The reality is that Facebook is no longer just a fun way for students to keep in touch. It is now essential to the college experience, a fact that faculty and staff are scurrying to catch up with.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1213/p13s01-legn.html
I would like to start by describing first what do students do with Fb:
Note: A user needs to have an “.edu” email address to register.
I also found other unique/creatives ways students are using Fb:
- UWM Students Use Facebook To Fight Crimehttp://youtube.com/watch?v=vMdWD1eH1RY
- NYU Student on How She Uses Facebook to Organize for Obama
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5-unvrgrZWc - Using Facebook to communicate with each other and with upperclassmen at their colleges during the summer months, freshmen are arriving at school with ready-made friendships waiting for them on the first day. http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/ptech/09/07/cnnu.facebook/index.html
Secondly, I would like to concentrate on the students' own perspective regarding the use of Fb:
This video from the University of Dayton shows students discussing in their own words how and why they use social networking applications such as Facebook.
http://www.educause.edu/ELIResources/10220?tab=4
Here is the video: mms://lsmedia.udayton.edu/video/UDfacebook.wmv
This student form the University of Michigan says it all: I’m a college student at University of Michigan and Facebook has deactivated my account. I’ve noticed, from reading your blog, you have connections to Facebook’s staff. Can you please forward this email to someone or do something… I just can’t be a college student without Facebook. I did nothing to have my account deactivated… it just happened late Sunday night. I’ve emailed them, but they don’t care. http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/13/i-just-cant-be-a-college-student-without-facebook/
AS stated by Andrew McAfee, a professor at Harvard University: From the teenagers' and college students' perspectives, not using Facebook is a "social liability" http://blog.hbs.edu/faculty/amcafee/index.php/faculty_amcafee_v3/comments/the_teenybopper_network/
Next, I want to state some of the concerns students have with Fb?:
It is alarming to students that An employer may easily run a Facebook profile for a student they plan to interview for an internship or job. Because alumni also have access to the Facebook site, it would be quite easy for many employers to join Facebook and access any student's profile. It worries them that the content they post may come back to haunt them someday. http://media.www.sacredheartspectrum.com/media/storage/paper747/news/2006/04/06/Perspectives/Facebook.Colliding.With.The.Realities.Of.The.Real.World-1784269.shtml
Finally, I would like to describe other repercussions of social networking tools:
Here is an interesting article regarding teens' views on Fb vs. MySpace and the social class divide it has created (certainly a topic for further research!)
Most teens who exclusively use Facebook are familiar with and have an opinion about MySpace. These teens are very aware of MySpace and they often have a negative opinion about it. They see it as gaudy, immature, and “so middle school.” They prefer the “clean” look of Facebook, noting that it is more mature and that MySpace is “so lame.” What hegemonic teens call gaudy can also be labeled as “glitzy” or “bling” or “fly” (or what my generation would call “phat”) by subaltern teens. ...The look and feel of MySpace resonates far better with subaltern communities than it does with the upwardly mobile hegemonic teens. This is even clear in the blogosphere where people talk about how gauche MySpace is while commending Facebook on its aesthetics. I’m sure that a visual analyst would be able to explain how classed aesthetics are, but aesthetics are more than simply the “eye of the beholder” - they are culturally narrated and replicated. That “clean” or “modern” look of Facebook is akin to West Elm or Pottery Barn or any poshy Scandinavian design house (that I admit I’m drawn to) while the more flashy look of MySpace resembles the Las Vegas imagery that attracts millions every year.
http://educationaltechnology.ca/couros/63
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