Middle School Students Use of Online Social Networks

Case Study
May 11, 2007
Gary Coyle
Contact e-mail: gcoyle@aes.ac.in

Introduction

Middle school students have always been social creatures. Whether passing notes in
class, tying up their cellphone for hours, or hanging out at the mall with friends,
students aged 11-14 have an intense need to be part of a peer group. The explosion of
online social networking, which for the purpose of this case study will be defined as
blogs and social networking websites such as MySpace and Xanga, has been fully
embraced by middle school students as a way to build identity, form peer groups and
stay in close contact with one another.

Usage of online social networks is staggering; MySpace alone boasts over 100 million
profiles with 230,000 new accounts created daily (Andrews 2006). Of those registered
it is unclear how many are middle school users, as the terms of service of most online
social networks restrict membership to those over age 14. However, this does not
deter usage by underage users, as children can misrepresent their ages to bypass the
restrictions. Based on the number of underage accounts deleted each week, best
estimates show that 3% of MySpace account holders alone are under 14 (Lim 2006).
Given this strong base of usage it is important for both parents and educators alike to
understand the motivation for use and usage patterns of online social network among
middle school students.

Research Purpose

The purpose of this case study is to explore the use of online social networks among
middle school students. It was developed to determine the usage characteristics,
rationale for use, and online confidentiality standard of middle school aged online
social network users.

Impact of Literature Review

A literature review was conducted to examine existing reports on the motivation

among middle school students for using online social networks and to investigate
online safety issues revolving around middle school students’ use of online social
networks. Young adolescents have grown up in a wired culture. Since they are as Marc
Prensky termed, “Digital Natives”, they speak the language of the internet easily and
eagerly embrace new technologies (Mee 2006). According to statistics from the Pew
Internet and American Life Project, 87% of all youth between 12 and 17 use the
internet on a regular basis. Of these, 57% contribute writing, photos, videos, music
and artwork via social networks (Lamb and Johnson 2006). It is no wonder that for
two key reasons middle school students have jumped on the social networking
bandwagon at this rapid rate.

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First, online social networks allow for young adolescents to develop a sense of
belonging and serve as a point of contact for other likeminded friends. Teens and
tweens (children aged 8-12) crave relationships and these can be nurtured through the
comment and rating systems on social networking websites, assert Annette Lamb and
Larry Johnson. Furthermore, they go on to explain that since children this age want to
be the center of attention, social networks allow them to be part of the crowd and see
what is happening in their world. These sites also serve as a way to stay in almost
constant contact and not miss out on something (Lamb and Johnson 2006). This idea
of creating a sense of belonging can be enhanced when users share a common interest
such as music or video clips. Anastasia Goodstein writes, “… at this stage they’re
constantly looking for that affirmation and validation and response for everything they
are.” She goes on to say that because of this online social networking sites are a great
way for users to find others who share common music or video interests and form new
friendships based on these (McDermott 2006). Moreover, for a shy child or one who has
trouble expressing himself or herself an online social network can be a positive outlet
and allow for more comfortable social interactions (Andrews 2006).

A second and perhaps more important reason young adolescents gravitate toward
online social networks is to create a sense of identity. The development of young
adolescent identity is particularly important because they are coming to know and
define themselves in ways they could not as children (Calvert and Huffaker 2005).
Online social networks encourage identity development in several ways. Users often
create or modify language to serve their purposes. This is often referred to as
Netspeak and may include acronyms, plays on words or emoticons that replace text
altogether (Calvert and Huffaker 2005). In addition, online social networks provide
users a place to post their private writings, personal photographs, and lists of personal
likes and dislikes which all help to shape ones identity (Lamb and Johnson 2006). Users
like to have their voices heard, and online social networks allow them to share their
ideas and concerns with others, knowing they may receive validation through a
comment or response (Mee 2006). Perhaps most importantly, social networking
websites allow users to create a place that they can customize to reflect their
identity. Many young adolescent users of social networking websites spend hours per
week creating online content to tweak the appearance of their MySpace or Xanga
spaces. They post videos, music, games. They snatch images from other pages and
modify colors and fonts all in order to create a place that reflects who they are (Zeller
2006).

The rapid adoption of online social networks by young adolescents brings with it a
concern for these children’s safety and development. Young adolescents seem to be
braver when interacting online as they seem to understand the technology, but not the
impact and effect of the application (Lloyd 2007). As a result young adolescents seem
more willing to divulge personal information making them attractive targets for online
predators. By accessing online social networks predators know about victims and their
friends and they know how to leverage this information against them (Cohen 2006).
According to a 2003 study by The Perseus Development Corporation half of all blogs
are authored by teens. The Children’s Digital Media Center at Georgetown found that
two-thirds of teen users provided their age and at least their first name. While 60%
offered their location and contact information (Sullivan 2005). Additionally 55% of
teen users have created profiles on their social networking website, though it is
unclear how many are available for public viewing (D.L.W. 2007). What this means is
that kids are exposing themselves to potential predators and at putting themselves at

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risk for identity theft. Nancy McBride from the Center for Missing & Exploited Children
explains, “Kids think they are sharing information with other kids, but they really have
no idea.” (Cohen 2006)

Finally, there is concern that the secrecy of online social networks may negatively
affect young adolescents’ development. Although most social networking sites such as
MySpace require members to be at least 14 years old many users simply lie about their
age to gain access (Andrews 2006). These underage users are then engaging in or
exposed to things, such as posting provocative comments and images, that they would
not attempt offline (Sullivan 2005). Additionally with essentially no monitoring,
children can egg each other on regarding serious issues such as substance use and
sexual activity. Social networks can create an atmosphere where users try to out do
one another in what may be termed “mediated exhibitionism” (Read and Fischer
2006). It is this intersection of private and public persona that many young adolescents
find challenging to manage appropriately. Given the proliferation of usage of online
social networks by middle school students and the potential for this technology to be
used in the classroom, motivation for student use and the online safety of students
warranted further research.

Contextual Factors

As the terms of service on most online social networks restrict access for users in the
11-14 age demographic, a content analysis of member sites would be nearly
impossible, thus a survey of middle school users was developed. However, due to time
and resource constraints only a small number of middle school students were analyzed
for this case study. The data collected for the case study was primarily subjective, as
information gathered was self-reported by middle school students on their usage
patterns, rationale for use, and standard of online safety.

Participants

Participants included 90 students. 34 students came from Ms. Maher’s sixth grade
humanities classes, 32 students came from Ms. Tabor’s seventh grade humanities
classes, and 24 came from Mr. Coyle’s humanities classes at the American Embassy
School in New Delhi, India. As participation was voluntary, the students represented a
random sample of middle school students. These students were selected because they
represented a random cross section of expatriate children from six continents who
demonstrated a high level of technology awareness. Subjects were selected
indirectly; as an email was sent to each teacher requesting permission to have his/her
students complete the online survey for this study.

Instrument

A twelve-item survey was developed in Survey Monkey, an online survey generator

http://www.surveymonkey.com/ .

The survey was organized into four sections.

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 1) Section one focused on user demographics. Subjects were asked to choose their
gender, age, class in school, and continent of origin so that the data could be
analyzed in a variety of ways.

2) Section two focused on usage characteristics. Subjects were asked to gauge

their familiarity with 9 common social networking sites, using a 4-point
response set that ranged from Have an account (1) to Not aware of this site
(4). Survey subjects were also asked to indicate the types of information they
post to their online social networking site using a check box. Additionally,
respondents were asked to indicate their frequency of usage using a six-point
response set that ranged from More than once a day (1) to Less than once a
week (6).

3) Section three focused on rationale for usage. Subjects were asked for their
perceptions of why they use an online social network using a 5-point response
set that ranged from Not important (1) to Very important (5). They also
indicated the number of friends they have linked to their online social
networking site.

4) Section four focused on online confidentiality. Subjects were asked to indicate

whether several of their personal identifiers were available for public view and
whether their parents were aware of their use of online social networks by
indicating yes, no or not sure.

Collecting Data

As earlier noted, subjects were recruited via direct solicitation by the survey author
via e-mail to the classroom teacher. That email explained the survey’s purpose and
the researcher’s intent. Survey subjects were informed of the voluntary nature of
their participation and assured confidentiality. They were also given the survey
author’s contact information, should they have additional questions about the study
itself or how results would be used. Classroom teachers were given a two week
window to complete the survey, which was taken by students during a humanities class
with the teacher present to provide assistance if needed. Within the class period,
students had as much time as they wanted to complete the survey with the majority
completing it in less than fifteen minutes.

Findings
Respondent Demographics
The demographic profile of the respondents broke down as follows. Of 104 potential
respondents, 90 students (49 girls and 41 boys) completed the survey for a response
rate of 86 %. Europeans and North Americans were the majority of respondents,
however all continents were represented (Figure 1). In addition the average age of the
respondent was 12.6 years old. Interestingly, it should be noted that according to its
terms of service MySpace prohibits users under the age of 14 from having an account.

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 Respondents' Continent of Origin (Figure 1)

North
2% America
7%
South
America
33% Europe
22%
Asia

Australia

Africa
1%

35%

Usage Characteristics
Analysis of the usage patterns of surveyed middle school students yielded several
interesting findings. First, as current literature indicates, the use of online social
networks is endemic among respondents. 85.5% (77 out of 90) of students surveyed
maintain an account with an online social networking site. In addition 16.7% (15 out of
90) maintain more than one account.

Second, mirroring the blogosphere itself, the online social networking site with the
largest number of account holders among middle school students is online behemoth
MySpace which claims in excess of one hundred million members (Figure 2). However
more interesting, and illustrating the nature of middle schoolers to follow the pack,
was the fact that a majority of those surveyed were not aware of most online social
networking sites beyond the two largest, MySpace and Facebook (Figure 3).

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 Middle School Social Networking Accounts (Figure 2)

Imbee
CyWorld
Live Journal
Xanga
Bebo
Hi5
Tagged
Facebook
MySpace

0 10 20 30 40 50
Number of Account Holders

Lack of Awareness of Social Networking Sites (Figure 3)

Imbee

CyWorld

Live Journal

Xanga

Bebo

Hi5
Tagged

Facebook

MySpace

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Number of Unaware Students

Third, analysis of students’ usage patterns revealed some interesting trends. Middle
school students are erratic users of online social networks. While the largest number
of students surveyed (19 out of 77) checked their accounts once a day, there was no
clear frequency of usage pattern, as the distribution across the range of choices
showed a variety of frequencies of use, including 18.7% (14 out of 77) checking less
than once a week (Figure 4).

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 Frequency of Checking Online Social Network Accounts (Figure 4)

Less than
once a week
1-2 times per
week
3-4 times per
week
5-6 times per
week
Once a day

More than
once a day

0 5 10 15 20
Number of Students

Trends for modifying the content of online social networking sites revealed even
lighter frequency with 48.7% of respondents (37 out of 76)altering their social
networking presences less than once a week and no one modifying theirs more than
once per day(Figure 5).

Frequency of Modification (Figure 5)

Less than once a week

1-2 times per week
3-4 times per week
5-6 times per week
Once a day
More than once a day

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Number of Students

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Finally in terms of usage characteristics, the survey data revealed music was the most
common item posted, with 58 respondents posting it to their site. In addition other
images such as those found on other websites, lists of interests, and photographs of
themselves or friends were all mentioned a significant number of times (Table 1).

Table 1: Items Posted on Middle School Students Social Networking Sites

I t e m P o s t e d % of Respondents

Music 79.5%

Other images 74%

Interests 74%

Photographs of yourself or friends 69.9%

Picture Comments 61.6%

Surveys or survey answers 45.2%

Games 43.8%

Bulletins 42.5%

Personal writings 41.1%

Other video 38.4%

Details 31.5%

Personal information 28.8%

Videos of yourself or friends 20.5%

Contact Info 16.4%

Blurbs 11%

Rationale for Usage

Students’ rationale for using an online social networking website revealed two key
findings. First, the mean scores of those surveyed indicated that the main reasons for
their use are to stay connected with friends that have moved and to reinforce existing
friendships (Figure 6). As the average term of enrollment at The American Embassy
School – New Delhi is three years it is no surprise that online social networks allow
transient expatriate children to stay connected with friends while also helping to
establish new face to face friendships.

However since the common perception is that online social networks facilitate forming
online friendships, it was surprising that making new friends was statistically less
significant than many other reasons for use. Additionally, the survey revealed that 56%
of those surveyed linked fewer than fifty friends to their site and the largest
percentage linked fewer than twenty five (Figure 7).

Second, flirting was a statistically insignificant reason for using an online social
networking site. As adolescence is time of defining gender roles and experimenting
with romantic relationships, the potential anonymity of the web would seem to be a
conducive environment to flirt.

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 Rationale for Using an Online Social Networking Website (Figure 6)

4.5

4
Flirt
3.5
Have a place of your own on the
internet
3
Make new friends
2.5
Share ideas such as writing
photos or art work with others
2
Learn about new music
1.5
Reinforce existing friendships
1
Stay connected with friends that
have moved
0.5

0
Mean Response Score

Number of Friends Linked to Social Networking Websites (Figure 7)

16%
0-25
30%
26-50
8% 51-75

76-100

>100

18%

28%

Online Confidentiality
Contrary to public perception, the survey revealed that middle school online social
network users are fairly cautious about divulging personal information and that their
parents are quite aware of their use of these sites. In terms of displaying profile
information the majority of users reported that their profiles were not available for
public view (Figure 8). In addition while 58% did display their real first name the
majority did not display their real surname, age or location (69%, 70% and 69%

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respectively). Moreover 86% of respondents reported that their parents were aware
that they had an online social networking presence, but only 32% reported that their
parents had actually visited their site.

Is your profile on your social networking website visible for anyone to

view? (Figure 8)

21% 21%

Yes
No
Not Sure

58%

Discussion and Conclusions

Key findings of this case study both support and refute elements of the literature
review. In terms of usage the case study supported most major findings regarding
adolescents’ use of online social networks. The Pew Internet and American Life
Project’s findings were clearly supported with the survey showing that the majority of
middle school students (85%) use the internet to access online social networks. The
case study also confirmed Calvert and Huffaker’s findings that online social network
users build identity by posting a variety of content, most commonly music, images,
photographs and comments, to their sites in an effort to make their space their own.

The case study however contradicted findings regarding the standard of online safety
that middle school users abide by. While The Children’s Digital Media Center at
Georgetown indicated that 60% of users volunteered their first names, ages, and
locations, this study’s finding indicated a much more cautious user.

In conclusion, online social networks are an important part of middle school students’
lives as a vast majority of those surveyed are active account holders. Their frequency
of use however is erratic and the updating of the content on their sites infrequent.
Additionally, except for divulging their first names, most middle school students

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surveyed disclose little other personal information. Moreover a large majority of
respondents’ parents were aware of their online social networking activities

Finally, while the findings of this study provide a snapshot of middle school students in
an international school, the value of applying the findings to a wider audience in the
United States is not appropriate due to a variety of cultural, economic, and situational
factors. In terms of further analysis the data could be disaggregated to look at
differences between male and female users, users of different ages, and users from
different locations of origin. Further study could focus on expanding those surveyed to
other international schools to see if the findings hold true in a larger sample or
replicating the survey in American middle schools for comparison.

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