Social Networking Sites' Effect on Relationships Among College Students

Today's society is based around technology. Everything we do revolves around the Internet. Technology has left us with the chance to meet people in a much easier method. A friend is now a finger click away. On facebook to gain a new friend you simply click on "add as friend" and the other person accepts or denies you, the users involved never even have to leave their house. Technology has made letters and phones articles of the past. A perfect example of this comes from cell phones. Technology is slowly taking over people's lives and beginning to effect their personal relationships. The internet is becoming a segway to personal information and has made your private information available to different publics.

We are in the next wave of technology, where communicating with friends is all on the internet and instantly done. New social networking sites are popping up everyday and people are taking advantage of them. You can see their away messages online and see what they are doing at that very instant. With Internet sources and social networking sites becoming so mainstream it has become more than clear that society has official began to depend too much on the Internet and technology. This has led us to our hypothesis: If college students are heavy users of social networking sites then it will have a negative impact on their personal relationships. With this we will discuss the affects social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook are having on personal lives and personal relationships between college students. It will also discuss the affects it has on users personal information.

Coming of Age with the Internet

According to the PEW Internet Research Company (2006.), college students overwhelmingly reported that their social life on campus has been affected by the internet. The internet serves two purposes for students: using the internet to stay in contact with professors and for working on group projects; and secondly to be in sync with family members and friends.

According to the McMillan and Morrison (2006.), online relationships often mirror offline relationships, and provide students with a way to strengthen their real-life connections. With this information we feel that this relates to our hypothesis in that having relationships via social networking sites, personal relationships may be affected. The Internet has caused college students to be more creative, literate, and possess stronger social skills. The internet makes it easier for students to possess non-dominant viewpoints, as the internet has outlets for many issues and movements, such as in listservs, forums, online chat rooms, and social networks. No matter what a student finds him/herself involved with they can always relate it to other students via the net (McMillan et. Al, 2006). A chat forum can only help to benefit students' social skills by forcing them to interact with other students as opposed to sitting and pretending to be intrigued. Social networking sites are designed for students who want to network themselves. No student is forced to deal with utilizing these sites, however with technology at such a strong hold with society today it is almost expected that students participate.

Morrison and McMillan (2006.) introduced the theory of dualities; old\young, work\play, and utopian\dystopian. Social networking sites and communities help to grow, build, and manage offline relationships, and online relationships often migrate to offline settings. McMillan and Morrison provide both sides of the spectrum: while the studies show that Internet use has an overwhelmingly positive effect, there are negative aspects that need to be considered. These negative aspects may be seen in personal relationships. For example all social network users need to be aware of their rights to privacy. Also, users need to stay within certain websites. Generally websites like Facebook and Myspace are open forums for students to interact with other students. However interacting with other students can lead to offline relationship issues, which seems to be overlooked by many students.

There are examples of negative impacts within social networking sites. The biggest example of negative impacts that social networking sites have on its users are those who fear the internet and similar technologies. Those who fear these sites become socially isolated, and develop extremely shy social skills according to McMillan. There is an increased power struggle between men and women, and those who are antisocial offline become more introverted when introduced to the Internet. In relation to our hypothesis this can be seen as relationships possibly being affected because of the social networking sites. There is also an increased dependency on mainstream media outlets. The Internet often consumes and overwhelms young adults (McMillan et. Al, 2006). This means that people who fall under this category will have negative relationships with those surrounding them both online and offline. They take their experiences from using the internet and carry it over later into their interactions with peers and teachers.

Well Being and Social Self Esteem

According to Valkenburg et al. adolescents engage in "imaginative behavior". The users become very preoccupied about their appearance and how others will perceive them (their profiles). Much of the public evaluations that occur can affect users self esteem. It is affected in different areas consisting of their physical appearance, romantic attractiveness, and the ability to form and maintain close friendships. Because of the social networking sites, the user's social self-esteem is likely to be more affected.

In this study it became evident that a "positive" about self-esteem that does not relate to the hypothesiswas: that users receive positive self-esteem on social networking sites because there are more opportunities online. Also, another fact that was found that has no relation to the hypothesis, was the number of friendships and romantic relationships formed on the social networking sites does not affect self-esteem. If people make friends on the internet, it has no correlation in real life. (Valkenburg ET all 2006).

In relation to the hypothesis, negative interactions that occur on these sites, can lead to negativity on a user's self-esteem. For example, if negative reactions on a user's profile occur, there will be a negative influence on the social self-esteem of the user. This can also carry onto the person's social life. If a user receives a negative comment then when they have a social interaction with someone on the streets, they won't be as friendly and happy as someone who received a positive comment.

Also, According to Dwyer (2007), those who use social networking Web sites prefer the anonymity, and in return are self-centered and show irregular behavior patterns. The cues that are given during the social networking process are not clear, as with oral communication you cannot see the person or hear their tone. Messages often get corrupted, misconstrued, and can lead to conflict among social groups, which directly supports the original hypothesis that social networking sites have a negative affect on its users especially for college students. This is shown through the Social Information Processing model and the technology mediated communication theory. (Dwyer, 2007).

Another source of self esteem would be competition. College students are very competitive when making their profiles, they must be as unique, creative, visually pleasing, and technologically advanced as possible. A profile is like a new identity, and often people play with it. Subjects often leave out information, exaggerate beyond the truth, and manipulate the reader in various ways. With the creation of these pages, it can be seen as a negative thing, possibly impacting relationships. If people are exaggerating and making "false" sites, then it could be deceiving and misleading another person in the relationship. With these changes to their information it can also convey a false sense of identify due to them being ashamed of who they really are. In real life they aren't as confident and this has negative impacts on their personal relationships. Thus making the user more unconfident about themselves when surrounded by their peers.

One last thing about self esteem is that the technology is meant for young adults and teenagers; the study explains that there is a social-technical gap, in which not all members are up-to-date. There may be a very social person offline who has yet to migrate to the MySpace and Facebook era and this is why sometimes statistics aren't always accurate. For now it's as accurate as they can get until the non-internet using generation is filtered out. Until then, those who are unfamiliar with these sites will continue to be frustrated when trying to use them and feel left out because they are not able to use them due to work past the technological gap.

The Role of Facebook

Social networking sites such as Facebook have a positive effect on college students (contrarily to what we predicted) according to the MSU study which sampled 286 undergraduate students. Undergraduate students spend on average twenty minutes per day on the Web site, with two-thirds logging on at least once a day. Approximately 94 percent of the sample participated on Facebook for various reasons: some used the site to reconnect with old friends (from high school), to meet new people, dating, and professional development. (Ellison et al. 2006) About one-third of the sample met their Facebook friend's offline first, and the offline and online relationships tend to bleed into one, creating the ultimate social network. Facebook users are less likely to have a false online identity due to the demographics: users are grouped via geographical location, job, or institution (Ellison et al. 2006). This meaning that facebook users are more likely to be honest about what their particular interests and personal information might be.

Of the sample, most reported having 150-200 friends, according to Ellison et al. The larger a social network is, the weaker the ties are. Facebook and similar services replace the duties of organizations such as the Elks Lodge and Country Clubs, the social capital is decreased considerably. This is also a negative impact on users because this keeps them isolated in their home rather than getting them into the community and interacting in person with other people.

The service was originally created for the college student who left home after high school and moved to a new locale. According to the Pew study (2006), people who have online networks have larger offline networks than those who do not use the Internet. Facebook users use the web site to fill up free time, to procrastinate, or pass time during work. It is also used to keep in touch with other friends from high school that have attended other University's. Users have moderately high self-esteem and there is equal representation of grade point averages. More Facebook users lived within the residence halls and were active in Greek life. Thus this study directly contradicts the hypothesis of social networks having negative impacts on social interactions.

Privacy

Privacy among social networking sites is paradoxical, as most consumers are paranoid in regards to their privacy. Many of the MySpace consumers are careless. They publish an influx of information on their profiles (Ellison et al. 2006), and fail to use the privacy controls - basically allowing their information to be viewed by anyone. This causes users to be vulnerable in real life and can cause many bad things to happen to them ranging from identity theft to even being stalked.

Not only can strangers seek personal information about students and users but so can the government. (Barnes, 2006). What users do not realize is that the government is collecting mass amounts of information ranging from our daily patterns on the internet, to our addresses and to our beliefs. Different agencies check our profiles daily and save information about users to use against them at a later date, if and when they find it necessary to do just that.

Another lack of privacy that we have is from marketing companies. (Barnes, 2006) Just like the government they collect information about us and use it at a later date to sell us things, sell our information to other people, or even track other characteristics about us that they find useful. All of these companies and agencies have negative impacts on our personal relationships because they cause us to be one of two things. Either people are too careless and just give their information out to everyone causing problems, or they are too paranoid by the fact that anything they do can be seen by other people. Both of these characteristics hinder people with their interactions between other students because either way they user is put in a bad position.

Due to so much information being available online, it is easy for someone to find out all about you without you even knowing them. This is of great use to stalkers who obtain personal information of users causing more problems for those who are being stalked. Sometimes stalkers take things too far causing users to be fearful of giving out any additional information. A user that finds themselves being stalked is more likely to have social problems off the web. That particular user will not only be less comfortable in certain aspects of socializing with fellow students off the web as well as on the web.

Method

Subjects

The subjects in the study were 50 Sonoma State University students. Students varied from undergraduates to graduates ranging from both males and females. The percentages of males and females did not correlate with our hypothesis therefore we did not deem it necessary to develop the gender of the students. Due to library resources, specifically computers, we assumed that all students had access to the internet for our survey.

Materials and Procedure

The materials used for the survey were basic. A pen/pencil and the actual survey were the only legitimate resources used in the administration of the survey. However to get the information we deemed necessary we used case studies and personal experience from social networking sites. There was no set method for the collection of students and the way in which they were chosen. A group two of us took ten surveys and two of us took fifteen surveys. We passed a few out in classes and approached a few random students to get their participation in the survey as well. The survey was not a timed survey and we did our best to make sure students did not feel neither rushed nor pressured in taking it. Most students finished their survey in a quick fashion, between ten and fifteen minutes, and did not have any trouble with the survey itself. However, some of our questions came off misunderstood by participating subjects. To those troubled questions we changed their answers to "no answer."

The survey we handed out consisted of twenty questions, ten of which were related to exposure to social networking and ten of which were related to media influence.

Results

General Results

As a group we put together a four page survey that consisted of twenty questions, some of which requiring multiple answers. When tallying our results we came across a lot of different conclusions. Although some of our questions were very supportive of our hypothesis a majority of them completely contradicted our original hypothesis. Below you will find a summary of our results that basically depicts social networking sites as a benefit to the social lives of college students at Sonoma State University.

Coming to a college can be a difficult transition for some students. In question one we were interested in how well students had acclimated to the university. 36 of 50 students disagreed that they felt lonelier at college than at home. An addition 34 of 50 students said that they felt more outgoing at Sonoma then anywhere else. Lastly 38 of 50 students all still manage to keep in touch with high school friends. It seems that transitioning from high school to college is only difficult for the minority of students and not the majority.

The nest question asked students "Do you ever feel like you need to hide things about yourself?" Almost half of the students asked said that they do feel that they need to hide information about themselves, 21 of the 50 students to be exact. This number seemed high. What we had assumed to be a one sided answer in favor of students not feeling like they need to hide information about themselves was cut right down the middle.

In question three we listed a few sentences to best describe students and asked them to rate the way in which each student considered themselves. As overwhelming amount of students that participated felt that they were outgoing, fun, and thoughtful. On a more level field about a third of the students felt they were shy, and quiet. In total 49 of the 50 students felt that they were outgoing, 48 students said that they were fun, and 48 students also felt they were thoughtful. 15 of the 50 students considered themselves quiet and shy. In general most of the students surveyed seem to consider themselves an extrovert as opposed to an introvert.

To get an idea of how students spend their free time we asked them "what they would do if they had more time?" 25 of the 50 students surveyed would spend their available time hanging out with friends as opposed to shoping, dating, working out, or watching television. In relation to the question we also asked students to rate which activities they preferred the most. The available answers were to see a movie, read a book, surf the web, read a magazine, or contact a friend. 19 students said that they would rather surf the web and 25 students said that they would rather contact a friend. These outcomes have let us know the importance of the internet and friendship on today's student lives.

In question six we asked students whether or not they prefer to have a lot of close friends of a few best friends. 28 students preferred a few best friends, whereas 21 students preferred a lot of close friends. One person could not decide. Our survey has continued to show the importance of friendship within the life of most students.

The next question given to students asked them to rate on a scale of one to four the level of comfort they feel with specific people. 21 students felt very comfortable by themselves and another 21 students felt very comfortable with one or two friends. 25 people felt most comfortable with a significant other and another 22 people felt most comfortable with a large group of friends. Only seven students felt comfortable in a large group of new people. We also asked students if they enjoyed being in pictures. An overwhelming 37 of 50 students said that they did enjoy being in pictures. Students are influenced heavily by technology and fellow students and friends within daily aspects of life.

As far as exposure is concerned with our survey we asked students what social networking services they used. We listed Facebook, Myspace, AIM, Xenga and Friendster. 30 Students used Myspace as a primary service and 23 students used Facebook as a primary service as well. 15 students used AIM and not one student used Xenga or Friendster as a method of social networking services more than once or twice in their life. The results were clear Facebook and Mypsace were the most frequently used social networking service. We then took this question a step further by asking students how often they use their social networking sites. 34 of 50 students use their social networking service at least once a day and 18 of those 34 students use their social networking sites more than once a day. For most of the students surveyed social networking sites have become a part of everyday life. In getting more specific we asked students how much time per visit they spend on their social networking site. 24 students spend the minimum 0-20 minutes per visit and another 14 students spend between 21-30 minutes per visit. Nine students spend between 30-90 miniutes per visit and the remaining three spend over two hours at a time at each social networking site. Showing even more in depth the frequency and time spent on social networking sites.

In question twelve we asked students where they prefer using social networking sites. 28 students of the 50 use social networking sites at their house. 20 students did not have a designated setting for using social networking sites and the remaining two said that work and the library were the spots that they prefer to utilize social networking sites.

Question thirteen asked students why they used social networking websites. We offered five choices; 1) to meet people, 2) to stay in touch with old friends, 3) to procrastinate or pass time, 4) to learn about upcoming events and 5) to stay in touch with family. 88 percent of the students surveyed said they utilized social networking sites to stay in touch with old friends. 46 percent of the students said they used the sites to procrastinate or pass time. 24 percent said they used them to learn about upcoming events and also to stay in touch with family and only 8 percent of the students surveyed used social networking sites to meet new people.

We then asked the surveyed students if a relationship has ever ended or started due to social networking sites. Only 10 percent said that they had a relationship end due to social networking sites and 88 percent said they had not had a relationship end due to social networking sites and 2 percent did not answer. When asked if a relationship had ever started 30 percent of students have developed some sort of relationship due to social networking web sites. The remaining 70 percent of surveyed students had not developed a relationship because of a social networking site.

Question sixteen asked students if they ever venture onto other students profiles that they are not acquainted with. An alarming 58 percent of students said they had ventured onto other peoples profiles and the remaining 42 percent said they did not venture onto other people profiles.

Technology has become a welcomed recourse for students interested in contacting someone. However to our surprise cell phones and in person were the preferred ways to get in touch with people. As socially acceptable as social networking sites have become 38 students still listed cell phones as the most highly acclaimed way to connect with others. 34 students also listed cell phones as a preferred means of contacting people. AIM, Facebook/Myspace, and E-Mail were not as widely used. It seems that as far as contacting people is concerned it is still preferred to utilize the more basic approaches of being in person or calling on a phone.

Another question we asked students was whether or not students had ever been impacted specifically by posting pictures on a web site, posting personal contact information on a web site, posting videos on a web site, or positing comments on a website. 62 percent of students have been impacted by pictures being posted on a website. 48 percent of students have been impacted because they posted their personal information on a website, 30 percent of the students surveyed said they had been impacted by videos posted on a website. 60 percent of students said that their life had been impacted because they posted comments on a website. Obviously social networking websites have played a large role in conflict and influence in student life.

Students were also asked to rank from one to four the level they prefer Myspace, Facebook, E-mail and AIM. Of the fifty students surveyed eighteen students get the most enjoyment from email, while fifteen get the most enjoyment from Facebook. Thirteen students get the most enjoyment from AIM and eleven students get the most enjoyment from Myspace.

The last thing we asked students was how many friends they have in their social networking website. Fourteen percent of the students have 0-25 friends, twenty-two percent have 26-50 students, ten percent have 51-99 friends, thirty percent have 100-199 friends and 16 percent have over 200 friends. These numbers are very equally dispersed.

Index

Upon collection of the surveys we created a tally sheet for each of the individual questions and their subcomponents. For each survey we broke down the number of students who used specific social networking sites by judging their influence and exposure. We administered a point system of 0-8 to help us judge the amount of social networking usage from each student. We selected a total of five questions to help us create the 8-point system. Depending on students answers they were given anywhere from 0-2 points per question. Students that scored between a 0-2 were considered low users whereas students who scored between 3-8 were regarded as high users. This scale helped us develop a contrast between various types of users and was created to help to measure the exposure to social networking sites.

As a result of our index we came to a conclusion of the amount of users for high usage and low usage. In total we had 24 low users and 26 high users. One of our particular questions was based on the actual usage off of Facebook and Myspace and other social networking sites. Students that used Myspace or Faccebook as their primary source of social networking sites were awarded one point. We also awarded students points based on the amount of times they logged into their sites account and the amount of time spent each day being logged in to their social networking sites. One other example of how students were awarded points was by the effects that social networking sites had on their life. For example, students who had relationships impacted because of social networking sites or students who ventured on to other students sites at separate times were awarded points. The index developed a strong set of guidelines to help us develop the difference between high social networking site users and low social networking sites users.

Tables

By creating the index we were able to identify trends within the two groups: those who are "heavy" users of social networking sites, and those who are "light" users. According to Table 1.1 17 percent of light users felt that they strongly feel outgoing on campus compared to 15 percent of heavy users. Fifty-eight percent of light users felt outgoing on campus compared to 46 percent of heavy users. Twenty-one percent of light users reported not feeling as outgoing on campus than other locations, compared to 35 percent of the heavy users.

Social networking Web sites allow people to keep in touch with friends from across the country. According to Table 1.2 17 percent of the light users strongly agreed that they feel more connected with their friends at SSU than from home compared to 23 percent of the heavy users. One-third (33 percent) agreed that they feel more connected with their friends at SSU than from home compared to 35 percent of the heavy users. Forty-two percent felt that they feel more connected with their friends from home than at SSU compared to 31 percent of the heavy users. Eight percent felt that they strongly feel more connected with their friends from home than at SSU compared to 11 percent of the heavy users.

Social network Web sites provide the user with the option to create a profile, which is an electronic portrait of your personality and physical appearance. According to Table 1.3 37.5 percent of light users reported they needed to hide things about themselves compared to 46 percent of the heavy users. Thus, 62.5 percent of light users felt they did not need to hide things about themselves compared to 54 percent of the heavy users.

Social networking Web sites allow the user to interact with other members, whether it is via messaging, live chat, or commenting on pictures or profiles. According to Table 1.4 4 percent of light users reported they are very quiet, compared to 19 percent of heavy users feeling the same way. Twelve percent of light users reported they are quiet, compared to 23 percent of heavy users feeling the same way. Forty-two percent of light users reported they are somewhat quiet, compared to 35 percent of heavy users feeling the same way. Thirty-eight percent of light users reported they are not quiet, compared to 23 percent of heavy users feeling the same way.

On the social networks members may have unlimited number of friends and it is often an online popularity contest for who knows the most people. According to Table 1.5 67 percent of light users reported having a few best friends, compared to 46 percent of the heavy users reporting the same. Twenty-nine percent of the light users reported having a lot of close friends versus 54 percent of the heavy users reporting the same.

With the increasing affordability and popularity of digital cameras, posting pictures on the internet has become very popular. Having a lot of pictures of oneself is considered prestigious. According to Table 1.6 67 percent of the light users reported that they like to be in pictures, compared to 81 percent of the heavy users reporting the same. Approximately one third (33 percent) of the light users did not like being in pictures, compared to 19 percent of heavy users reporting the same.

According to our general results, Facebook and Facebook were the most popular online social networking services. According to Table 1.7.1 33 percent of the light users never used Facebook, compared to 8 percent of the heavy users. Four percent of light users indicated using the site one or two times compared to 8 percent of heavy users. Twenty-one percent of the light users use Facebook as a backup, compared to 34 percent of heavy users. Forty-two percent of light users use Facebook as their primary network, compared to 50 percent of the heavy users.

According to Table 1.7.2 33 percent of the light users never used Myspace, compared to 8 percent of the heavy users. Eight percent of light users indicated using the site one or two times compared to zero percent of heavy users. Twenty-one percent of the light users use Myspace as a backup, compared to 8 percent of heavy users. Approximately 37.5 percent of light users use Myspace as their primary network, compared to 81 percent of the heavy users.

Participants were asked if they have more time, what they would do. According to Table 1.8, 54 percent of the light users indicated they would hang out with friends, versus 46 percent of heavy users who reported the same. Twenty-nine percent of light users indicated they would work out or exercise, compared to 35 percent of heavy users who would do the same. Four percent of light users would watch television; no heavy user reported watching television.

The time in which one spends on the social networking Web site per visit is meaningful: whether they are just checking mail, or engaging in complex activities. According to Table 1.9, 66 percent of light users spend 0 to 20 minutes on the site per visit, compared to 31 percent of the heavy users spending the same time. Thirty percent of light users spend 21 to 30 minutes on the site per visit, compared to 27 percent of the heavy users spending the same time. Four percent of light users spend 31 to 90 minutes on the site per visit, compared to 31 percent of the heavy users spending the same time. Eleven percent of heavy users indicated using the site for more than two hours per visit, whereas nobody in the light exposure category spent that much time per visit.

Interpretations

Our hypothesis states: If college students are heavy users of social networking sties then it may have a negative impact on personal relationships. In analyzing the 50 surveys that were taken by Sonoma State University students overall we found that our results did not support our hypothesis. After reviewing the surveys we found that students with high exposure to social networking sites were more likely to be outgoing at SSU and at the same time high exposure students felt more connected to their friends at SSU. However those high exposure students felt more inclined to hide personal information about them, which was striking since they were more comfortable in their new surroundings at SSU. It seemed evident to us that there was a not a direct correlation between users and their social life. There was not a significant split between the social lives of heavy users versus light users. All in all we would say heavy users seemed a little more outgoing and a little more comfortable around others than light users, but was not a significant difference.

Heavy exposure users and light exposure users share almost an identical social life. After reviewing the numbers regardless of high exposure or low exposure a majority of students decided that they would rather hang out with friends in their spare time than anything else. High exposure users are more likely to want to hang out and better relationships with a lot of close friends where as low exposure users prefer bettering their relationship with a few best friends. Heavy exposure users and low exposure users have almost identical numbers with regard to why they use social networking sites. They agree that the main reason to use a social networking site is to stay in touch with old friends benefiting relationships of the past. Heavy exposure students are not effected more than low exposure students with regards to relationships or even social aspects of life at Sonoma State and at home.

When discussing our hypothesis with regards to relationships we asked students whether social networking sites have ever been to blame for the failure of a relationship. To our surprise only eight percent of high exposure users had a relationship end due to social networking sites and only two percent of low exposure users have had a relationship end due to social networking websites. Strikingly almost fifty percent of high exposure users have had a relationship start due to a social networking site. It seems that as far as relationships go high exposure users have had more benefit from the social networking than not.

In doing this survey we have now realized things that we could have done differently to possibly improve our results. We would have re-worded and re-formatted certain questions. For example on #19 many subjects were confused on whether to rank all the social networking services from one to four or whether to rank each service from one to four personally. Also we now feel that it would have been beneficial if we had more questions that were related to influence rather than exposure, more specifically relationships.

Taking into consideration social norms, we probably should have known that most students would not admit to having relationships fail or start due to certain material that was posted on the social networking site. We also should have assumed that Xenga and Friendster do not get much usage from college students any longer because they are so outdated.

Social networking Web sites are perfect for those individuals who require high levels of arousal. Different people perform better at different levels of arousal, and they strive to seek an optimum level. Social networking Web sites are high in arousal because they have various components, offering sensory motion (clicking, typing, and hearing) from the components of the pages. There is typically a plethora of video, sound, animation, and graphics to amuse all types of people. Some, such as the older generation, find it to be too high of an arousal for them.

Social networking Web sites engage the audience much more than other technologies, such as television. Someone can simply turn on the television and zone out, while not taking in any of the information or advertisements. Social networking Web sites require active viewing; the user must click on a link or write a comment on a user's profile. The user "talks" with the Web site and engages in a critical thinking process.

According to Everett Rogers, who invented the diffusion of innovation theory, there are several types of adopters: innovators whom account for 2.5 percent of the population,, early adopters whom account for 13.5 percent of the population, early majority whom account for 34 percent of the population, late majority whom account for 34 percent of the population and laggards whom account for 16 percent of the population. Social networking Web sites are designed for young people in the ages between 13 and 25 because they are social leaders, popular, and educated.

Appendix A

Table 1.1

I feel more outgoing at SSU than anywhere else.

Low

High

#

%

#

%

Strongly agree. (4)

4

17

4

15

Agree (3)

14

58

12

46

Disagree (2)

5

21

9

35

Strongly Disagree (1)

1

4

1

4

Table 1.2

I feel more connected with my friends from SSU than home.

Low

High

#

%

#

%

Strongly agree. (4)

4

17

6

23

Agree (3)

8

33

9

35

Disagree (2)

10

42

8

31

Strongly Disagree (1)

2

8

3

11

Table 1.3

Do you ever feel like you need to hide things about yourself?

Low

High

#

%

#

%

Yes

9

37.5

12

46

No

15

62.5

14

54

Table 1.4

I am quiet.

Low

High

#

%

#

%

A Lot Like Me (1)

1

4

5

19

Like Me (2)

3

12

6

23

Somewhat Like Me (3)

10

42

9

35

Not Like Me (4)

9

38

6

23

No Answer

1

4

0

0

Table 1.5

Do you prefer having a few best friends or a lot of close friends?

Low

High

#

%

#

%

Few Best Friends

16

67

12

46

Lot of Close Friends

7

29

14

54

No Answer

1

4

0

0

Table 1.6

Do you enjoy being in pictures?

Low

High

#

%

#

%

Yes

16

67

21

81

No

8

33

5

19

Table 1.7

What services do you use?

Low

High

#

%

#

%

1. Facebook

Never Use (1)

8

33

2

8

Used 1 or 2 Times (2)

1

4

2

8

Use as Backup (3)

5

21

9

34

Use As Primary (4)

10

42

13

50

2. MySpace

Never Use (1)

8

33

3

11

Used 1 or 2 Times (2)

2

8

0

0

Use as Backup (3)

5

21

2

8

Use As Primary (4)

9

37.5

21

81

Table 1.8

If I had more time the first thing I would do is...

Low

High

#

%

#

%

Date

0

0

1

4

Shop

0

0

1

4

Hang Out with Friends

13

54

12

46

Work Out

7

29

9

35

Watch TV

1

4

0

0

No Answer

3

13

3

12

Table 1.9

On average how much time per visit do you spend on your social networking site?

Low

High

#

%

#

%

0 to 20 Minutes

16

66

8

31

21 to 30 Minutes

7

30

7

27

31 to 90 Minutes

1

4

8

31

2 Hours or More

0

0

3

11

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