DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.
Articles From The Library
DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Social Interactions across Media

 

College students are using social media to communicate more than they are engaging in face-to-face interactions. In “Social Interactions across Media”, Nancy K. Baym, Yan Bing Zhang, and Mei-Chen Lin discuss an experiment they conducted for students to keep diaries about how they described their interactions and social media use. Overall their study showed that college students spend from a range of “one to three hours a week online” (Baym, Zhang, Lin 305), and the majority of their time they are engaging in interactions via social media websites. As the college students kept a diary keeping a record of the number of times they interacted and whether it was through social media (Facebook, Twitter, emails, etc.), whether it was on the phone or whether it occurred face-to-face.  These college students were asked three research questions in which the first what in regard to daily interactions which many responded the use of social media to interact. The second research question was about the involuntary interactions such as starting a conversation and it revealed that this occurred only face-to-face as oppose through social media. The third and final research question were about the combination of the methods used to communicate and the results showed that college students interacted more through the use of social media websites and there was only one record of face-to-face interaction.

 

Nancy K. Baym, Yan Bing Zhang, and Mei-Chen Lin’s article “Social Interactions across Media” shows the results of how college students interact when placed under different circumstances. It is almost like the first day of classes in a new school, although you have access to technology and social media you would prefer to interact face-to-face and make new friends. Reading this article makes you understand the multiple methods in which students can interact but limit themselves to only one, social media.

 

 

Baym, N. K., Zhang, V., & Lin, M. (2004). Social interactions across media. New Media & Society, 6(3), 299-318.

 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

The Networked Primate

 

Technology is slowly and dramatically taking over. Mark Fischetti's article, "The Networked Primate" exposes how "always on, always on it technology" causes lack of social communication and some rushing at two am to answer a tweet. Those cherished moments of eating with a family at a dinner table, watching a child successfully make it to the top of the jungle gym, or on a romantic dinner have been replaced by technology. The ability to engage in a conversation at a dinner table, while watching television, or simply in school has become a challenge for some. Fischetti conducts interviews and case studies of many to understand how technology has taken over their lives. Some say they prefer to email than physically converse with anyone simply because emails give you time for perfection. Children who as children were ignored because of technology hope that in the future to enforce rules to avoid such obsession over technology.

 

Informative, relatable, and engaging is this article "The Networked Primate" and everyone must read it. Are you constantly checking your phone, if so why? Some may think they know the answer but might not be able to connect the dots to get the main answer. This article is comprehensible, easy to read, and it is straightforward that it can be read in about ten minutes. Fischetti is talking in a global aspect on how everyone of any age interacts via social media, and the research that I am conducting focuses on a specific age group, college students. Focusing on college students would be very interesting because college is a stage in life in which taking advantage of opportunities and networking is essential for future careers and jobs. Learning about technology and how it will always be present and how people adapt to it unbelievable and will have some questioning whether they prefer to live in a virtual world or live in the real world?

 

Fischetti, M. (2014). The networked primate. Scientific American, 311(3), 82-85.

 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Facebook Use Between College Resident Advisors' and Their Residence: A Mixed Methods Approach

 

Social media has taken over the lives of many college students as the level of dependency increases and becoming more of an obsession. In “Facebook Use Between College Resident Advisors’ and their Residence: A Mixed Methods approach”, Lauren Kacvinsky and Megan Moreno, exposes that besides the correlation between social media interactions and college students, studies have found that there is an existing pattern of Facebook use and depression. Freshmen usually tend to fall into depression and other negative behaviors because they are far from home, undergoing a transitional change and fall into the negative effects of alcohol and drug use. It is mentioned that college students are glued to their technological devices and are constantly submitting themselves into the world of Facebook. Focus groups and interviews were conducted to learn more about college students through Facebook such as using it to determine if they are depressed. Resident advisors, those who focus on the students well being, meets with those college students who are depressed or have been drinking to advise them and provide support. Freshman college students do not seek out help because it gives them anxiety and therefore they turn to Facebook as a method to ease themselves and avoid face-to-face interactions with the resident advisor.

 

Lauren Kacvinsky and Megan Moreno’s “Facebook Use Between College Resident Advisor’s and their residence: A Mixed Methods Approach”, explores issues that college students are facing and how through Facebook residential advisors take notice. Transitioning from a new school to college and leaving behind all your family and friends is a shock that students become depressed and turn to drinking. Some believe that they are on their own and no one can help or the thought of asking for help is absurd and turn to social media for consolation. But there is faculty and staffs that do care for the well-being of college students, which leads them to observe the interactions that student, have through social media looking for signs. I recommend reading this article because it relatable to many and it raises awareness about the issues that college students can potentially face.

 

Kacvinsky, L.E., & Moreno, M.A. (2014). Facebook use between college resident advisors’ and their residents: A mixed methods approach. College Students Journal. 48(1). 16-22.

 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Undergraduates, Technology and Social Connections

 

Social media has enabled many to keep strong relationships flowing despite the distance because of Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter and many other websites. This is beneficial because college students are far from home and social media helps with staying in touch with those back at home. In the article “Undergraduates, Technology, and Social Connections”, Betsy Palmer, Susan Soniek, Elena Turner, and Elyse D’nn Lovell describe how the social interactions of college students with the use of technological devices on the phone, using Facebook, Twitter or any other social website. College students spend up to five hours per week on the Internet and most of the time is for social media use such as Facebook. College students are focusing a lot more on social media that it has impacted their face-to-face interactions, the level of concentration on school work, the shaping of their identity, and it has taken over the moments needed to be alone and reflect.

 

Betsy Palmer, Susan Soniek, Elena Turner, Elyse D’nn Lovell’s “Undergraduates, Technology, and Social Connections” is simple, straightforward, and organized to make it easy to follow. It starts with the background and poses questions of their interest to some research and then it proceeds to conduct their own research and then it is summed up in the conclusion. I recommend this article because it provides plenty of information to back up the claims and answer the question that they posed. Social media is a tool that is used highly amongst college students, primarily freshman because it is a time in which they are far from home and there is a need to stay connected with old friends. College students that are interested in learning about their generation and the reasons behind the high usage of social media should read this article because it highlights the reasons and displays their findings. After reading it will make you wonder about the number of hours spent on these social media websites as well as to what is it that you are doing; are you communicating with others or are you simply observing what others are posting?

 

Palmer, B., Boniek, S., Turner, E., & Lovell, E. D. (2014). Undergraduates, technology, and social connections. College Student Journal, 48(2), 281-296.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.