Final Project Results

For my project, I created a survey asking people:
1. Age?
2. Gender?
3. Which social networking sites do you use?
4. How much time do you spend on social networking websites each day?
5. For what purposes do you use social networking websites?
6. What types of information do you post on social networking websites?
7. How many people do you know who DO NOT use social networking websites?
8. How strongly do you rely on social networking?
9. How do you feel about colleges and employers using social networking as another factor in their decision-making process?
10. How do you see social networking's influence in 10 years?
In total, 58 people responded. Out of these people, 11 were boys and 47 were girls. Three people were between ages 11-15, 43 were between ages 16-22, two were between ages 23-35, nine were between ages 35-55, and one person was over 55. I think that all of these numbers make sense, because I imagine that a lot of the people who took my survey were girls I know from school. But, I did try expanding the range of people I surveyed by having both of my parents post the survey on their websites, and posting it on my Tumblr.
I found that only one person uses MySpace, one uses Foursquare, 36 use Twitter, 53 use Facebook, 28 use Instagram, 10 people use Pinterest (none of which were male), 33 use Tumblr, and four use LinkedIn.
13 people use social networking for 1-2 hours per day, only three use it for 15-30 minutes, 16 use it for 2-4 hours, 10 use it for 30-60 minutes, and 13 use it for more that 4 hours, and the rest use it for under 30 minutes.
For my final project, I plan to look at how different demographics responded to each of these questions (i.e. How no males use Pinterest and how most people who spent extensive time on the Internet were younger).
And this is the link to my survey: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFBDRzZsajY3bkx3OWFQOXdRdTRGMGc6MQ#gid=0
This is the link to my full results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ap3bIUELaTHmdFBDRzZsajY3bkx3OWFQOXdRdTRGMGc#gid=0

Update

I have basically kept my same plan for this project, but have not yet started it. Tomorrow, I will make my survey using GoogleDoc, and post it to every social networking site I can plus ask my  family members to, in order to reach the broadest range of demographics. I hope that some of my grandma's Facebook friends can respond to it, as well as my parents', brothers', and my own. I will ask why people use social network sites, how they impact their lives, and where they see the usage going in the future. I will pay careful attention to the way different demographics answer these questions, and look for patterns.

More Specific Plan

I am going to do a survey using GoogleDoc, unless I find a more efficient online survey website. I will post the link to  it on my Facebook and Twitter, and ask my family members to post it places, as well. I will ask adults, children, teenagers, males, and females how they use social networking websites. I will ask their age, gender, and location, and then how they use the websites, what kinds of things they post, what they hope to get from the sites, which sites they use, if they think it is having a positive or negative effect on society, how they have seen it impact their relationships, businesses, etc., and where they see social networking going in the future. I hope to send out this survey in the next week or two.

Suggested Research Method

For the semester project, I think that I am going to use a survey to conduct my research. I am going to use GoogleDoc to make it and then post it on my Facebook and Twitter. I am also going to ask my parents to post it on theirs. The reason why I want so many people to take it is because I am going to focus my research on the ways that different demographics, especially different age groups and genders, use social media. I will start by asking them personal questions in order to sort them into demographics, and then probably ask them about how much time they spend on social media, which websites they use, the purposes for which they use it, and how important they consider it. I will ask if they have used it for political updates, catching up with friends, business, gaming, meeting new people, etc. I will ask the kinds of pictures they post, like selfies, pictures at parties, pictures with family, pictures of their businesses, and so on. I want to know their opinion on colleges checking Facebook before admitting a student, and if they think Facebook is  a passing trend. I think it is important to focus on age and gender demographics, because I can already picture they way different members of my own family would be answering these questions.

Social Media and Election Hysteria

So, I'm sure everyone has noticed the influx of election-related tweets in their Facebook and Twitter timelines every time a debate is aired. And it's not just presidential candidates and informed adults. It is children and teenagers ranging from middle school through senior year voicing their opinions on each candidates' strengths and faux pas. But here's the thing: the Tweets themselves are sparking debates! Some people are responding and questioning whether or not people too young to vote can really be informed on the issues, or if their opinion really matters. Supposedly, they are only getting their information from their parents and shouldn't be passing it off as their own. But the people tweeting get defensive: Why can't they use social media outlets to express their opinions? I think it is interesting how users of websites designed to express opinions are also being told that they should keep it to themselves. Also, it is interesting how the use of social media is vital in this election, by both citizens and the nominees. But here's my question: What do you think? Should people use social networking as an outlet to express their opinions? And what if these people are under the voting age? Does their opinion still matter?

The Online You Affecting The Offline You

Because it is so evident that Facebook and other social networking sites have become integral parts of today's society, they are even being considered in college admissions processes! A recent study has revealed that up to 80% of college admissions officers have begun searching their applicants online, and being portrayed positively is key in the process. But, there are ways that students can be sure to present the best image possible, the website says. For starters, people should never post anything negative or discriminatory. They should make sure that their friends comments are not crude, as well. Also, profile pictures should always be kept modest, considering they are the photos that a recruiter is first shown. And finally, users be "proactive" about privacy settings, making sure that they are constantly checking that what they want to be private is actually private. But should students be forced to worry about their Facebook pages when there are so many other aspects of the application process to focus on? Does it make sense that because Facebook is such a large part of our lifestyles today, that a profile can be a deciding factor in the decision? Or is it an invasion of privacy, and admissions officers should stick to looking at the things students actually submit?

People's Friendships with Facebook are Hurting

In history class, we were given the September 3, 2012 issue of The New York Times: Upfront magazine, in which I found an article by Veronica Majerol entitled "Unfriending Facebook." While it concedes that the social networking site has undoubtedly "revolutionized" the way people keep in touch with friends, it also questions whether or not it is becoming a passing trend. Apparently, more than 50% of Americans think it is. Further proving why, the rate of new users joining is slowing, from 39% in 2010 to 6% in 2012.

Not only are fewer people joining Facebook than ever before, but more people are logging off. There is a variety of reasons for this, the two main ones being lack of privacy and lack of time. The article cites a situation where one boy posted his new car on Facebook, and people he wasn't even connected to on the site asked him about it when they saw him on campus. Another girl just said that she would prefer not to see the "banter about things like what people were eating for lunch," and instead has better ways to spend her time.

I found this article interesting because I feel the same way as the people in this article, but at the same time don't know if I will be able to "quit Facebook," too. Admittedly, I'm not sure how I would communicate with other students about homework whose numbers I don't have, how I will get the pictures people take of me without being tagged in them, or stay in contact with the people I live far away from. Facebook actually is essential to my life in these respects. But what do you think? Is Facebook quickly becoming unpopular? And if so, are you willing to delete yours?