Social networking and computer mediated communication

by minashb (student)

Minash Bablani B215448

Study Skills

Word count: 2034

Assignment two: Literature Review

Social networking and computer-mediated communication.

This essay discusses the effects and social implications of, social networking and computer-mediated communication and how the ‘web culture’ has changed nearly everything in the Western world focusing on the youth of the population. Three insightful pieces of literature are referred to in this essay namely: “Wired Youth” by Mesch and Talmud, “Online Social Networking on Campus” whose authors are Alemán and Wartman and lastly, “Small Pieces Loosely Joined” by Weinberger. Information and Communication Technology facilitate the access to knowledge, resources, opportunities, and social capital, which might be difficult and/or expensive to acquire through other means. The Internet is a vast and intricate network that links and supports political, social and economic activity on a global level.

Adolescence is a period of speedy biological, psychological and social transformation, which causes curiosity, and rapid expansion of social circles. The youth of this generation are growing up in a multi communication and multimedia environment. For many it is a form of information, entertainment and communication, either way it serves as a purpose for all. There is concern expressed that the Internet access in a household negatively affect patterns of interaction between parents and children, increasing intergenerational conflicts and weakening family cohesion (Watt and White 1994; Lenhart et al., 2001, Talmud and Mesch 2010)

Recently, small business have grown rapidly due to the increasing use of the Internet. It allows them to be easily accessible, for example ASOS has grown in the last ten years thanks to online shopping. Facebook, Youtube and Twitter are the three most commonly visited websites, which are increasingly being used for advertisement purposes by a range of businesses from big brands such as Gucci to local salons. Jobs are advertised on social networking sites as well and social media skills are becoming required for jobs nowadays. Social media has spread not just to teenagers but to all age groups of the population of this generation and has become increasingly popular for advertising products, events, charities and businesses.

Firstly, Mesch and Talmud’s Wired Youth will be discussed. The literature analyzes the positive and negative effects of ICT, the Internet and social networking on teenagers. ‘Wired Youth’ is based on its own research based in Israel by the authors conducted over a period of three years between 2001 and 2004. However, the book was published in 2010, this could mean the information is out dated or irrelevant in certain cases as the availability of the Internet has increased in many parts of the world, especially in less economically developed countries like Israel itself, India, Africa etcetera. The authors combine aspects of sociology, social psychology, psychology and media into this book to support their arguments regarding the effects of ICT and social networking on youth. In their research conducted in Israel in 2001 between 2004, they found that young people that made use of the Internet were more involved in social activities as opposed to those that did not use the Internet (Mesch and Talmud, 2010) which correlates to McElhern’s research (discussed later in this essay). However, Talmud and Mesch only focus on social networking and not other aspects of the Internet, which can potentially affect teenagers; such as online games and how they allow them to create an almost ‘perfect’ world, which can cause a rewarding social experience. For example, “The Sims” game that is widely popular with young adults allowing them to create a virtual world of their own; establish families, houses and characters to their liking. The relative anonymity of life on the screen gives individuals the chance to express, often unexplored, aspects of one self and the creation of a visual persona.

Therefore, the Internet is a very powerful tool, which can either be used to one’s advantage or otherwise.

With the increasing importance given to social networking, Barry Wellman a sociologist has suggested that society has moved from a form of social organization in which people belonged an interacted within small, socially homogenous communities at home, work or in the neighborhood. However, social networking and instant messaging (IM) have made it easy to connect with people all over the world; establishing closer ties despite the vast distance.

ICT makes communication convenient as it gives people the option of synchronous ...

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Therefore, the Internet is a very powerful tool, which can either be used to one’s advantage or otherwise.

ICT makes communication convenient as it gives people the option of synchronous or asynchronous communication. Synchronous being instant messaging or social networking sites also known as real-time communication, whereas asynchronous communication is delayed such as e-mails and forums. Social networking sites, especially Facebook have the option of asynchronous communication, which could be one of the reasons why it has become popular.

The current youth are immersed in technology, in all aspects of life; social interaction, identity construction, and media consumption and production.

The literature explored consists of balanced and perceptive arguments allowing the reader to think and obtain their own perspective. The authors provide an important contribution to the study of the use of ICT by the youth by explaining the implications of increasing use of the Internet amongst this generation, not just the youthful population but generally. They examine the use and effects of the Internet on all different aspects of life such as family, cyber bullying, and social ties, which I personally found very intriguing.

Alemán and Wartman’s ‘Online Social Networking on Campus’ consists of a lot of research and experiments carried out on university students, mainly undergraduates in order to understand how ICT and social networking contribute to student life and culture, paying close attention to how it changes social behaviour and identity creation.

It has been researched that during precollege summer students begin to use social networking sites as a way to get to know people and things about their university, orientation programmes. Fraternities and sororities, student governments, and campus student activities now use social networking to invite them to their events. Students also network on sites for social, environmental, and honorable causes, for political candidates, and for philanthropies (Alemán and Wartman, 2009). Social network sites act as campus bulletin boards, they advertise events and are therefore fundamental to the infrastructure and culture of student life. Communication researchers concern themselves with how virtual communication affects behaviour of students at university. For example, the Stanford University Virtual Human Interaction Laboratory has supported research (Baileson, Yee, Blascovich & Guadagno 2008 from Alemán and Wartman 2009) insinuating that positive social actions and deeds established online can be transferred to our daily lives (Alemán & Wartman, 2009). They could help build new relationships, sustain and strengthen existing ones.

It is reported that 85% of all college and university students use Facebook (Arrington 2008 from Alemán and Wartman 2009). It also shows that the average amount of time students spend on Facebook is 6.2 hours a week and the average login is 6.3 times per day. The pull of Facebook is so strong, that many students refer to it as an addiction. It has an addictive quality because of the pleasure it provides for its users creating a sense of dependency. (Alemán & Warman, 2009)

The book is divided into various chapters that introduce campus culture online, follow onto its emergence and acceleration into student lives. The first two chapters review the importance of online culture especially Facebook. Certain schools and universities have even higher percentages than 85%, which is shown through a study done in the University of Michigan, which shows that 99.5% of students have Facebook accounts. It is their primary form of communication; it even overtakes text messages, emails and instant messaging. Facebook allows one to form a social identity as opposed to these other forms of communication, which is what makes it stand out compared to emails and text messages.

The third chapter is perhaps the most essential part of the book. It interviews four university students, out of which one is white and three are of different ethnic minorities and two out of the four are homosexual. They give detailed accounts on campus culture, identity and Facebook, which describe in detail their experiences and the effects of social networking in identity construction, which are formed on the basis of race or ethnicity, gender and sexuality and socioeconomic class. It presents diverse voices of university students to elucidate the multiple meanings of computer-mediated social networking on campuses. Journalists report on misuse that ranges from students in the United Kingdom surfing social networking sites during class to more serious concerns about capturing and instantly discriminating dangerous or offensive student behaviour, whether real or posed (Alemán & Wartman, 2009).

The fourth chapter advises school and college administrators what to be aware of and how to accept its noted integration in modern culture. The last chapter discusses the future of Facbeook, On the whole, the literature covers intricacies of social networking sites such as statuses, pictures etcetera that often create a misleading impression. For example, in the book one of the students, Kris has said, that ‘photos posted on Facebook can misrepresent one’s identity, which is frustrating. Pictures give the wrong impression’. For example he claims that some photos may make him look like he’s been drinking when he has not. In other photos, the viewer easily misinterprets the context (Alemán and Wartman, 2009).

Alemán and Wartman have carried out research with different people in order to represent a wide population group. However, they have not used all types of sexuality and races, which could cause some inaccurate data, nonetheless it is a very useful and informative text.

Weinberger’s ‘Small Pieces Loosely Joined’ is a social commentary and reveals what makes the web truly revolutionary. He shows that the web is transforming not only social institutions but also bedrock concepts of our world such as space, time, self and knowledge. Weinberger claims that the web has not been hyped enough for good reasons but it has been for its flaws. He states, “the web is not about business, it is about human connection”, which is a very deep and meaningful viewpoint. I completely agree with Weinberger in this case because with the growing availability of Internet in most different parts of the world, it has become more of a form of connection. Time and space is not a barrier anymore due to the Internet.

Weinberger tries to explain why the Internet has become a culture and how it has affected the fundamental concepts of the real world which is what most of the chapters consist of i.e. space, time, perfection, togetherness, knowledge, matter and hope. In general it is a very realistic and well-written piece of literature with humour and philosophy all in one. The web is looked at from a very different perspective of Weinberger and is very thought provoking.

It might be true that we construct new personalities in new social contexts; the web and the Internet have certainly led us to create new ways of acting and reacting to others. Studies of online behaviour earlier has shown that people spent less time with their friends and family, however recent studies show exactly the opposite suggesting that users have incorporated the novelty of the web into themselves (McElhern, K). Tapscott, the author of “Growing up digital” describes that the ‘net-generation’ as optimistic, team-oriented achievers. Immersion in this technology-rich culture influences teenagers’ skills and interests in important ways which allows them to think and process information differently compared to their predecessors, actively experiment and depend on ICT in order to search for information and communicate with others. They are eager to acquire skills needed to develop creative multimedia presentations and to become multimedia producers not merely consumers (Tapscott, 1998 from Talmud & Mesch 2010). He supports and encourages the youth and Internet.

The following is an entry from a blog of a Linguist and his take on the web and this suggests and supports the use of the Internet and currently social media in order to communicate with peers. “In 1997, I examined, for a Masters’ dissertation in applied linguistics, the way a group of people, united by their shared profession, interacted by e-mail in the presence of a ‘crisis’. I discovered that many people acted in ways they would never have acted if the people they were addressing were physically present. Actually, they hid behind their online personas and allowed their deepest feelings to rage forth unchecked, undaunted, because once you press the Send button it’s too late to take it back” (McElhearn, K). He also describes how identity was always a little different or modified behind screens regardless of social networking, even just in a simple email, which does not make Facebook seem like a bad form of computer-mediated communication. However, Facebook has the facility to upload numerous pictures, status updates, create events, promote projects etcetera which cannot be done through emails and gives a more clearer formation of identity as opposed to emails or other forms of computer-mediated communication.

Social media and the web has become a controversial subject especially with the youth of the population. The web is beneficial but problematic at the same time, college students can use resources from the web, however as mentioned earlier they can also use social networking sites during classes making it a distraction. Other issues like privacy, stalking, cyberbullying, effects on family life and identity formation are s faced when using social networking sites. Nonetheless its many benefits arguably outweigh its disadvantages.

The web has been integrated into lifestyles, many people define themselves through social networking sites which affects behaviour in social situations. Looking at the web from a broader perspective, the web has essentially become a culture, not just in the life of young teenagers, but everyone. It has now become a lifestyle for everyone from young to old and they are dependent on it. This literature review, assess this through different books and different author’s perspectives and comes to the conclusion that the Web is a good thing when used in balance for the right purposes. Identity formation should not entirely be left up to Facebook or other social networking sites as they often create wrong impressions. Weinberger’s text successfully notices and explains how the Internet is not just virtual but it connects and affects society and the other two texts have a similar purpose but with regard to teenagers. All the texts are fairly recently published except ‘Small Pieces Loosely Joined’ which does not consist of any research but just Weinberger’s perspective of the Internet and the research conducted in Wired Youth (in Israel between 2001 and 2004). Hence, the research presented in the texts and used in this essay still bares relevance as it is from 2009, however recent studies would be able to give a clearer idea of the current user percentage.

Therefore, in conclusion Internet adoption and integration into routine communication with others has had an affect on the youth’s access to positive and supportive ties, but also on the extent of his/her exposure to negative encounters and persistent harassment. However, ICT is a distinct sphere of rules and norms of behaviour that cannot be wholly reduced to communication and although ICT is socially embedded, it cannot be reduced to social structure.

References:

McElhearn, K. Technology and Society. [Accessed on 23 December 2012]

Alemán, A., Wartman, K. (2009). Online Social Networking on Campus. United Kingdom: Routledge.

Weinberger, D. (2002). Small Pieces Loosely Joined. United States of America: Basic Books.

Mesch, G., Talmud, I. (2010). Wired Youth. Sussex: Routledge.