While digital media and mobile devices provide an undeniable
practical function, communication scholars have become increasingly interested
in their social function. The Hart Study is no exception. The Hart study compared the behavioral and attitudinal outcomes of
high school students to resulted behavioral and attitudinal outcomes of
undergraduate college students. At the core
of this change is the increasingly complex notion of self-identity and
relationships. With its ability to transcend time and space, digital
communication divorces the mental self from the physical self.
As a result, “self-
identity is no longer one-dimensional and stable; rather the self exists in
multiple planes of existence” (Hart). Hart continues by stating that the
Internet and social media are in large part responsible for extending such “planes
of existence”. Through
using online profiles, media users can engage in identity-construction: building
profiles to virtually represent one’s identity. “Profile creators construct
narratives of idealized selves, and the coherence of these narratives are
ensured through a multitude of impression management features” (Hart). So
rather than a online identity that accurately reflects one’s true self, users
strategically select visual and textual data and project attitudes and
preferences consistent with how they would like to be perceived (Hart). Mobile devices, particularly
today’s “smartphones,” grant users unlimited access to their online identities.
Together, digital media and mobile media devices have the combined power to
keep media users in constant contact with their social networks.
The results of the Hart study showed that high
school students were motivated to visit Facebook to pass time. In contrast,
relationship maintenance was the most prominent motive of undergraduate college
students to visit Facebook. The amount of Facebook use, frequency of Facebook
use, satisfaction with Facebook, and attachment to Facebook were not notably
different between the high school and Undergraduate students tested. Two of The
descriptors with the biggest contrast included the duration of Facebook use and
amount of Facebook friends. In addition, undergraduate college students had
been using Facebook for a longer period than high school students, which is
something to keep in mind. Additionally, high school students had significantly
more friends on Facebook than undergraduate college students.
Hart, Michael J. "A Study on the Motives of High School and Undergraduate
College Students for using the Social Network Site Facebook." Liberty University,
2010. United States –Virginia: Dissertations
and Theses A&I: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection;ProQuest
Dissertations & Theses (PQDT).
Really interesting post. I kind of wonder whether Facebook users as a whole have trended more towards cultivating online identities versus passing time (regardless of age), and whether Facebook has been motivating one pursuit over the other with the features they've introduced and redesigns they've done over the years.
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