Social Network Sites: An Overview

Social Network Sites: An OverviewUMBC IS-303: Fundamentals of Human-Computer Interaction

Jessica VitakMichigan State UniversityUniversity of [email protected] / @jvitak

SNSs: What are they?

boyd and Ellison (2007) define SNSs as “web-based services that allow individuals to:

(1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system;

(2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and

(3) view and traverse their list of connectionsand those made by others within the system.”

SNSs: Updated Definition

Ellison and boyd (in press): A social network site is a networked communication platform in which participants:

1) have uniquely identifiable profiles that consist of user-supplied content, content provided by other users, and system-level data;

2) can publicly articulate connections that can be viewed and traversed by others; and

3) can consume, produce, and interact with streams of user-generated content.

Who uses SNSs?

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SNS users are more likely to be:

• Women• Young

No statistically significant differences based on:

• Race• Income• Education• Geographic location

Source: Madden & Zickhur, 2011. Pew Internet Project.

What other SNSs exist besides Facebook?

Foreign-based SNSs (Cyworld, QQ)

Children’s SNSs (Club Penguin, Webkinz)

Demographic-specific SNSs (BlackPlanet)

SNSs for animals (Dogster, Catster)

Professional SNSs (LinkedIn)

And on… And on…

Why do people use SNSs?

Joinson (2008)“Looking at,” “Looking up” or “Keeping up with” People? Motives and Uses of Facebook

Social connection Shared identities Viewing/sharing photos Social investigation Social network surfing Status updating

Papacharissi & Mendelson (2011)Toward a New(er) Sociability: Uses, Gratifications and Social Capital on Facebook

Expressive info seeking Habitual pass time Relaxing entertainment Cool, new trend Companionship Professional achievement Escape Social interaction Meet new people

Why do people use SNSs?

What SNS users do: Broadcasting

What SNS users do: Commenting

What SNS users do: “Liking”

What SNS users do: Private Messages

Impression Management on SNSs

Impression Management: Sum of behaviors individuals engage in to either control or manipulate observers’ attributions of them

What are negative effects of using SNSs?

Facebook addiction?

Negative social outcomes Losing your job Getting caught in a lie Losing health benefits Underage drinking

Making us more narcissistic? More depressed? Lonelier? Increased fear of missing out (FOMO)?

* Take these with a grain of salt. Many are based on anecdotal rather than empirical evidence.

Benefits to Using SNSs

Social Capital: benefits derived from interactions with your social network

BondingBridging

Bridging Social Capital

Bonding Social Capital

Maintained Social Capital

* Source: Bernie Hogan

Research at MSU

Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe (2007) Intensity of Facebook use (FBI) predicts social capital

Steinfield, Ellison, & Lampe (2008) People with lower self-esteem benefit more from their use of

Facebook than those with higher self-esteem

Vitak, Ellison & Steinfield (2011) & Ellison, Vitak, Gray & Lampe (r&r) Engaging with your network is important

Research at MSU

Lampe et al. (2011): How do students use Facebook to collaborate on school work?

Positive Collaboration: Arrange group meeting Ask for help Manage group project

Negative Collaboration Sharing homework answers Sharing quiz/test answers

Research at MSU

Gray et al. (2012): Can Facebook improve college retention? Example: Inigral’s Schools application

College Friends on Facebook

Facebook Collaboration

Behaviors

Bonding Social

Capital

Social Adjustment to College

Persistence at College

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Research at MSU

Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe (2011) Actual friends matter more than

total friends when it comes to perceptions of social capital

Total FB Friends

Actual Friends

Among undergrads: 25%Among MSU staff: 37%

Tong et al. (2008): When you have too many “friends” on a SNS, people rate you as less socially attractive

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What does it mean to be a Facebook “Friend”?

Robin Dunbar claims you can only manage meaningful relationships with 150 people.

Dunbar: “Our minds are not designed to allow us to have more than a very limited number of people in our social world. The emotional and psychological investments that a close relationship requires are considerable, and the emotional capital we have available is limited.”

Facebook users have *a lot* of Friends

Vitak (2012): Most users reported having many Facebook Friends M = 500, Median = 433, SD =

361, range: 62 – 1600

And many were weak ties* 8% of network considered close

ties 52% of network considered very

weak ties

Weak Ties

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* Measured using four of Aron et al.’s (1992) Inclusion of Other in Self items

Pew data: SNS users vs. non-users

How big is your social network? Average American: 634 ties Average Internet user (669)

vs. non-user (506) ties Average cell phone user:

664 ties Average SNS user: 636 ties

* Source: Hampton et al. (2011)

Public Displays of Connection*

On SNSs, links between two users are (sometimes): Mutual Public Unnuanced

Displaying connections can help someone else establish that you are who you say you are

* Donath & boyd (2004)

SNSs & Context Collapse

Selective Self-Presentation: We present different versions of the self depending on our audience

Context collapse occurs when we “perform” for different audiences at same time (e.g., weddings)

Ego

Context Collapse on Facebook

Impact of Context Collapse

Marwick & boyd (2011) Treat public space (Twitter) as if it were bounded

Vitak, Lampe, Gray, & Ellison (2012) Strategies for maintaining work/personal life boundary

Vitak (2012) Engaging with privacy features Increased disclosures Increased perceptions of social capital

ResourcesEllison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook "friends:" Social capital and college students' use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12, 1143-1168.

Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2011). Connection strategies: Social capital implications of Facebook-enabled communication practices. New Media & Society, 13, 873-892.

Madden, M. & Zickhur, K. (2011). 65% of Online Adults Use Social Networking Sites, Pew Internet & American Life Project, Washington.

Tong, S.T, .Van Der Heide, B., Langwell, L., & Walther, J.B. (2008). Too much of a good thing? The relationship between number of friends and interpersonal impressions on Facebook. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13, 531-549.

Stutzman, F., Vitak, J., Ellison, N., Gray, R., & Lampe, C. (2012). Privacy in interaction: Exploring disclosure and social capital in Facebook. In Proceedings of the 6th annual International Conference on Weblogs and Social Media (ICWSM).

Vitak, J., Lampe, C., Ellison, N., & Gray, R. (2012). “Why won’t you be my Facebook Friend?”: Strategies for dealing with context collapse in the workplace. In Proceedings of the 7th Annual iConference (pp. 555-557). New York: ACM.

Lampe, C., Wohn, D. Y., Vitak, J., Ellison, N., & Wash, R. (2011). Student use of Facebook for organizing collaborative classroom activities. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 6, 329-347.

Gray, R., Vitak, J., Easton, E., & Ellison, N. (2012, May). Harnessing social technology in students’ transition to college: Facebook’s role in student adjustment and persistence. Paper presented at the International Communication Association 62nd Annual Conference, Phoenix.

Vitak, J. (2012, May). The impact of context collapse and privacy on social network site disclosures. Paper presented at the International Communication Association 62nd Annual Conference, Phoenix.