Harrisburg University, a small college located in Pennsylvania recently put its students and faculty on social probation. I can see why this might seem like a good idea, and I had to do something similar when I was in college, but it’s a dangerous lesson that doesn’t account for the good that can come from social media participation.
Facebook may allow for richer engagement through a broader array of multimedia, but only on Twitter are you able to reach out to anyone (with an unprotected account) and speak to them without the feeling of privacy invasion. Recent changes to Facebook have made it even harder for business page owners to respond to user comments on their own pages.
Despite the stronger potential for conversation on Twitter, the study reported the following habits of students and faculty at Harrisburg:
About two-thirds of respondents said they use Facebook each day, while 10 percent reported daily use of Twitter. Thirteen percent of students said they used Facebook to avoid boredom between classes.
But during the ban, 33 percent of students reported feeling less stressed. Twenty-one percent said they used their normal social networking time to do homework, while 10 percent said they read online news.
66% of students and faculty report using Facebook while only 10% use Twitter. This is a huge missed opportunity.
How are professors preparing their students for networking in the real world if they don’t understand and advocate the benefits of Twitter?
Twitter is not the last and final destination for all professional networking but there’s a reason people say Facebook is for friends you know and Twitter is for friends you want to know.
As someone who has yet to graduate, Twitter has become my social media dashboard. I open Twitter to read the latest news in politics and entertainment. I share content with others and have meaningful conversations on a daily basis.
Opportunities abound on Twitter that are generally closed off on Facebook. It is so much easier to manage discussions on Twitter using tools that allow for conversation filtering. There is no end to the benefits of Twitter.
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During the week of September 13 -17, 2010, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology blocked access over its network to several popular social media sites including, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Additionally, access to all instant messaging services was blocked. The blackout affected all students, faculty and staff at the University. The intent of the social media blackout was to raise awareness about uses and/or abuses of social media. It was not intended to be a punishment nor was it intended to be an indictment of social media. In fact, access to all social media sites was still possible over mobile wireless devices, proximate public networks or home-based networks. The hope was to make habits and effects of social media use more visible and understandable, particularly in the classroom, through temporary abstinence.
To further raise awareness about the impact that social media have on daily life and work, the University hosted a one-day summit on September 15, 2010. Over 200 summit attendees from local businesses and government agencies, as well as University students and faculty, heard from 20 social media experts on topics ranging from the legal concerns raised by social media usage to how best to innovate using social media. Perspectives from multiple professions including attorneys, social scientists, political consultants and human resource professionals were included in the summit.
In an attempt to understand basic usage patterns and opinions, students, faculty and staff were surveyed about their social media habits and reactions to the blackout. An initial survey was completed on the first day of the blackout, and a follow-up survey was completed during the week following the blackout. In addition, multiple focus group sessions were conducted with students and faculty in the middle of the blackout week. These sessions were intended to gather richer, more detailed data than could be collected by survey instruments. Finally, individual emails and one-on-one conversations with students provided anecdotal and often humorous stories about their reactions to the blackout.
One-quarter of the students and 40% of the faculty and staff at Harrisburg University responded to the surveys. The survey revealed that the majority of students, faculty and staff are regular users of social media. In fact, many are heavy users of various social media outlets. Specifically, two-thirds of the sample reported using Facebook on a daily basis, while 10% said they use Twitter on a daily basis. Among Facebook users, 25% cited mainly “social” purposes, including contact with friends, as the primary reason for using the site. Students and staff also use social media for “entertainment.” In fact, 13% of student responders said they rely on Facebook to combat boredom between classes. Exactly half of student responses cited the use of YouTube regularly for “academic and social purposes.” Instant messaging is also used by a large segment of the student body, with 35% usage among this sample.
One question that is routinely debated is whether people can become addicted to social networking. The results from our survey suggest that this is possible. Specifically, it is remarkable to note that 40% of the student respondents spend between 11 and 20 hours a day using social media sites. One has to believe that this level of usage would likely interfere with school work and jobs. Further, it is somewhat disturbing to note that several faculty and staff reported spending more than 20 hours a day on social networking sites. Clearly, this level of usage would interfere with many of life’s routine responsibilities.
Initial reactions to the blackout were similar for students and faculty. Both groups were skeptical and upset at the onset of the social media blackout. And, both groups became more positive about the event after reflecting on the week.
Information about student behaviors during the blackout was also collected. The results suggest that a healthier, more productive life style was practiced by a significant portion of the students during the week-long social media blackout. Specifically, 25 % of students reported better concentration in the classroom during the blackout week. In fact, 23% of students found lectures more interesting. Interestingly, 6% of students reported eating better and exercising more during the blackout week. School work was given a higher-priority when social media was unavailable. Specifically, 21% of the students used the time that they usually spent on Facebook to do homework, whereas 10% used the time usually spent on Facebook to read online news.
An obvious question is “Did anyone learn anything from the blackout?” Survey results show that 44% of the students reported that they learned something, while 76% of faculty and staff reported learning something from the blackout. Focus groups sessions and student commentary uncovered several specific lessons learned during the blackout week. Several students reported gaining a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of Facebook. They used Facebook for its obvious ability to connect with friends, but they also used Facebook for collaborating on a business plan. During the blackout, these students were forced to use another tool for working on their business plan, and discovered that it was easier than Facebook. Additionally, they reported that it had become increasingly difficult to distinguish business related posts from social posts on Facebook. These students learned that document management is not one of the core strengths of Facebook.
A second lesson learned was a better understanding of the value of face-to-face communications versus conversations carried out solely over social media. Several faculty were reminded about the power of face-to-face dialogue when they discovered that complex biology concepts that had confused students for weeks when discussed over social media, were readily learned when explained in a series of face-to-face meetings. In fact, 10% of the students reported enjoying face-to-face conversations during the time they would normally spend on Facebook. On a more humorous note, one student noted to the University Provost that he had to actually talk to his professor during the blackout.
Further, an additional lesson learned was that social media use can cause stress. Nearly 33% of students reported feeling less stressed during blackout week. As one student noted, she didn’t feel stressed about timely replies on Facebook. She went on to say that during “normal” weeks she felt compelled to continually check for updates because her friends expected immediate responses. She felt like she was on a “vacation” during blackout week.
As noted previously, social media have become ubiquitous on university campuses. These technologies have many strengths and weaknesses. And like any tool, social media should be used with care and understanding. Harrisburg University’s social media project and week-long blackout demonstrated some of the challenges and issues associated with these technologies. Students, faculty and staff learned much about themselves and their uses, and in some cases, abuses of social media. There is still much to learn, so stay connected to Harrisburg University as we continue to push, prod, question and otherwise explore social media.
Thank you for responding to this post.
Well done with this post, Chanelle.
I joined twitter basically for research in December 2008. I believe if I am going to successfully mentor entrepreneurs, or consult for early stage or start up companies, I owe it to myself to really understand the what, why, and how of twitter; otherwise I am doing them a disservice. By research, I don’t mean just perching on the sidelines and observing; as you know, I participate, contribute, and thus learn. Social networking is now an intrinsic part of our lives, so learning about it (and how to time-manage it) should be part of every educational curriculum IMO. Addicted? Perhaps; but better than addicted to TV……
@CASUDI
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Ah…such a great comment. I am, of course, familiar with your Twitter engagement. I’d say your stance is one that should taken by all but, unfortunately, isn’t. We all know the stories of so-called social media experts with 2 followers. Lol.
This is clearly a case of an organization performing a case study – and an interesting one at that. I really appreciate Mr. Infanti’s taking the time to share so richly share the thought process behind the decision to make such a bold move, the results of the study, and the results, which suggest a truly relevant learning event.
While the internet represents a new dimension of humanity, it is easy to get lost in the vastness of it. Lacking guidance or purpose, countless people spend their time online merely combating boredom, not necessarily enriching their own lives or the lives of others. At the other end of the spectrum, we see corporations struggling to figure out how to use social media, as if it were somehow impossible to fathom inter-personal communication across a new, digital medium.
In the interest of brevity, and because I suspect my perspective more aligns with that of Harris U in this instance, I’m off to whip up a post of my own. Rest assured, though, I will be clearly linking to this framing post on the subject.
What great food for thought!
Very cogent stance, Brian. This was a case study based on events that took place at the school. Were it not for the data on percentages of students and faculty using Twitter, I might have run past this. I stopped though, because, I’ve had conversations in the #smcedu chat about professors teaching social media who don’t even have Twitter accounts. Further, I’m a proponent of getting young people into the habit of establishing a more professional online reputation while they’re young, especially if they’re in the position of being a non-graduate. Attracting positive attention for being knowledgeable is essential to moving from where we are now to where we want to be.
I look forward to your post!
You are very right, Chanelle. It would seem we’ve lost (or are rapidly losing) the simple art of conversation. This is evident in social media “experts” who only speak to follower counts, likes, and little else. It is evident in corporations which do not trust the “best and brightest talent” to engage in simple conversations with others across digital channels. And it is evident in our sitting across from one another, in silence, as we pilot those “roflcopt0rz” across the internet.
This was a good read. I was going to watch some Netflix while dinner cooked, but I’ve spent my time more productively. Post is done. Sending my thanks to CASUDI for tipping me to this post, you for writing it, and Mr. Infanti, once again, for taking the time.
Merry Christmas to all, and all that jazz.
Brian Driggs recently posted..No Social Media for a Week
Thank you for taking the time to write a really thought out post in response to this. It’s interesting how a short post, followed by a loooong comment can inspire such a response. It’s making me reconsider my stance on how I usually write as my goal is to inspire thought along a different narrative.
Perhaps we should devise a study to call attention to the benefits of proof-reading comments before posting, eh? Atrocious, some of the glaring errors in my original comment.
Chalk it up to synaptic overload.
Feel free to edit your comment if you like. I opt not to edit comments. I didn’t judge you for them, so no worries.
I couldn’t agree with you more. I think a lot of individuals, students and older professionals alike, just aren’t sure what to do with Twitter or how it can help them. Especially because in the beginning, you have to work hard to create contacts and until then, you may hear a lot of crickets. But once you get that momentum going, bang, there’s no limit to what it can do for you, your career, and your company!
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Yes. Classes on How To Twitter (lol) should be offered in the Communications majors as a freshman requirement.
I could NOT agree more!!
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