Social Networking and Study Habits of College Students in Bulacan

SOCIAL NETWORKING AND STUDY HABITS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS IN BULACAN Introduction The rapid development of social networking that has been observed over the last years is pinpointing of its entry to the main stream culture and its integration into the daily lives of many people. Corresponding with this, there has also been substantial media coverage of the growth of social networking, its potential positive outcomes and concerns about the way that some people engaging with it. Social networking offer people new and varied ways to communicate via internet, whether through their PC, laptops, tablets or even their mobile phone. They allow people to easily and simply create their own accounts and to construct and display an online network of contacts, often called ‘friends’. Users can communicate via their profile both with their ‘friends’ and with people outside the lists of contacts. This can be on a one-to one basis (private message), or in more public way such as comment and status message posted for all to see. Social networking is one of the media communications that plays an important role to the students’ life. Its usage may vary from one person to another depending on the benefits that this medium can provide for them. Social networking had been the source of happiness for many students. Some use social networking to connect with their classmates, friends, family and teachers. Once a person can be granted access to social networking websites, the person can begin to socialize. Technology has a pivotal role in students’ research. There is a dominant usage of cell phones and internet among students. Most of the students are not involved in extracurricular activities. There is a massive consumption of TV among students. Radio and newspapers are not preferred media. The media provides minimal help in their studies. Students engage social networking because of the feeling of enjoyment they feel when with social networking. They go online to know the latest updates to their friends’ what’s going on to them. Some go online to chat, comment on their friends’ updates, upload photos or even find someone to understand them. It is also a form of communication to other people to stay connected to them. Teachers, professors use this technology to communicate with their students for example giving assignments online by sending email messages to their students. According to (http://www.ukessays.com/dissertations/information-technology/popularity-ofsocial-networking.php) on a popular social networking site, each member has a profile on which he/she may combine personal information: address, marital status or photo. It is also possible to integrate RSS feeds from the blogs, share photos and videos and build up friends list. The strength of social networking site such as Facebook is based on the growing number of members. The 25-35 ages constitute the majority of registered users; it enables the users to find many members of a professional network, finding friends and contact them to be in touch. The number of potential interactions with other members is a second factor for potential popularity of such sites. Additionally, it is possible to create and join groups and causes of all kinds; to applaud the ban on landing, or humanitarian causes. Students allot a small portion of their free time in doing their assignments and other school works. Internet and textbooks are of equal footing when it comes to information sources. Students receive support and encouragement from their family members as regard with striving harder

to achieve better grades. Nevertheless, the lack of the tools on the part of the parents and siblings makes it impossible to maximize the level of support that the students receive. The use of social networking can result to advantage and disadvantages to students study habits depending on how long the students will engage to it. Most of the time, students spend their time hanging around the web with the popular social networking sites. Every day, more and more people are getting more attached to Social Networking sites as it is now moving in as one of the primary means of communication of people. Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ were only a few of the tons of the sites out there that cater the need of people. Through Social Media, people have the chance to combine work and relaxation. With the use of these social networking sites they can get in touch with your loved ones, relatives, and friends, get to know the latest news and issues, participate in online discussions, communicate with your classmates, be reminded of assignments, projects, and quizzes, conduct group meetings for group projects and announcements, and get the latest status and messages of your friends through the News Feed. Social sites have a lot of uses for people with their exceptional functionalities. Even without meeting in person, people can now interact with each other and make a productive gathering. However, despite the fact that Social Media are extremely helpful, it is still not perfect because there are still some negative points we can encounter while using it.

The security issues and threats to Internet are also affecting social networking sites. In social networking, people ignore the original warnings and alerts which make it easier for malwares to spread. It also invades privacy, distracts you in everything you do, too much attachment to it that may lead to spending too much time in it without doing your tasks and lastly some wrong information are released by unauthorized people that cause fear. Additionally, social networking has some negative impacts which were not experienced before. The purpose of this study is to know the relationship of social networking to the study habits of college students. This will be determined by the students’ purpose, seek for membership and frequency of usage in relation to social networking. Conceptual Framework The researcher incorporated theories in the pursuit of the undertaking, namely: theory of communication, theory of peer pressure, situated cognition theory and social learning theory. The theories were derived from the disciplines of education and psychology. As for the conceptual framework, the researcher utilized the independent- dependent variable model used in behavioral sciences. The terms "dependent variable" and "independent variable" are used in similar but subtly different ways in statistics and social sciences as part of the standard terminology in those subjects. They are used to distinguish between two types of quantities being

considered, separating them into those available at the start of a process and those being created by it, where the latter (dependent variables) are dependent on the former (independent variables). In the context of the study, the identified independent variables are the internal and external factors that may have or may not have an effect to the purpose, frequency, type of SNS account and no. of SNS membership the students involved in social networking. In piecemeal, the inputs are the data aimed by the researcher to gather. These constitute the study habits of selected college students. If social networking has a direct effect on the students study habits. This is the dependent variable—the outcome effected by the existing condition. The study’s variables are further taken into account by the researcher by analyzing them correlatively in an independent-dependent variable fashion. In this manner, the researcher is able to determine the extent as to how the independent variables affected the study habits of college students. Research Paradigm INDEPENDENT VARIABLES

DEPENDENT VARIABLE

SOCIAL NETWORKING    

Purpose of use Frequency of use Type of SNS account No. of SNS membership/account

STUDY HABITS

Figure 1. The relationship of social networking to the study habits of students The paradigm above shows the relationship of social networking to the study habits of the students. Today more students are using social networking as a part of their life. They use it as a form of communication to their classmates, relatives, teachers and others. Knowing the latest issue to their friends in social networking. Most of the time they love to socialize to social networking sites than to study their lesson. As they spend more hours in social networking, the time to study may be lessening because it’s more fun to engage to social networking than to study. Every student has their own accounts depending on the social networking sites they join to. This study will determine how students engage with social networking in terms of purpose of use, frequency, no. of SNS membership/account and types of SNS membership. How the independent variables affect the students study habits.

Statement of the Problem The research aimed to find out the relationship of social networking to the study habits of students. Specifically, it would answer the following questions. 1. 2. 3. 4.

What is the purpose of students in creating account in SNS? What SNS do college students seek membership? How frequent do the students use social networking sites? What relationship exists between social networking and students?

Hypothesis of the Study 1. Frequent use of SNS leads to poor study habits. 2. More membership/account in SNS results to poor study habits. Scope and Delimitation The scope and delimitation of the study includes the setting and the number of respondents. Selected Colleges in Baliuag Bulacan including Baliuag University, Baliuag Polytechnic College, Fernandez College of Arts and Technology, Marian College of Baliuag and Saint Mary’s School of Baliuag will be the setting in which the study will conducted. The respondents for the study will be BEED students from selected colleges in Baliuag. In total, 200 students will be surveyed, 40 questionnaires will distributed and collected in each colleges from first year to fourth year level. The main focus of the study is to know the relationship between social networking and study habits of students. In assessing the students, the data obtained through questionnaire. No interview done in this study. Significance of the Study The result will benefit the following: Students This study gives information to the student to become aware of the time they consume for social networking. Teachers This study provides information to the teachers who will devise strategies to the students using social networking that results to poor study habits.

School administrators This study will help the school administrators to be aware of the influences of social networking sites to the students. With enough information about SN’s and their influence to the students study habits, school administrators can help in solving problems of students regarding this topic and give advices that are appropriate to the situation when SN’s affects the study habits of the students. Parents This study will help parents to understand their child’s purpose of using social networking and for them to be aware of the influence from social networking that might affect their children. With enough knowledge, parents can think possible preventive ways if their child is prone to develop poor study habits. And for them to be able to guide and mentor their children in the academic and social aspects. Future researchers This study can be an effective tool for reference for future use regarding social networking.

Definition of Terms (SNS) Social Networking Sites – are web based services that allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile with a bounded system articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. Study Habits – is the practice of regular tendency and devotion of time and attention to acquiring on an academic subject especially by means of books. Frequency – shows the regularly occurring events of any given kind in a unit of time.

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This chapter deals on the research method and procedure that will be used in this study. It includes the research design, population and sampling, research instrument and validity, data gathering procedure and statistical treatment of data used in the study. Research Design The researcher shall use the survey technique which is under descriptive method. Descriptive method answers the questions who, what, where, when and how (Birion, et.al., 2005). Survey technique, requires gathering of facts that requires sufficient and accurate interpretation. This technique used to collect demographic data about student’s behavior, beliefs, opinions, interest and then the gathered data are analyzed, organized and interpreted. Population and Sampling Subjects for the study will be BEED college students at selected colleges in Baliuag Bulacan. In total, 200 students will surveyed from first to fourth year college students. Participation from each student was voluntarily, without extra credit, incentive or rewards. Random sampling will be used to know the respondents that will be surveyed. Research Instrument The research instrument of the study will be a self-made questionnaire. The questionnaire will be made to determine the relationship of Social Networking to the study habits of the students. The first part of the questionnaire contains primary data about the current status of the respondents such as their name, age, socio economic status, gender, year and course. It also contains the frequency of use, type of SNS account and no. of friends of students in social networking. The second part will use Linkert survey questions to test the students’ purpose, and opinions on social networking. And finally the last part contains comment and suggestions about the survey that has been conducted. Validity of the Instrument In order to maintain the validity of the instrument the researcher will used a self-made questionnaire validated by an expert who utilizes to enhance the contents of the study. The researcher will select random sample of college students to validate the first draft of the questionnaire. The comments and suggestions were utilized to enhance the contents of the study. This extent to which the results from it permit the researchers to draw warranted conclusions about the characteristics of the individuals studied.

Data Gathering Procedure The researcher will go to the scope of the study and ask permission to the dean of college of education to conduct a survey. After having the permission the researcher will organize the copies of the questionnaire will be produced. The copies of the questionnaire will depend on the number of the respondents. However, extra copies will be reproduced if some respondents loss their questionnaires. The respondents will be given 30 to 45mins allowance to answer the questionnaire. An officer of each section will be selected to distribute and collect the questionnaires. Once the deadline of the questionnaires arrived, the researchers will coordinate with the officers to retrieve all the questionnaires completely. The questionnaires gathered will contain all the needed data for the study and it will be organized, summarized, analyzed, and interpreted. The researcher will provide a letter to the dean of college of education from selected colleges in Bulacan, approved by the thesis adviser and the dean of Graduate Studies in order to get the permission to conduct the study. The researcher will allot a time of data gathering conduction starting from September to October to complete a 200 students as respondents. A representative assign by the researcher will collect the entire questionnaire that has been done. The researcher will get the questionnaire to his representative for data collection. Statistical Treatment The following statistical treatment will be used by the researcher to answer the specific problems and in testing the hypothesis of the study. Frequency Percentage Distribution Percentage Distribution – describes the relationship of a part to its whole. The information gathered from computation can be summarized in percentage distribution (Adanza and Martinez 2002). Important characteristics of large mass of data can be readily assed by grouping the data into different classes then determining, the number of observations that fall in each of the classes such as arrangement, in tabular form is called a frequency distribution. The formula for the computation of percentage distribution is: f x 100 N where: %  percentage f  frequency %

N  total number of respondents

Weighted Mean – Averaging the quantities by attracting more significance to some of the numbers than the others. Accomplishing this by assigning weighs to the quantities, where the weight represents measure their relative importance.

x

  f  w n

where : x  the weighted mean f  frequency n  total number of cases

Linkert Scale – The responses to the questions in the given variables will be scaled using the “five-pointscale” or Linkert Scale system and given weight as follows: Rate 5 4 3 2 1

Verbal Interpretation Strongly Agree Agree Moderately Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Range 4.6 – 5.0 3.6 – 4.5 2.6 – 3.5 1.6 – 2.5 1.0 – 1.5

Chi Square – Test the level of significance between the assessments of the respondents and to determine the relationship of variables as given. The formula for chi square as follows:

Where: X2 = Chi – Square f (a) = Actual Frequency or number of observations in a cell f (e) = Expected Frequency or number of observations in a cell in the theoretical distribution ∑ = Symbol for “summation”

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES SOCIAL NETWORKING AND STUDY HABITS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS IN BULACAN Various studies and literature were reviewed by the researcher to be able to gain insight about the particular area of research. This study was thoroughly undertaken for the purpose of determining the relationship of social networking to the study habits of the student-respondents. Social Networking Social networking is described where individuals can set up an online profile describing his/her on interests. It has been seen to have both positive and negative effect on society. The media seems to control the way people are and how they interact with others. Social networking gives the individual’s ability to feel free and open about things. Social networking has greatly impacted society, especially when it comes down to common sites such as facebook, myspace, or even twitter. Although social networking can have a positive impact on society, it mostly has a negative impact on society. The social networking websites make it so that way people can easily interact with the people around them whether it be people they know or people they don’t. Your cellphone might not always work a lot of people turns to other means of communication, which is where social networking comes onto play. Sites such as facebook myspace and twitter give people the opportunity to communicate with other individuals. These sites are used for social events that you may want people to attend. Social networking is ironical in its name because it doesn’t bring people closer but creates big gaps in relationships with people who really matter the most in our life. When people think of social networking they tend to think about facebook, mysapace, twitter, etc. What is social networking? Millions of people use social networking to connect, meet and share. Social networks are configuration of relationships and social ties between people in ways enabling people to connect together through many offered services in a range from casual friendships to family members (Adkins A. M. 2009). The growth of social networking was noticeably fast within a few years and has completely changed the landscape of Internet. On most of social networks, users are easily attracted to open social networking because the network is used by their friends and their peers. Each Individual can lose or refuse relationships when these connections are no more useful. However, recently, the users of social networks are tended to open friendships or through joining specific social groups to add someone to their friends list or connections. The enormous potentiality of social networking sites in case of supporting the huge number of members and allowing the formation of sub communities or small groups inside the network has engaged everyone to connect to these networks and use this new medium. It is not exaggerating to say that almost all of the social units, organizations, professionals,

students and other parts of traditional society have noticed the power of social networking and are aware of the value that will be added to their activities while joining this phenomenon. The popularity and the value of social networking are made by the large number of users joined to these networks and has motivated many organizations to utilize them efficiently for their activities. Although, it is difficult to gather the real number of existing social network sites, a statistical study in 2005 shows that Web hosts over 200 active social networking sites (Rainie and Horrigan 2005). Social network sites such as MySpace is one of the well-known social networking sites, hosting more than 95 million members, while Facebook on 2008 reported a growth rate of 116 per cent over a year (Nielsen 2008). This phenomenon attracted many companies to invest a lot of money to advertise on social networking websites and use the information provided by the users to extend their business according to the customers' needs. These organizations benefit social networking to extend marketing and build loyalty among customers. Currently, the new internet applications enabled users around the world to join in larger and more developed social networks that replaced face-to-face friendships and traditional social interactions. First services provided by social networking sites are the possibility to connect to people and share. However, the recent popular social network sites such as Facebook have integrated other Web services such as e-mail, chat, entertainment applications and media sharing capabilities to their websites. Social networking is now broadly defined as “a social structure made of individuals, groups and organizations that are correlated to each other by one or more kinds of interdependencies. Such interdependencies are in form of ideas, common values, friends, interests, etc.” (Boyd and Ellison 2007) Social Networking Definition Social networking originated from social groups organized around a unifying theme (religion, culture, education, etc..) which form a kind of informal networking dedicated to a third party, meetings, etc. With the advent of the Internet, social networking has taken its new dimensions, appeared in new forms and built new opportunities. The internet is moving toward supporting social life. By the development of computer mediated communication, the old offline meeting between the people changed to happen in a new place "Web". The evolution of web systems have initiated and sustained social relationships via social networking systems. Social networking focuses on online web based services, platforms and sites which create social relations and social communities. This new computermediated social relation is formed to facilitate social interactions among the people while each user is registered and identified by a profile which generally represents a real member in the real world. This new medium offers a variety of web-based services to enable users to interact through connecting profiles, instant messaging, sharing ideas, photos, videos, discussing, sending email and using many other services and applications. Boyd and Ellison (2008) believe that the main type of social networking is to connect with classmates, co-workers and friends as a recommendation system built on trust. Boyd and Ellison (2008) define social networks as: Web-based sites which allow individuals to: 1.

create a list of users and connections,

2. 3.

build a public or a semi public profile via a system which is bounded, search and find the connections list which is made by others in the system.

Also another definition by Weaver and Morrison (2008) on social networking adds: “in today's electronic media, social network sites empower individuals by using Internet and Web based applications to connect and interact in new and easy ways which were impossible before”. Social Networking Defined The idea of “Social Networking” has existed for several decades as a way for people to communicate in society and build relationships with others (Coyle & Vaughn, 2008). With the increase of technology used for communicating with others and the popularity of the Internet, “Social Networking” has become an activity that is done primarily on the Internet, with sites like MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, Friendster, and Xanga (Coyle & Vaughn, 2008). Social networking sites (SNS) may be defined as: Webbased services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system (Boyd & Ellison, 2007, 1). History of Social Networking Technology In the early 1990’s, online communication technologies were introduced to the public in forms such as email and chat rooms (Peter & Valkenburg, 2009). Many authors, such as Dr. Norman Nie of Stanford University, predicted that these forms of technology would negatively impact adolescent social lives, and reduce their sense of well-being (Peter & Valkenburg, 2009). At that time, many child and adolescent researchers thought that on-line relationships would be superficial or meaningless. It was also predicted that these teenagers would use the Internet for purposes of meeting strangers instead of building on established relationships (Peter & Valkenburg, 2009). It was also assumed by some professionals that adolescents would spend too much time on computers, and this would negatively affect their “real- life” friendships and relationships with others (Peter & Valkenburg, 2009). While several authors during the early 2000’s hypothesized that children and teenagers would become less social with on-line participation, proving this was difficult, as many homes still did not have Internet access. In 1995, it was estimated that only 11% of American teenagers were actively participating on social networking websites (Peter & Valkenburg, 2009). Since the early years of social networking popularity, research has been done in order to find out how this technology was affecting youth (Bryant, Sanders-Jackson, & Smallwood, 2006). Though the early trend was to believe that these sites would negatively affect adolescent communication, other researchers believed that technological communication would benefit many teenagers who had trouble expressing their thoughts and feelings face-to-face (Bryant, Sanders-Jackson, & Smallwood, 2006). Though the argument continues to be studied and analyzed, it is still a question that many researchers want answered. By looking at the most popular social networking devices, several conclusions can be made as to why these social tools are popular with young adults. Historical Overview The first social networking website was Geocities in 1994 (Cotriss 2008) and Classmates.com which began operation in 1995. Company of Friends, was the next online network offered by Fast Company

Business Magazine launched in 1997 and introduced business networking on the Internet. Other sites have followed them soon after, including Sixdegrees.com, which established in 1997, Epinions.com as a circle of trust in 1999, followed by European equivalents Ciao, Dooyoo and ToLuna. Many of early social networks tried on bringing people together to connect with each other by chat rooms, and enabled users to share personal information and ideas via personal webpages (Wikipedia 2011). The newer generation of social networking sites began to flourish with the emergence of Makeoutclub in 2000, however from 2002, online social networking began to appear based on web2.0 technology. This form of social networking, commonly used on online communities, became particularly popular in 2002 and flourished with the advent of the web site called Friendster. Friendster is using the social networking model "circle of friends" (developed by the British computer scientist Jonathan Bishop. The popularity of social networking sites has grown rapidly, so much so that in 2006, MySpace has had a higher rate of visited pages than search engine Google in 2006. (Nexopia stat 2011), (Wikipedia 2011) The latest trend in World Wide Web is social networking portals. Social networking has gained popularity so fast, for instance, "Twitter" growth rate of tweets (posts) exceeds 1300% in 2009 in comparison with year 2008 (Seeking Alpha 2009). The active users of social networking sites expected to pass 230 million in 2008, however, Facebook is registered with more than 500 million active members in first quarter of 2011 (Facebook 2011). Popularity of Social Networking Social networking is experiencing year by year growth and the increasing popularity of social networking has been apparent on the web from the year 2006. It's no surprise when learning that Americans are very interested in the new services of social networks. They account for one quarter of registered users of the world which proves they are still ahead of Europe (Nexopia 2011). Almost everyone has experienced social networks once, but we can still wonder about their popularity rating. What are social network sites? Social Networking Sites Social Networking Sites (SNS) have been popular since the year 2002 and have attracted and fascinated tens of millions of Internet users (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). Though only a few have gained worldwide publicity and attention, the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimated that there are over 200 different sites that are used for social networking (Duven & Timm, 2008). Most people who are members of these sites, such as Facebook (over 400 million users) and MySpace (over 100 million users) participate in them on a daily basis (Duven & Timm, 2008). Each person who becomes a member of a SNS has the opportunity to create his or her own webpage or “profile” which is supposed to be seen as a reflection of that person’s personality (Tufekci, 2008). By using this personal profile, one can build an entire social network based on his or her own personal preferences (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). The idea behind most of this phenomenon, as with many websites, is to help people feel socially connected and part of a community, even though they may be sitting home alone at their computer (Coyle & Vaughn, 2008). Participants may connect with other people they know through school, work, or

an organization, or they may meet complete strangers from all over the world (Coyle & Vaughn, 2008). They do this by searching for people and adding them as “friends” so that they may share information with them and other networks that those people may be a part of (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). Being “friends” in the SNS world simply means that two profiles have been linked together (Tufekci, 2008). This, in turn, expands a person’s network greatly, so that they may meet and share information with even more members (Coyle & Vaughn, 2008). In addition, being “friends” with someone on a SNS allows a person to communicate in a variety of ways such as sending private and public messages, participating in on-line games, commenting on photos that have been posted, sharing music or movie preferences, responding to journal entries, and much more (Livingstone, 2008). In one author’s opinion, “Creating and networking online content is becoming an integral means of managing one’s identity, lifestyle and social relations” (Livingstone, 2008, 394). A click of a button may mean the loss or gain of a friendship, and a friendship on a SNS may be with someone who is not a friend in “real life” (Livingstone, 2008). Though there are several options for “privacy” on these sites, research has shown that the public aspect of sharing information is what draws many to join and participate (Duven & Timm, 2008). Privacy has a new definition when referring to Social networking sites, since just becoming a member requires a person to give certain personal information (Duven & Timm, 2008). Some sites, like Facebook, started as a way for college students to connect and having an “edu” email address was required for signing up (Tufekci, 2008). Now, this site is open for all users, which also increases the amount of people who may have two accounts: One for private use, and one for business or school use (Tufekci, 2008). When conceptualizing why these sites appeal to so many people, it is significant to note that each SNS focuses on the presentation of self and social status (Tufekci, 2008). Each person who joins a SNS must choose a picture to post on their personal profile, which is the picture that will be used as a representation of themselves (Barker, 2009). Some people use a recent picture of their face or a photo of a group of friends, while others choose a different image that they want to represent them or their values (Barker, 2009). Either way, this picture is significant when looking at a SNS because it shows how each individual would like to be seen by others (Barker, 2009). Social status is also a very important part of SNSs because it is plays a role in how each individual is viewed on their profile by others (Tufecki, 2008). Most SNSs will show how many “friends” a person has, as well as how many people have written to that person lately (Tufecki, 2008). Because of this, many SNS members will seek out people to connect with, even though they may not personally want to be linked with specific people (Tufecki, 2008). Adolescents and college-aged individuals are especially interested in having a lot of friends, because many worry what others will think if they do not have as many friends as their peers (Barker, 2009). Not only does joining a SNS help gain and preserve popularity, but selecting the perfect pictures to post are also very important aspects of the experience (Siibak, 2009). According to a recent study done on visual impression management and social networking sites, approximately 60% of adolescents will spend more time selecting which pictures to post on their profile than actually communicating with others (Siibak, 2009). This shows that these SNSs are not just for keeping in touch with classmates and

meeting new people, they are used to build adolescent identities (Siibak, 2009). Because social networking sites are used primarily by adolescents and young adults, the next section will discuss this group of individuals and their Internet use. Boyd and Ellison (2008) define a social network sites as: Web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by theirs within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site. Thus, it can be deduced that SNSs facilitate interactiveand real-time communication through the Internet (Bicen and Cavus, 2010). More specifically, they permit subscribers to access personalised and interactive services such as chatting, uploading and sharing pictures, videos and music. SNSs have a wide variety of features, which are limited only by users‟ creativity and imagination (Boyd and Ellison, 2008). Bicen and Cavus (2010) maintain that while SNSs share the common purpose of interactive communication, their functionality differs in terms of the target population. For instance, LinkedIn targets professionals; therefore, its features are suited towards the sharing of career-related information. On the other hand, Facebook and Hi5 are socially oriented; hence, they support the sharing of pictures, IM, and posting of messages. Users register to join SNSs by creating profiles containing details of names, gender, interests, pictures, videos, schools or colleges attended, and any other information that subscribers might want to make known (Bicen and Cavus, 2010). Subscribers form closer links with other members, friends, contacts, or followers by extending or accepting invitations.

What are the famous social networking sites? Currently there are hundreds of active Social Networking Sites. They each serve adifferent market as stated by Boyd and Ellison in 2008. Some of the key SocialNetworking Sites will be described to demonstrate the differences. 1. Facebook Facebook is a Social Networking Site where users can join networks organized by city,workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People canalso add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notifyfriends about themselves. Facebook is the largest Social Networking Site, currentlyattracting most of the traffic among its competitors. Just recently Facebook hit amilestone having more than 200 million members. Facebook offers all kinds of services to its members, although the “basic” features are provided by the host organisation, the biggest increase in the usability and features come from third-party developers.Currently Facebook hosts more than 30.000 applications (Ustinova 2008). The growthof Facebook is immense and there are currently no sign that this will stop very soon. 2. MySpace MySpace is a personal online community that lets you meet your friends' friends(MySpace 2009). Users of MySpace can create a community and can share photos, journals and interests with people in their network. It is believed that the company ledthe Web 2.0 revolution in which users could create their profiles, however due to therise of its younger rival Facebook; MySpace has seen a significant decrease in visitors (Smith 2009). 3. Twitter

Twitter is one of the latest popular Social Networking Site. Twitter is a free micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users update which are also known as ‘tweets’; which are only 140 characters in length. Twitter stands outfrom all other large Social Networking Sites due to its simplicity. It does not offer anyadvanced sharing tools, i.e. photo or video sharing. However by using Web 2.0 tools, Twitter allows users to share their tweets on any other website; this has contributedenormously to the success of Twitter. Its current user count is not disclosed by Twitter,however it is estimated that twitter attracted 10 million visitors in February alone(Radwanick 2009). Adolescents and the Internet In the beginning years of personal computers and Internet access, websites were used primarily for information gathering and research (Alexander & Salas, 2008). In the past several years, the Internet has become the center of communication between people, as well as being their prime source of entertainment (Alexander & Salas, 2008). It has also become the tool used for almost every project or paper that a student will write in high school, and in their later years in college (Alexander & Salas, 2008). In recent studies, adolescents have shown to be the greatest consumers of the Internet, particularly for social interactions (Lin & Subrahmanyam, 2007). Social networking sites, as well as email, instant messaging, blogging, and online journals have completely changed the way that adolescents interact and gather information (Raacke & Raacke, 2008). Adolescents have become accustomed to this lifestyle much more than older generations have in recent years, as this way of living is all they know (Lewis, 2008). Teenagers now use the Internet for the majority their daily activities and information gathering, as opposed to older generations who used resources like the television or newspaper (Lewis, 2008). A recent survey showed that approximately ninety percent of teens in the United States have Internet access, and about seventy-five percent of these teens use the Internet more than once per day (Kist, 2008). This study also showed that approximately half of all teens who have Internet access are also members of social networking sites, and use the Internet to make plans and socialize with friends (Kist, 2008). As one researcher stated, “Teens use *the Internet+ as an extension of their personality, to show their friends-and the world- who they are, what they care about, and to build connections with other like-minded people” (Goodman, 2007, 84). It is estimated that the vast majority of teenagers in the United States visit at least one social networking site approximately twenty times each day (Peter & Valkenburg, 2009). There is often controversy as to whether or not adolescents should be able to freely use the Internet for communicating with others (Tynes, 2009). Parents in particular are strongly cautioned by the media and school officials about online predators and the influence of certain websites on teenagers (Tynes, 2009). They may use Internet services such as CyberNanny to block certain websites and keep records of what their children may be looking at on the Internet (Tynes, 2009). Other parents make house rules about when the Internet may be used or insist that the computer be located in a central area of the house so that they may monitor what is being looked at by their teen (Tynes, 2009). Social networking sites have also been in the center of concern for many parents because of safety concerns and/or risks (Tynes, 2009). Other parents just simply do not want their children staring at the computer too long. The risks and dangers of teen Internet usage are constantly flooding television shows, newscasts, and magazines, always warning parents to educate parents on teen Internet behaviors (Tynes, 2009).

Sharing inappropriate information or disclosing “too much information” is another concern that many adults have about teens that participate in social networking online (DeSouza & Dick, 2008). In a recent study done on teens and their MySpace participation, it was estimated that at least 65% of teens who had a MySpace account had very personal information on their profile pages (DeSouza & Dick, 2008). In a recent study done on teens and their MySpace participation, it was estimated that at least 65% of teens who had a MySpace account had very personal information on their profile pages (DeSouza & Dick, 2008). This personal information included where they live, their phone number and email addresses, where they attend school, where they work, and a number of things that they enjoy doing in their spare time (DeSouza & Dick, 2008). Also, many teens, especially females, posted information about their sexual behavior and their alcohol and substance use (DeSouza & Dick, 2008). On the other side of the issue, there are other adults and many professionals, including teachers and school faculty, who encourage the use of social networking sites like Facebook because they allow students to connect with one another and discuss school related issues (Alexander & Salas, 2008). Teens can form online communities in order to plan for a project, have group discussions about class material, or use the SNS as a way to keep in contact when a student has been absent and needs to be updated on current academic information (Alexander & Salas, 2008). In response to the question of how much time that adolescents are spending on social network websites, is significant to note that there other parents who are in favor of these sites (Bryant, SandersJackson, & Smallwoood, 2006). Some parents are concerned about their teen’s social lives and are grateful that they may have an outlet for their potential depression and loneliness (Bryant, SandersJackson, & Smallwood, 2006). In a study completed in 2006, almost 35% of parents of adolescents reported that they feel that communication with others, in any form, is better than having no communication at all, and therefore are fully supportive of their child’s Internet use (Bryant, SandersJackson, & Smallwood, 2006). What is the purpose of students in creating SN accounts? (Awake ,2011.)Social networking site can be addictive “After just few days of having an account, I couldn’t stop looking .Students can just spent their hours through pictures and post instead of studying. It consume your time, privacy, reputation, friendship and time. Students become more engaged because they get a sense of being connected to something real. It’s not just learning for the sake of learning. It feels real to them. They enjoy the fact that their instructors are using a tool that they use. Social media is slowing replacing the old versions of communication. Social networks arguably provide a mix of creative expression and group work through tasks like contributing to a blog, designing websites, uploading video presentations, and creating Facebook pages for class projects. Katie Lepi has offered a range of recent examples of successful social media in practice, from a high school using Twitter to communicate with their principal, to another school that has built an alumni database, through to a middle school in the U.S. that uses blogs, whiteboard, and texting, while employing apps to monitor late arrivals.

Students are experiencing the world through more than just books and assignments; they are learning and adapting to the world using a relatively new form of communication. In a world where connections are important, graduates are coming into the workplace with a lot to offer. Connections Social media networks are designed for the purpose of communal connections. Today’s students are accessing Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram to connect and share with those around them. One of the most interesting things about social media is that users can interact and engage with each other solely through a Web presence, perhaps never even meeting in person. Web engagement Whether they are sharing personal pictures, links to other sites or even commenting on someone’s post, students engage, stretching beyond social interaction purposes alone. Students use social media day in and day out to interact with their peers and even teachers about class-related subjects. In a world where online engagement is important for businesses, these students are becoming experts at developing a sense of Internet presence. Not only do they know how to interact with others on the internet, they know how to use basic and even complex functions in order to do so. Knowledge Social media users share among themselves day in and day out, giving and receiving information at rapid speeds. This information is more than funny cat videos; they share views and opinions; tips, tricks, and even DIY projects; and, among students, helpful information for classes. Their ability to assess, analyze, retain and share information is skyrocketing and they often don’t even realize they’re developing these skills. Only people born before the Internet was invented are likely to understand the magnitude of this new style of communication. A survey released in February 2012 and conducted by Western Oregon University’s dean of Library and Media Services, Allen W. McKiel, Ph.D., suggests that four in 10 students use social media for study purposes. Seven in 10 students are either very likely (22 percent) or somewhat likely (47.2 percent) to use social networking sites as a medium to connect with other students and classmates about academic interest. In this survey, slightly less than 60 percent of students share research information with their peers through social media sites. Among that 60 percent is Ryan Foley, hotel and restaurant management freshman, who said, “(Social media is) also convenient for students to be able to post class relevant material for others to take notes on or have class-relevant discussions via private messages or discussion threads.” Students who use social media as a tool for organizing study groups and online study sessions are on the rise; but they are 54.7 percent less likely to contact people of authority, such as professors or teaching assistants through these social networks.

Despite students utilizing social media as a form of studying, others use it to help them cope with finals in other ways as well. According to Vitak (2008), there are some reasons why an individual uses a social networking site. The first reason is for them to meet strangers and become friends with them. This type of relationship is what we call a weak interpersonal relationship. The majority of respondents of her research paper (57%) said they were initially introduced to those “friends” through mutual friends, which increases the likelihood of such relationships developing into strong ties. On the other hand, responses to a separate question overwhelmingly support the hypothesis. While a significant portion or respondents said they have at least a few online-online friends, 85% said they do not communicate with the majority of their online-only friends, and just one respondent said that he/she considered those friends as a strong tie. Through social networking sites like facebook, the user tends to maintain his weak interpersonal relationship with his online friends because of an easy communication. He can use private messaging, chat rooms, and other method of communicating provided by the website. On the otherhand, a strong interpersonal relationship with his offline friends needs time and effort to be maintained. Distance between two users that can change an offline relationship into online relationship is also a reason why an individual uses SNSs. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of respondents said the majority of their friends have a Facebook account, which suggests that many students use the site to stay in touch with their offline friends. Keeping in touch with friends remains the primary reason for site usage across both years in school and gender. Furthermore, approximately one-third (31%) of respondents with friends who do not have a Facebook account say they would be closer to those friends if they were on the site, and 87% of respondents said they had never experienced negative consequences in their offline relationships due to content in their Facebook profiles, which suggests that most respondents benefit from using the site. With the use of private messaging and chat rooms of this site, students can communicate and maintain a healthy relationship with their friends from far places with ease that takes only a few seconds to complete it. Why students join social networking? Social networks have come a long way since the implementation of the idea several years ago. Social networking sites such as Friendster, Facebook and MySpace all had a big part in making social networks what they are today. They have all evolved since then and become something more than what they were back then. Now you can do so much more with a social network than just meet people and send messages. You can create photo albums, add videos, listen to your favorite music, and find old friends and so much more. Even the profile pages have evolved. Many social networks let you change the colors of your profile and even add backgrounds and change the layout. 1. Meet New People

This is the main reason social networks were created, so people can meet and find new friends. On just about every social networking site you can browse the network and meet new people. You can find people of every kind from all over the world. Or you can just focus on meeting certain types of new friends. Find friends in a certain niche or make as many friends as you can. How you do it is up to you. Everyone had their own way of making online friends.

2. Find Old Friends You've probably lost contact with someone in your life. Now's your chance to find them again. Could be a friend from high school, someone you used to work with, or just about anyone. Using social networking sites you can type in the name of your friends and find them, if they're on that site. More of your friends are on sites like MySpace and Facebook than you realize. Join up, create a profile and start your search. When you create your profile, don't forget to mention all the schools you went to so your friends can find you too. 3. Chat the Day Away Most social networks have forums. This is where you can post your thoughts, questions and opinions. It's also where you can communicate with a group of friends that all have the same interest or problem. There's usually a variety of forums to choose from. Which forum you post in all depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking to discuss a certain topic, then you would post in the forum that's set up for that particular topic. If you're looking for help with something then you'd post in the support forum. Maybe you're just looking for a discussion to get into, browse around and find something you like, then join in. 4. Join Interest Groups Many social networks offer groups. If they don't have a group you like, you can usually create one of your own. Groups are just that, groups of people. They all joined the group because they all had something in common. There can be groups on anything. Maybe you have a child with autism and you want to talk to other people who have children with autism, join a group. Then you can talk to other people and also get news and alerts about autism. If there isn't already a group on the network, create one. 5. Blog for Your Friends and Family Almost every social network offers you a blog. Here you can write about any number of things. Keep friends updated on your life or write about your concerns and accomplishments. A blog can be as personal, or impersonal, as you want it to be.

When you add photos to your blog you take it to a whole other level. People love to see what they're reading about, that's why newspapers hire photographers. The way your blog looks can be changed too. 6. Create Photo Albums and Share Photos Add all your photos (On MySpace: On Facebook) and break them into albums. Not all social networks offer photo albums, but many do. Sometimes the social network will only let you add a certain number of photos to your profile. Some will only let you create one photo album. If photo albums are important to you then you'll need to shop around a little to find a social network that lets you add whole photo albums. Photo albums are a great asset to your social network profile. People love to look at photos. They may stay on your profile, or come back later, just to look through your photos. It's also a good idea if you have family that is far away and you want them to be able to see your family photos. Some social networks even offer the ability for you to turn your photo album into a slideshow. 7. Add Videos There are tons of videos on MySpaceTV that you can add to your MySpace profile. They're not the only social network with videos though, and they're not the only social network that lets you add videos from other sites either. Browse through all the videos and add a couple to your profile. Your friends will love you for it. 8. Add Your Own Videos If you like creating your own videos, some social networks will let you add your own videos to the network. Any social network with their own video library will let you upload your own videos. Some other social networks will just let you upload your video to your profile. 9. Add Music Some social networks let you add music, some don't. Music is a tough subject because if you add music under copyright, without consent from the music's owner, you could end up in a lot of trouble. That's why sites like MySpace only let you add music to your profile that's been created and added by other MySpace members. Add your favorite music from a music library on the social network. That way you can be sure you have permission to use it. Then your friends can listen and enjoy. Even create your own music wish list. 10. Add Your Own Music If you have a band or just like creating your own music you can sometimes create a band site and upload your own music. I know MySpace offers this feature, I'm not sure about other social networks. You'll even be given a special profile page for your music to live.

11. Create Your Own Style Colors, layouts, backgrounds and more can be changed on many social networks. Facebook does not offer this, but MySpace does. MySpace has even added a profile editor that lets you design your MySpace profile any want you want it. There are themes and backgrounds that you can choose from and add too. On top of changing your layout you can also make a few other changes to make your profile better.

They're not the only social network that offers profile design though. Several of them do. Often you can change the layout of the parts of your profile and the colors, if nothing else. There are even ways to create your own profile layout. With a little tweaking or your profile you can even change the way your profile appears. Adding a few small avatars can add to the look of your profile too. Add all kinds of cool toys and apps to your profile to make it more fun for you and your readers (For MySpace: For Facebook) 12. Get Advice Whether it's on the forum, in a group or in a niche network, you can often find the advice you need on a social network. There are groups, forums and even whole social networks on just about every subject, so you're bound to find what you need. Let's say you're looking for advice on a condition you just learned you had. Look around, I'll be there's a social network full of people just waiting to help you. If there's not, create your own. 13. Help Others Maybe you have some advice to offer to someone else. Join a social network on that topic and answer questions. Talk to other people who are going through the same thing you're going through, or already went through. 14. Belong Almost everyone wants to feel wanted or needed, or they just want to belong. Join a social network and create your own circle of friends. Before you know it, you'll belong. Then you'll wonder how you ever lived without them. Who Uses SNSs? Fully 85.2% of respondents report using one or more SNSs. More than half (56.8%) report using SNSs daily and another 22.7% report using them weekly or several times per week. As expected, student age is the most powerful predictor as to whether a respondent uses SNSs. Other demographic information ECAR collects—gender, on-campus versus off-campus residence, part- time versus full-time status, class standing, and student major—do not show meaningful differences once age is considered,

and the same holds true for the institutional characteristics of Carnegie classification, institution size, and public versus private status. For the past three years, ECAR has also kept longitudinal data about some SNS usage. From the 2006 survey to the 2008 survey, an elapsed time of just two years, the 44 institutions that participated in all three years’ surveys had a decrease in respondents who never use SNSs, from 25.2% to 11.2%. But the biggest change is in how many respondents now use an SNS on a daily basis, increasing from about one-third in 2006 to almost two-thirds in 2008. The bottom line is, SNS usage has increased, and dramatically so. To what extent will growth of SNS usage continue? In 2007, e-Marketer reported that 37% of all Internet users aged 18 and older (or 72 million people) used SNSs at least once a month and that 70% of all U.S. teens (12 to17 years old) did so. They further estimate that SNS usage will continue to increase in 2008, with nearly 44% of adult Internet users and 77% of teen Internet users predicted to visit an SNS at least once a month.

Gender Differences and Internet Use When reviewing the literature related to gender and adolescents, results are mixed as to which group spends more time on the Internet (Lin & Subrahmanyam, 2007) Studies have shown that boys have been online more than girls in previous decades because of earlier forms of technology such as video or computer games (Lin & Subrahmanyam, 2007). Girls have reported that they use the Internet for things like chatting and downloading music (Giles & Price, 2008). Because of this, one may hypothesize that girls will be more likely to be attracted to social networking sites and other online social groups (Giles & Price, 2008). According to most research done on the topic, the amount of teenage girls and boys who are communication on these social networks are equally divided (BondsRaacke & Raacke, 2008). Research has shown that though girls and boys are both likely to have a SNS account, the reasons for the accounts may vary based on gender (Bonds-Raacke & Raacke, 2008). For girls, social networking sites are primarily places to reinforce preexisting friendships; for boys, the networks also provide opportunities for flirting and making new friends (Bonds-Raacke & Raacke, 2008) Girls are also more likely than boys to post sexually explicit pictures of themselves, and to talk about sexual activity in public forums (Rafferty, 2009). However, boys are more likely to create an account simply because they are trying to meet a significant other, or because they are already in a relationship with someone who has requested them to join (Bonds-Raacke & Raacke, 2008). Adolescent girls are also more likely than boys to share personal information about their daily lives (Merten & Williams, 2009). Results of a recent study involving Facebook, MySpace, and Xanga showed that though most teenagers aged 13-17 used these sites for fun and positive reasons, 55% of girls shared personal stories about depression, anxiety, and relationship problems (Merten & Williams, 2009). Only 15% of boys shared any personal information besides their hobbies, interests, and friendships (Merten & Williams, 2009). This study also showed that adolescents use SNSs when dealing with a death of a peer, and use forums and member profiles to help their grieving process (Merten & Williams, 2009).

In a recent study, it was shown that adolescent boys seem to benefit more from Internet use and communication technology than girls do (Peter & Valkenburg, 2009). This was hypothesized because boys tend to have more difficulty expressing their thoughts and emotions face-to face with others than girls do (Peter & Valkenburg, 2009). As previously mentioned, the early stages of social networking included web technology such as AIM, which helped many adolescents “chat” with others on the computer instead of in person (Peter & Valkenburg, 2009). The amount of teenagers, both male and female, participating on social networking on SNSs is staggering, and this may explain why certain problems arise from these sites that have became a major problem in today’s society. Peer Pressure According to recent research about social networking sites and Internet usage by adolescents, social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace have become so popular that many high school students will get an account even if they do not want to (Peter, Schouten, & Valkenburg, 2006). This shows that joining a SNS signifies more than just going on a website; it is way of “fitting in” with peers, just like many other types of groups in high school (Peter, Schouten, & Valkenburg, 2006). In fact, SNSs may be predictors of self esteem and well-being in adolescence, and they have become a fundamental role in adolescent life (Peter, Schouten, & Valkenburg, 2006). As one teen stated in a research study by Dr. Danah Boyd at Berkeley University: “If you’re not on MySpace, you don’t exist” (Boyd, 2007, 1) Which SNSs Are Used? SNSs are extremely popular among undergraduates, and Facebook, with its origin in higher education, is clearly the SNS of choice. Of the 85.2% of respondents who use SNSs, 9 out of 10 use Facebook. The ECAR data suggest that there are no significant gender differences in the use of the SNSs listed in the survey, with one exception: Females are slightly more likely to use MySpace (51.9%) than males (42.2%). Eszter Hargittai, in a recent study of college students at the University of Illinois, also found that female college students were more likely to use MySpace but that there were not significant differences between men and women for use of Facebook, Xanga, or Friendster. ECAR’s data show that slightly fewer than half of respondents use MySpace (48.3%). This is well below the figure reported by other sources for SNS use across all age groups, suggesting that college students have distinctive SNS usage patterns. Hitwise, an online usage research firm, reports that MySpace is still by far the most popular SNS among U.S. users, accounting for 72.7% of all U.S. SNS visits for May 2008. Facebook ranks second with just 16.2% of visits. Indeed, traditional-age undergraduates participating in the focus groups indicated they associate MySpace with high school. And at the other end of the Next Generation age range, among our respondents who were aged 25 and older, 72.7% reported using MySpace, greater than the rate of Facebook use and close to the Hitwise finding. Even controlling for age, use of Facebook and MySpace differs significantly on the basis of Carnegie classification. At doctoral, bachelor’s, and master’s institutions, respondents use Facebook (92.5%) more than MySpace (45.2%); the reverse is true at associate’s institutions, where only 58.6% use Facebook and 81.5% use MySpace. This may reflect institutional culture, or possibly varying student demographics at these institutions. For example, Hargittai also found that Hispanic undergraduates are more likely than white /Caucasian students to use MySpace, and that Asian or Asian American students are less likely to use MySpace and more likely to use Xanga and Friendster. Further, students whose

parents have lower levels of schooling are more likely to be MySpace users, whereas students whose parents have higher levels of education are more likely to be Facebook users. The less popular SNSs in Table 6-1 are more often used by older students. Seniors (4.1%), closer to entering the workforce, make more use of LinkedIn than do freshmen (0.5%). In fact, a survey by the Institute for Corporate Productivity found that professionals most often used LinkedIn, followed by Yahoo! 360 and MySpace. Also, given the growing number of SNSs available, it makes sense that 8.9% of respondents say they use an SNS “other” than those specifically identified in the ECAR list. Profiles, Friends, and Groups Students generally focus their SNS activities on a limited number of sites. In fact, almost all SNS users frequent just one or two sites (91.3%). And of those who say they use exactly two SNSs, 88.1% report that these sites are Facebook and MySpace. Age does not seem to be a major factor in how many SNSs a respondent uses, although those who use three or more SNSs are somewhat more likely to be older respondents. Perhaps younger respondents have little reason to extend use beyond Facebook and MySpace, whereas older students’ benefit by adding a more specialized SNS such as LinkedIn for professional reasons. To what extent do students use the most basic features of SNSs—profiles, friends, and groups? With respect to SNS profiles, the data suggest that the most common practice is to maintain one profile per SNS; for 4 out of 5 SNS users (80.6%), the number of profiles they report having is the same as the number of sites they report using. Only 11.2% of respondents say they have more profiles than the number of SNSs they use. Interestingly, respondents 25 years and older have stronger representation at the extremes, either having no profiles or having three or more profiles. This aligns with the earlier finding that older students are somewhat more likely to use more sites. SNS friends are an entirely different matter. Almost 3 in 10 respondents (28.4%) say they have more than 300 SNS friends, and another 43.1% have 101 to 300 friends. Social networking researchers Nicole Ellison, Charles Steinfield, and Cliff Lampe report that having SNS friends facilitates creating and maintaining a large number of “weak ties”—people we are not particularly close to, such as friends of friends. They further suggest that keeping these “weak ties” (on Facebook) may be associated with higher levels of bridging social capital, which encompasses practical benefits such as receiving new information, ideas, and opportunities. Younger students appear much more facile in this regard. Among our respondents, half of Next Generation SNS users (18 to 24 years old) report having more than 200 friends; half of SNS users 30 years old and older report having 25 or fewer friends on SNSs. Active participation in SNS groups that help people with shared interests keep in touch is associated with age among our respondents, though not as dramatically as SNS use itself. Overall, about 45% of respondents in every age group actively participate in one to five groups. Younger students are more likely to participate in more than five groups, and older students are more likely to participate in no groups at all. Not surprisingly, respondents with more friends participate in more groups. Of respondents with 25 or fewer SNS friends, only 5.8% participate in more than five groups; of respondents with more than 300 SNS friends, 38.0% participate in more than five groups. Student comments mentioned using SNSs for a diverse set of group activities. One student said, “SNSs have become measurably more important for my activist groups during my college career.”

Once created, SNS profiles appear to be fairly stable. Most respondents (80.7%) indicate that they change an SNS profile monthly or less often. About one in five respondents changes an SNS profile weekly or more often (19.4%). Here again, age matters, even within the Next Generation: 27.4% of 18and 19-year-olds change their profiles weekly or more often, compared with 15.3% of those just a bit older (20 to 24 years old).

How SNSs Are Used For ECAR survey respondents, a primary use of SNSs is communicating and sharing with friends. Of the 13 uses ECAR asked about, virtually all respondents report using SNSs to stay in touch with friends; two-thirds report using SNSs to share photos, music, and other works (females more so than males); and about half report using SNSs to invite friends to events and as a way to find out more about people. This distribution of responses is consistent with both focus group and written comments from students. About 15% of written comments mentioned SNSs, and three common themes emerged about the benefits of SNSs: enabling people to stay in touch, facilitating meeting new people, and providing a vehicle for getting noticed. (The sidebar “SNSs: Students’ Choice for Getting and Staying in Touch” provides example comments.) Precollege students, as well, show similar usage. In a 2007 Pew study, 91% of teens reported using SNSs for staying in touch with people they already know as friends and see a lot, and 82% reported staying in touch with friends they know but rarely see in person. SNSs do not seem to be so much about making friends of people students have never met in person (16.8%) or about finding someone to date (4.9%). Males are more likely to use SNSs to find someone to date (8.2%) than females (3.0%). Other research supports this finding. Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe report that users are significantly more likely to report using Facebook to connect with others with whom they share an existing offline connection—either an existing friend, a classmate, someone living near them, or someone they met socially—than to use the site to meet new people. With SNS use itself and participation in groups, age is the driving factor in the way SNSs are used. Younger respondents are significantly more engaged in the six most common SNS uses. The less common SNS uses show similar use patterns across age groups. The one exception is using SNSs for professional activities, which occurs more often for older respondents. Older respondents (aged 25 and older) are also much more likely to use the SNS LinkedIn (14.7%) than younger respondents (3.5%). Perhaps most interesting to colleges and universities is the finding that half of SNS respondents (49.7%) have integrated SNSs into their academic life as a mechanism to communicate with classmates about course- related topics, a finding consistent with the research reported in the study Introduction. It’s fast, convenient, and offers privacy.” Females are more likely to communicate with classmates about course-related topics (54.8%) than males (41.1%). Only 5.5%, however, extend their use of SNSs to communication with instructors about courserelated matters. This corroborates both survey and focus group comments from students, which often carry a message that SNSs should remain in the realm of students’ personal lives. One student stated emphatically, “Social networking websites are exactly that: social networking websites. If a professor ever tried to use Facebook or MySpace as a means to give class materials or for anything other than

social networking with students, I’d file an official complaint. Please do not even attempt to use Facebook or MySpace as teaching tools. This would end in disaster.” On the other hand, a number of students were positive about instructor involvement in SNSs. One example was, “I think it would be a great idea for professors to create groups their students could join on sites such as Facebook. It would be great for discussions.” Another student’s comment hints that participation by teaching assistants might feel like less of an intrusion than that by professors: “Facebook keeps me in touch with my TAs and people from my classes. This makes it easier to get things cleared up and questions answered, as far as class work goes. Plus it is just really fun.” The data show two other interesting characteristics about those who do engage SNSs to communicate with instructors: ◆ They are more likely to use SNSs for professional activities (37.9%) than others (10.1%). ◆ They are more likely to already communicate with classmates about course- related topics (89.6%) than others (47.4%). This suggests that as increasing numbers of SNS users become comfortable with and practiced in using SNSs to communicate with classmates about course-related topics or in a professional context, communicating with instructors about course-related topics via SNSs may increase. Hours on SNSs When ECAR interviewed students in focus groups in 2007, students often said that they spent a lot of time on SNSs when they should be studying or doing other things. So, when students were asked in this year’s study how many hours they spent on SNSs, ECAR expected more hours of use than were reported. More than half (55.8%) report spending only 5 hours or less per week on all SNSs used. Another quarter of respondents (26.9%) spend 6 to 10 hours per week. The average is 7.3 hours per week, roughly an hour a day, and the median is 5 hours per week.11 A 2007 Michigan State University study reported comparable findings, with students spending an average of 7.4 hours per week using Facebook, an increase of about an hour per week from the time spent a year earlier. At the extreme, there is a group of SNS users (2.0%) who indicate spending more than 30 hours per week on SNSs, with females as likely to do so as males. Some of this extreme use may be due to respondents’ having SNSs open in the background and considering that to be active use of the site. Again, younger students are the most avid users of SNSs, even within the Next Generation. Although 26.1% of 18- and 19-year-olds spend more than 10 hours per week on SNSs, only 12.1% of those just a bit older (20 to 24 years old) do so. Again this year, students in focus groups and in survey comments spoke to the time-consuming nature of SNSs.

Those who spend more time online using SNSs show greater use of SNSs in specific areas: ◆ They have more friends and participate in more groups on SNSs. ◆ They change their SNS profiles more often. ◆ They report more SNS uses. ◆ They are more likely to reveal their e-mail address or IM screen name.

Effects of Social Networking Widespread use of media among freshman college students may compromise academic performance. A new research study finds that widespread use of media among freshman college students may compromise academic performance. The study is one of the first to explore mechanisms of media effects on academic outcomes. Investigators determined that use of media — from texting to chatting on cell phones to posting status updates on Facebook — may lower grades for freshman female students. Given the widespread acceptance of social media, researchers recommend for professors to integrate social media into their classrooms and to provide counseling on the need for students to take breaks from media immersion. Researchers determined that freshmen women spend nearly half their day — 12 hours — engaged in some form of media use, particularly texting, music, the Internet and social networking. Investigators discovered that media use was generally associated with lower grade point averages (GPAs) and other negative academic outcomes. However, there were two exceptions as newspaper reading and listening to music were actually linked to a positive academic performance. The research findings, reported online by the journal Emerging Adulthood, offer new insights into media use in early adulthood. Experts say that college is a time when many young people are living independently for the first time and have significant freedom from parental monitoring. Social networking affects the following: Teachers There is already evidence that teachers are using social media as part of teaching strategies, with the aim of encouraging students to view social networks as less of a pleasurable distraction, and more as something that can be used in projects and for personal expression in a medium they prefer. Steven Anderson has recently proposed a comprehensive set of general approaches to integrating social media into the classroom, and focuses on the need to carefully review existing teaching strategies and understandings of social media before making changes. Some possible strategies for teachers to use social media have been outlined by Adam Renfro who emphasizes the cost effectiveness of using free social networks and the value of incorporating “real-world experiences into your classroom,” as well as the ability to encourage collaboration between students. Renfro notes several examples of where different social networks can be combined, from a specialized Twitter account for students to post comments on class projects and news stories using

hashtags to creating a class Facebook page. In addition, Renfro points to YouTube as a way to both create new teaching material, and to spread videos across different social networking sites. School and Students Perhaps the key benefit emphasized across studies of social media in schools is the way that using these networks provides creativity and real-world experience. Students that use social media from an early age learn to view it as more than just a distraction, and as something that they use to learn and produce content in a setting that they are familiar with and challenged by. In 2010, Sarah Kessler made a strong argument for schools using social media with students from a young age, suggesting that schools that ban it end up failing to encourage responsibility and understanding of its positives. Kessler also argues that students become more engaged through producing online content read by more than just a teacher. In this way, Kessler argues that gaining online collaboration and networking skills can feed into future employability, where students have experience of working together on projects. Students It’s important, then, to view social media as something that is not going away, and that should be used productively, rather than devalued in schools. Doing so can mean that students moving into the workplace know how to use social media as an important tool, rather than a distraction. Indeed, Jack Wallen suggests that social networking in work can actually boost productivity through business pages, Twitter feeds, and LinkedIn profiles that allow workers to stay in touch with professional networks. As a result, it’s important that schools find ways to integrate social media into and beyond the classroom to build future professional skills. Pros and Cons of Social Networking PROs Social networking help students do better at school. 59% of students with access to the Internet report that they use social networking sites to discuss educational topics and 50% use the sites to talk about school assignments. After George Middle School in Portland, OR introduced a social media program to engage students grades went up by 50%, chronic absenteeism went down by 33%, and 20% of students school-wide voluntarily completed extracredit assignments. Social networking sites allow people to improve their relationships and make new friends. 70% of adult social networking users visit the sites to connect with friends and family, and increased online communication strengthens relationships. 52% of teens using social media report that using the sites has helped their relationships with friends, 88% report that social media helps them stay in touch with friends they cannot see regularly, 69% report getting to know students at their school better, and 57% make new friends.

Social networking offer teachers a platform for communication with students outside the classroom.

More than 80% of US college and university faculty use social media; more than 50% use it for teaching; and 30% for communicating with students. Educators from around the world interact with each other and bring guest teachers, librarians, authors, and experts into class via social networks like Twitter and social networking tools like Skype. Social networking designed for contact between students, teachers, and parents, reached over ten million users on Sep. 11, 2012. CONs Students who are heavy social media users tend to have lower grades. Students who use social media had an average GPA of 3.06 while non-users had an average GPA of 3.82 and students who used social networking sites while studying scored 20% lower on tests. College students’ grades dropped 0.12 points for every 93 minutes above the average 106 minutes spent on Facebook per day. Two-thirds of teachers believe that social media does more to distract students than to help academically. Social networking entices students to waste time. 40% of 8 to 18 year olds spend 54 minutes a day on social media sites. 36% of student surveyed listed social networking as the "biggest waste of time," above fantasy sports (25%), watching TV (23%), and shopping (9%). When alerted to a new social networking site activity, like a new tweet or Facebook message, users take 20 to 25 minutes on average to return to the original task. In 30% of cases, it took two hours to fully return attention to the original task. 42% of American Internet users play games like Farmville or Mafia Wars on social networking sites. Social networking enables cheating on school assignments. Students in California, New York City, and Houston posted photos of standardized tests to social media sites, allowing students who had not yet taken the tests to see the questions (and potentially find answers) ahead of time. The SAT has had similar problems with students posting parts of the exam to social media. Social media can facilitate inappropriate student-teacher relationships. The Texas Education Agency opened 156 cases about "inappropriate relationships" between educators and students in the 2011-2012 school year; 86 cases were reported in 2007-2008 and education experts blame the rise of social media for the increase in cases. Social media allows for unsupervised interactions between students and teachers, which can easily escalate into sexual or otherwise inappropriate relationships. Social Networking and Academics Though there have been many social, economic, and environmental factors that have added to the pressure of high school students in the past ten years, the drop-out rate for students is still a major national problem (Bowen, 2008). Current statistics show that high school students in the United States are under increased pressure due to higher academic standards in many parts of the country, and it has become more important than ever for educators to encourage graduation and further education (Bowen, 2008). However, with more and more adolescents being preoccupied with social networking sites and technological social lives, how will this affect their studies? It is estimated that even those

students who do graduate high school, one out of three does not have possess the knowledge and skills that would lead him or her to the next level, such as college or an advanced trade school (Bowen, 2008). The top academic areas that many school professionals are concerned about are English (ELA) and advanced literacy (Williams, 2008). The current generations of teens live in a fast-paced chronological world with many different types of communication happening all at the same time. For example, he or she may be on the computer on a SNS, while also talking on the phone, sending instant messages to a friend, and emailing someone else all at the same time (Williams, 2008). While there may be some advantages to this, such as the teen learning how to type faster and multi-task many things at once, there may also be a breakdown in much of that communication (Williams, 2008). Literacy has also taken a dive in the past decade, which has caused many educators to question what can be done to help students improve their reading, writing, speaking, and thinking- all of the most basic skills for a successful future (Wise, 2009). As one researcher stated, “Literacy is, in reality, the cornerstone of student achievement, for any student, in any grade” (Wise, 2009, 373). The question that many school professionals have with regards to communication is whether or not a high school student is able to follow school curriculum in subjects like English or Language Arts (Williams, 2008). Also, will it be possible to teach them without the use of multi-tasking and using new forms of technology? Problems in School Social networking sites, as well as other new forms of communication technology, are also a concern to many school professionals because of the level of distraction they create within the school (Greenfield & Subrahmanyam, 2008). Even though many schools have created many strict rules that forbid the use of handheld technology during school or that block certain social networking websites, many adolescents are still able to connect during school hours as they please (Greenfield & Subrahmanyam, 2008). This has caused distractions during instruction time and has had a negative impact on the learning environment. Parental Involvement Parent- child conflicts have also become more of an issue since the sudden escalation of online social networking (Greenfield & Subrahmanyam, 2008). Research has shown that children who have a strong sense of communication and closeness with one (or more) parent or guardian have a better chance at academic success (Greenfield & Subrahmanyam, 2008). With adolescents hooked on the Internet and other forms of technology and their language changing with new acronyms and code words that can only be learned through this technology, the gap between parents and children has gotten larger (Greenfield & Subrahmanyam, 2008). Many parents do not understand their teenagers, and cannot find a way to relate to their virtual worlds. This, in turn, causes distress in the household and may ultimately lead to a barrier between parent, child, and communication about school work and grades (Greenfield & Subrahmanyam, 2008). Benefits of Social Networking Though many arguments can be made about the possible risks of adolescent social networking, it is important to point out the benefits of these websites as well. Many schools have started to use these sites to promote education, keep students up to date with assignments, and offer help to those in need (Boyd, 2007). In general, the Internet and social networking sites can be a positive influence on

adolescents. Social networking sites provide an outlet for teens to express themselves in their own unique ways (Boyd, 2007). In addition, they serve both as a meeting place for teens to interact with other like-minded people and as showplaces for a teen’s artistic and musical abilities (Boyd, 2007). Finally, high school students use these sites as tools to obtain information and resources for graduation preparation and future planning. For example, students applying for college visit profiles of that college’s students to view pictures and read blogs of past students to determine whether the college would be a good fit (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). Social Networking and Study Habits Study habit is important in achieving goals in life. It is the key to learning. It is said that everyone cannot be brilliant but everyone can learn how to study effectively. Even highly intelligent student failed due to inefficient work and lack of knowledge on how to study effectively. Aristotle, a famous philosopher once quote, “excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”(Felisilda 2012) (Boyd, 2006.)In educational institutions, success is measured by study habits, or how well a student meets standards set out by local government and the institution itself. As career competition grows ever fiercer in the working world, the importance of students doing well in school has caught the attention of parents, legislators and government education departments alike. Therefore, when the term “low” is integrated with the term “study habits”, it is the inability to acquire particular grades on examinations that indicates the individuals’ mastery of the content, and skills in applying learned knowledge to specific circumstances. (Angat) according to her study it is natural for young Filipinos to fall in love with Facebook. “They also need to develop good study habits first.” There is also the possibility of children being exposed to dangerous individuals online. “Children can be very trusting and vulnerable.” It can distract students from their studies. There is also no censorship or filtering on Facebook; it can easily become a venue for gossip, backbiting and cyber-bullying. (Cruz)More and more Filipinos are going online and forming their social networks and here are the numbers that show this reality. Filipinos are seventh among all Asians in terms of internet usage. Internet World Stats says the Philippines has 24 million internet users, as of June 2009. There are now 12,528,400 Filipinos using Facebook, or nearly 14 percent of the country’s population. The numbers continue to go up. No wonder, Facebook is the country’s most popular website, according to Alexa. comScore reports the Philippines is the most engaged in social networking. Especially, the students who much engage in internet rather than studying. (Dr. Garcia)Filipino students in now days tend to be more reliant on gadgets and search engines even when doing home works. On my research 48% loss of bonding time on real face to face interaction with family and friends, while 27% loss of privacy and security, 20% suffered from emotional disturbance are 5 %. Impact of the internet on education caught both educators and practitioner’s attention. The fusion of study and internet sites opened the doors for positive and negative results. The effect of social networking on the students study habits results in different ranges. Many studies show different findings about the students who use social networking sites. Justification of the Study

The research of Garcia “Social Networking and Its Impact on Filipino Youth”, stressed that the students in now a days tend to be more reliant on gadgets and search engine even when doing home works. According to his findings social networking site has a big impact on our education. (Kirschnera and Karpinskib , 2004) A new study says that students who are on Facebook while studying or doing homework wind up getting 20 percent lower grades than students who don't have the social networking site in visual range, or even running in the background on their computers or mobile phones. Kirschnera told the Daily Mail that his team studied 219 U.S. university students between ages 19 and 54, and found that Facebook users had a typical grade point average of 3.06, while "non-users" had an average GPA of 3.82. The youth use social networking sites as a means of interaction, socializing, and for purely entertainment purposes. Although many people don’t think of it, social networking sites harbor many unsafe elements and many people are concerned about some major problems that they contain, which includes education and poor study habits. Here the researchers present facts that social networking sites do gravely affect the study habits of users. According to Aryn Karpinski’s study of about 219 students, 148 Facebook users had a full grade point lower than those who don’t have Facebook. People that didn’t use Facebook reported that they study about 11-15 hours and those who had a Facebook account only studied 1-5 hours per week. “Our study shows people who spend more time on Facebook spend less time on their academic aspect and relationships. Many students have been blaming various social networking sites for their steady decrease in grade point averages. This emergent phenomenon aroused us to look into social networking sites and why they affect fellow students’ study habits. (Fowler and Christakis, 2009) “Our brains haven’t changed, our real world social networks haven’t changed for the most part,” Why, just this week we learned that Facebook use can lower grades by 20 percent. That's the latest on a list of studies that includes how Facebook can cause health problems, destroy future job opportunities, and whip up jealousy and blah blah blah. And now, here's another one that tells us Facebook users are either totally conceited or serious self-haters. (Monin, Dweck ,Gross and Jordan 2008) Facebook has a notorious reputation for helping students procrastinate. But recent Stanford research suggests that social networking sites are toxic to more than just the academic wellbeing of students. Stanford professors Benoit Monin, Carol Dweck and James Gross and doctoral student Alex Jordan found in their December paper that underestimating the unhappiness of others correlates with loneliness. Modern Internet-based social networking grew out of experiments conducted by SixDegrees.com in 1997 (Bicen and Cavus, 2010). Since then, the number of SNSs has multiplied; the resulting numbers of subscribers growing exponentially. With a membership that doubles every 6 months, Boyd and Ellison (2008) conclude that Facebook as the most popular and fastest growing social network has literally “tipped SNSs into mainstream culture.” Confirming this, Roblyer et al. (2010) point out that 93% of teenage Internet users between 12 and 17 years are active social network members. Lenhart et al. (2007) also found that, as teenagers move into social networking, their use of other Internet technologies such as email and instant messaging (IM) rapidly declines. SNS popularity among the young consumers is driven by the fact that social networks provide users with more flexibility and freedom to express themselves in ways that they could not possibly achieve in person (Roblyer et al., 2010). The Effects of Social Networking to Study Habits; according to the profile of the students

Age Behavoir Gender According to http://pewinternet.org/Commentary/2012/March/Pew-Internet-Social-Networking-full-detail.aspx Pew Internet: Social Networking by Joanna Brenner Feb 14, 2013

Women have been significantly more likely to use social networking sites than men since 2009. In December 2012, 71% of women were users of social networking sites, compared with 62% of men. Between February 2005 and August 2006, the use of social networking sites among young adult internet users ages 18-29 jumped from 9% to 49%. Social networking site use by age group, over time:

Socio economic status Year level Theories in relation to social networking and study habits of students Social Learning Theory Case Example: In Facebook, a person can be notified on the latest updates and status of each of his/her network of friends. Through this observation, new learning and discoveries are being acquired. Peer Pressure Theory Case Example: In Facebook, a user can write a note or a blog, and has the option whether to comment on and/or like a certain post. This mechanism encourages peer pressure online.

Social Cognitive Theory

Local Literature and Studies According to http://www.philstar.com/business/2013/03/12/918801/study-social-networks-new-haven-cybercrime Study: Social networks a new haven for cybercrime By Tam Noda (philstar.com) | Updated March 12, 2013 - 2:13pm

MANILA, Philippines -- Social networking sites are becoming more and more prone to online attacks as users continue to grow by the day. In 2011, Filipinos using the Internet number to about 33.6 million people, representing an Internet penetration rate of 33 percent. In 2016, the penetration rate is expected to rise to 59 percent. According to http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/talkofthetown/view/20090221-190300/Top-10-online-social-networksTop 10 online social networks Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 23:50:00 02/21/2009

This is a list of the top 10 social networks but the order can vary, depending on the source of the information. This list, however, will give you an idea about the top social networking websites being visited by people worldwide. Facebook. A fast-growing social networking website, it recently surpassed MySpace in terms of subscribers. In terms of number of visits (1.2 billion in January 2009 alone), this website is No. 1. MySpace. This website attracts music lovers. From indie bands to professional artists, you can find them here. But since it?s older than Facebook, this website is fast slipping in the ranking. To date, it has more than 250 million registered users. Twitter. This microblogging, social networking service allows people to send friends 140-character messages, similar to what we can send via our mobile phone?s SMS feature. If we?re going to look at the numbers from compete.com, 54 million people worldwide visit this website every month. Flixster. A social network site for movie lovers. Enough said. Also a fast-growing site that has over 53 million visitors a month. Linkedin. People joke that this website is the most formal and ?boring? social network out there because it targets professionals wanting to connect with other professionals. But based on compete.com, it has been getting 42 million visitors every month. This is a social network for businesses, too. Tagged. Tagged you?re it. No, not really but next time you get a spam invitation from tagged.com, then perhaps you?re one of the 39 million monthly visitors to this social networking website. Classmates.com. It is the first and oldest social networking website for students. It is still getting about 35 million visitors a month.

hi5. This is popular in Angola, Portugal, Cyprus, Romania, Thailand, Central Africa and Latin America. And it?s open to users 13 years old and older. This website has over 9 million visitors and about 80 million registered users. Friendster. Did you know that a large number of Friendster users are Filipinos? Yes, this social networking website, which has more than 7 million monthly visitors, has over 90 million registered users. It?s popular in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and of course, the Philippines. Orkut. Google?s own social networking website is popular in Brazil, Paraguay, India, Pakistan and Estonia. It has over 67 million registered users and about 5 million monthly visitors. Internet Use in the Philippines According to http://wapor.unl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Labucay.pdf Iremae D. Labucay Internet Use in the Philippines August 2011

Who are online? About one in every five (19%) of Filipino adults go online to access the Internet or the World Wide Web or send and receive email, as of the March 2011 Social Weather Survey. This is equivalent to about 10.7 million out of the projected 55.3 million Filipino adult populations. From 2006 to 2008, the percentage of computer users who use the Internet has ranged from 11% to 12%. It slightly increased to 13% in 2009, and then to 16% in 2010. Internet use is highest in NCR, and decreases the farther from the capital region. Twenty-nine percent in NCR use the Internet, much higher than the 12% in Mindanao who are also Internet users. By locale, one-fourth of the urban dwellers use the Internet, twice more than the Internet users in rural areas. Two-fifths of those from middle-to-upper classes ABC are Internet users, nearly twice more than those from poor class D and six times more than those from very poor class E who are also Internet users. Internet use increases with education, with about half of the college graduates who use the Internet, compared to only about a tenth of those with primary education or less who also use the Internet. Men and women are equally likely to use the Internet. Age, however, is a strong predictor of Internet use, such that Internet use is highest among the youth and decreases with age. Majority of those aged 18-24 use the Internet, compared to only 2% of those aged 55 and above who also use the Internet. Internet use is higher among the unmarried people than those who are married. One-third of unmarried adults are Internet users, nearly three times more than the percentage of married people who also use the Internet. Internet use is higher among those who have access to computer and Internet connection in the household. Three-fifths of adults with computer in the household are Internet users, compared to only 15% of those without computers. Three-fourths of those with computers with Internet connection at home naturally use the Internet, compared to only 16% of those without Internet connection at home. How often they go online? Thirty percent of Filipino Internet users are frequent users, or those who use the Internet

at least once a day. Majority use the Internet less often, with 33% who are moderate users (using the Internet at least once per week), and 37% who are infrequent users (using the Internet less than once per week). Internet users who are from higher socio-economic class, who are college graduates, and have computer and Internet connection in the household tend to use the Internet more frequently than other socio-demographic groups. About three-fifths of classes ABC are frequent users, in contrast to majorities of classes D and E who use the internet less often. Two-fifths of the college graduates are frequent users, compared to about one-fourth of the less educated who are also daily users. About half of Internet users in households who own computers and 54% of those in households with Internet connection are also frequent users. Although area, locale, gender, age were found to be not statistically associated with frequency of Internet use, some patterns on the proportions of daily users were noticeable. Internet users from Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao are more likely than those in Balance Luzon to use the Internet frequently. Urban users are less likely than rural users to use the Internet on a daily basis. About half of those aged 35-44 and 55 and above are daily Internet users. What do they do online? The research tested for nine Internet activities that are classified into five broad categories based on the typology used by the Internet in Britain report: 1) social networking (online social networking like Facebook, use Twitter); 2) information seeking or learning (to get news, get health information); 3) creativity and production (blogging, share own photos, videos and stories); 4) entertainment and leisure (play online games), and 5) commercial activity (online purchasing). Social networking is by far the single most popular online activity among adult Filipino Internet users, with about nine in ten (89%) have ever used online social networking sites like Facebook or Friendster. This is followed in distant second by 44% who share things that they themselves created like photos, videos or artwork (presumably through online social networking sites), and 40% to get news or information on current events. Thirty-seven percent of Internet users go online to get general health information, another 37% play online games, and 28% go online to get news on sensitive health topics. Least popular online activities are: using Twitter, online purchasing and blogging. Social networking. Online social networking is dominant across socio-demographic groups. In particular, the percentages of Internet users who do online social networking are higher in Balance Luzon, in urban areas, and those who had more than elementary education. In comparison, Twitter use is only slightly more popular in Metro Manila and Mindanao, among those from classes ABC, and those with more education. None of those who had some elementary education or less use Twitter. Information seeking/Learning. Three-fifths (62%) of Internet users in Mindanao go online to get news. Internet users from middle-to-upper classes ABC are more likely than those from lower socioeconomic class to go online to either get news or get health information. Women are also more likely than men to go online for news or health information. Education is also a significant factor – none of those who had some elementary education or less go online to get news or health information, compared to pluralities of those with more education that are doing these. By age, 70% of those aged 55 and above go online for news, while there are slightly more of the middle aged 35-44 who go online for information on health in general and sensitive health information.

Creativity and production. About half of Internet users from Metro Manila and Balance Luzon use the Internet to share things that they created themselves, compared to about one-third in Visayas and Mindanao who are doing the same. The percentages of those who share online the things they created personally created are higher among middle-to-upper classes ABC than those from classes D and E, as well as among women than men. By age, about half of the 18-24 years old and 57% of those aged 35-44 use the Internet to share things they personally created. Entertainment and leisure. Playing online games is more popular among Internet users in Visayas and Mindanao, with about half of users who say they are doing this. Playing online games is also more popular among those from lower classes and younger people. Half of Internet users from class E play online games, compared to 37% among class D and 29% among classes ABC. About two-fifths of Internet users aged 18-24 and 25-34 also use the Internet to play online games. None of the Internet users aged 55 and above have ever played online games. Philippine data also show that ownership of computer in the household and Internet connection at home are strongly associated with Internet use, such that those who have computers and Internet connection at home are, on average, four to five times more likely to use the Internet for whatever purposes. Those with computers and Internet connection at home also tend to use the Internet more frequently (at least daily) than those who do not have access to computers and home Internet connection. Filipino men and women are to be equally likely to use the Internet, supporting the findings of Jackson, Ervin, Gardner, & Schmitt (2001) and Smith et al (2008). It should be noted, however, that other studies show contradictory findings, reporting higher Internet use among men than women (Bimber, 2000; Choi, 2008; Gardner & Oswald, 2001; Howard, Rainie and Jones, 2001; Norris, 2001; Ono & Zavodny, 2003). Nevertheless, it has been also been predicted by that the gender divides in Internet use are likely to narrow down as the educational and income status of women improve. The youth are the key drivers of Internet use in the Philippines, such that while half of those aged 18-24 are Internet users, a small 2% of those aged 55 and above also use the Internet. This pattern clearly validates stereotype of younger individuals as bigger Internet user than the older individuals (Chinn & Fairlie, 2004; Choi, 2008; Gardner & Oswald, 2001; Howard, Rainie & Jones, 2001; Norris, 2001; Smith et al, 2008) As to the patterns of what Filipino Internet users do online, online social networking is largely the most popular online activity, and its usage hardly vary across socio-demographic groups. In contrast, use of Twitter is still low, but its usage is more popular among those from higher socio-economic classes and the more educated. The Philippine results are consistent with previous research that younger Internet users tend to do more fun activities such as playing online games while older people do more information seeking/learning activities particularly getting news on current events (Howard Rainie & Jones, 2002; Madden & Rainie, 2003). Contrary to findings in the United States, however, Filipino women are more likely than the men to use the Internet as an information utility, particularly getting news on current events and health information. The more educated and those from higher socio-economic classes also tend to go online to access news and health information. Bimber, B. (2000). Measuring the gender gap on the Internet. Social Science Quarterly, 81(3), 868-876

Choi, A. (2008). Internet in Singapore: Findings from a national survey. Observatorio (OBS) Journal, 6, 151-168. doi: 16465954/ERC123483/2008 151 Gardner, J., & Oswald, A. (2001). Internet use: The digital divide. Retrieved from www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/faculty/oswald/bsago12.pdf Chinn, M. D., & Fairlie, R.W. (2004). The determinants of the global digital divide: A crosscountry analysis of computer and Internet penetration. Oxford Economic Papers, 59(1). Howard, P. N., Rainie, L., & Jones, S. (2002). Days and Nights on the Internet. In B. Wellman & C. Haythornthwaite (Eds.), The Internet in Everyday Life. Oxford: Blackwell Madden, M., & Rainie, L. (2003). America's online pursuits: The changing picture of who's online and what they do. Retrieved from Pew Internet & American Life Project http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2003/PIP_Online_Pursuits_Final.PDF.PDF Ono, H., and Zavodny, M. (2003). Gender and the Internet. Social Science Quarterly 84(1):111-121.

Filipino internet users most engaged in social media: survey According to http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/04/08/10/filipino-internet-users-most-engaged-social-media-survey Filipino internet users most engaged in social media: survey abs-cbnNEWS.com Posted at 04/08/2010 6:18 PM | Updated as of 04/09/2010 2:02 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino internet users are the most engaged in social networking online, a leading online audience measurement service said Wednesday. In a press statement, comScore said the Philippines has the highest social networking usage in the AsiaPacificregion with more than 90% of its entire Web population visiting a social networking site during the month of February 2010, followed by Australia (89.6% penetration) and Indonesia (88.6% penetration). "Social networkers in the Philippines also showed the highest level of engagement on social networking sites averaging 5.5 hours per visitor in February, with visitors frequenting the social networking category an average of 26 times during the month," the comScore statement said citing its latest report on social networking activity in the region. "Strong engagement was also exhibited by Internet users in Indonesia (5.4 hours per visitor and 22 visits per visitor), Australia (3.8 hours per visitor and 20 visits per visitor) and Malaysia (nearly 3.8 hours per visitor and 22 visits per visitor)," the statement added. On average, 50.8 % of the total online population in the region visited a social networking site in February 2010, equivalent to a total of 240.3 million visitors. Facebook.com, meanwhile is the top social networking site 7 Asia-Pacific markets, including the Philippines. "Local players led in Japan (Mixi.jp) and South Korea (CyWorld), while Google-owned Orkut ranked as the top social networking site in India and Yahoo!’s Wretch.cc led in Taiwan," the statement said. "While social networking continues to be one of the most popular and fastest growing Web activities in the world, its dynamics in the Asia-Pacific region exhibit significantly more individual market

differentiation than in other global regions," comScore executive vice president for Asia Pacific Will Hodgman said. "In some markets, such as the Philippines, Australia and Indonesia, social networking is one of the most popular Web activities reaching nearly 90 percent of the entire Internet population, while other markets report less PC-based social networking penetration, which can often be attributed to the high propensity to engage in social networking via mobile devices in these markets," it added. comScore, Inc. is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. The report is based on data from comScore's World Metrix service. The countries included in the report are Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, South Korea, Vietnam, and Japan.