information to students using social networks such as YouTube. However, some instructors make use of other social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Some instructors even advice students on how to receive information using medium such as blogs, vodcasts, podcasts, and wikis. Moreover, educators have been seeking for ways in which they can enhance the use of social media for educational purposes (Jose & Blaszczynski 2011). According to Lane and Coleman (2012, 3), because of technological advancement, social networks “… such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter are used to transfer immediate information to users via blackberries, I-phones and laptops.” Therefore, the major contributor of increased influence of social media use amongst students is the presence of advanced, cheap and readily available portable gadgets that allow them to share with friend and family from anywhere across the globe (Fichter 2012). A research report published in The Journal of College Admission which was based on World report showed that more than about three-quarters of the 7,000 students who participated in the survey log into their Facebook account at least once every day. Moreover, more than half of the participants were active users of Twitter. (Tilsley 2012) The Economic and Technological Factors Influencing Students Choice of Media  The choice of media that a student uses is influenced by certain factors that could be technological or economical. Facebook is the most used social media amongst students. The web-based technologies have grown rapidly and offer different gadgets for social networking. However, the different gadgets differ in the extent to which they allow the students to share. For example, most phones limit sharing since they reduce the content of information that students can share. However, gadgets such as laptop allow sharing of large contents of information including large files therefore, the type of gadget students possess can determine the way a student chooses to consume media news (Elmore 2009). Another technological factor that determines the choice of social network is how familiar the students are with the different tools provided by the network. Social networks such as Facebook are easy too se and require less technological knowhow since users can use devices they are familiar with such as mobile phones. However, some websites maybe quite complicated and limit their use by students (Jose & Blaszczynski 2011). To access social network, one require having internet connection. Since most institutions offer free internet, the cost of using internet is not a major factor influencing the choice of social network. However, other media of communication such as newspaper are more expensive compared to social networks. Therefore, students prefer using the social networks, which are cheap and even more informative (Fichter 2012). Conclusion Social networking technologies are increasingly becoming acceptable learning tools amongst students. However, most students use social media for networking purposes since it enables them to connect with family and friends. The increased use of social media for educational purposes such as academic discussions have been enhanced by increase in online courses whereby instructors have to use social networks such as YouTube to provide instructions and other forms of information. In the recent past, the trend in use of social networks has changed greatly. Some learning institutions are increasingly encouraging use of social networks for academic purposes such as organizing discussions. Facebook require less technical knowhow. Moreover, the site can be accessed through various gadgets, which has enhanced its usage. Therefore, social media that students choose to use is determined by technological as well as economic factors since the students must be able to pay the gadgets to use. Works Cited Dechter, G 2007, College orientation, online: Social networking Web sites ease new students transitions, Washington, United States, Washington. Available at http://search.proquest.com/docview/459197090/13BAD2F3CA3EE4D71/8?accountid=45049 Elmore, B 2009, "SOCIAL Networking STRATEGIES", Baylor Business Review, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 25-27. Available at http://search.proquest.com/docview/201164300/13BAD2F3CA3EE4D71/33?accountid=45049 Fichter, D 2012, Tools of influence: Strategic use of social media, Online, 36(4), 58-60. Available at http://search.proquest.com/docview/1023798780?accountid=45049 Jose Perez-Carballo, & Blaszczynski, C 2011, Social media usage by business college students, Allied Academies International Conference. Academy of Information and Management Sciences. Proceedings, 15(2), 5-8. Available at http://search.proquest.com/docview/912467917?accountid=45049 Lane, M & Coleman, P 2012, "Technology ease of use through social networking media", Journal of Technology Research, vol. 3, pp. 1-12. Available at http://search.proquest.com/docview/1022984844/13BAD2F3CA3EE4D71/14?accountid=45049 Lytle, R., 2012. High School Students Increasingly Use Social Media for College Search. US News, 28 Sep, Available at http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2012/09/28/high-school-students-increasingly-use-social-media-for-college-search. National Survey of Student Engagement 2012, Promoting Student Learning and Institutional Improvement: Lessons from NSSE at 13, Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, Bloomington, IN. Available at http://nsse.iub.edu/NSSE_2012_Results/pdf/NSSE_2012_Annual_Results.pdf Tilsley, A., 2012. Social Networks and College Choices. Available at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/09/24/survey-examines-how-prospective-students-use-social-media-research-colleges [Accessed 17 January 2013]. Read More