Social networking and employability study

A study of social networking found significant correlations between profile quality and academic performance, hirability, and job performance.
Kleumper, D., Rosen, P, & Mossholder, K. (2012). Social networking websites, personality ratings, and the organizational context: More than meets the eye? Journal of Applied Social Psychology. doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2011.00881.x
http://http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2011.00881.x/pdf

Social media and plagiarism

Social media sites are sources of plagiarism in student work

Social-networking and homework-help sites are becoming increasingly popular sources of plagiarism in student papers, according to a new analysis by Turnitin.com, a website that checks a database and the Internet for prior published work. The findings reflect the rising use of online sources by students, as well as highlight a need for students to develop better research skills and learn how to determine which sites are legitimate and how to source them.

Turnitin. (2011). Plagiarism and the web. Oakland, CA: Turnitin.

https://turnitin.com/static/resources/documentation/turnitin/company/Turnitin_Whitepaper_Plagiarism_Web.pdf?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonv67NZKXonjHpfsX57u4kW662lMI/0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4JTsN0dvycMRAVFZl5nQVIG/KUeIlH9%2BY%3D

Social networking survey

Survey research confirms that interest in harnessing social networking for educational purposes is high. A national survey of 1,200 principals, teachers and librarians found that most agreed that social networking sites can help educators share information and resources, create professional learning communities and improve schoolwide communications with students and staff.
EdWeb. (2010). School Principals and Social Networking in Education: Practices, Policies and Realities in 2010.
http://www.mchdata.com/PDFs/PrincipalsandSocialNetworkingReport.pdf

Email use study

A 2010 report on digital trends found that Innovative social messaging platforms like Facebook and Twitter as well mobile communications continue to dominate online time, and web email begins its steady decline. Total web email usage was down 8% in the past year (YOY), with a whopping 59% decline in use among people between the ages of 12-17. Young people are simply spending more time social networking than anything else, up 3.8% to 14.% of all time spent online. In contrast, use of web -based email lost 1.5% at a total of 11% of time spent.
ComScore. (2010). The 2010 U.S. Digital Year in Review.
http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Presentations_Whitepapers/2011/2010_US_Digital_Year_in_Review

Connected Teens research

Trends in social media and cloud computing are often examined through the lens of younger users and broadband users, who have consistently been more actively engaged online when compared with other groups. This presentation highlights new research on teens, young adults and social media use while also identifying a new leading edge group that deserves the same attention: those who own four or more internet-connected devices.
Pew Internet & American Life Project
http://pewinternet.org/Presentations/2010/Jun/Four-or-More--The-New-Demographic.aspx

Social networking study

What Kids Learn from Social Networking
Researchers have documented the educational benefits of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Students observed for the study listed technology skills as the top lesson learned, followed by creativity, being open to new or diverse views and communication skills.
Greenhow, C. (2007). What Teacher Education Needs to Know about Web 2.0: Preparing New
Teachers in the 21st Century. In C. Crawford, D. A. Willis, R. Carlsen, I. Gibson, K.
McFerrin, J. Price & R. Weber (Eds.), Society for Information Technology and Teacher
Education International Conference 2007 (pp. 1989-1992). San Antonio, Texas, USA:
AACE.
Video of research: http://www1.umn.edu/urelate/newsservice/Multimedia_Videos/social_network.htm

Blogging study

Blogging for sanity
Blogging can help you feel less isolated, more connected to a community, and more satisfied with your friendships, both online and face-to-face, Australian research has found. The study found that after two months of regular blogging, people felt they had better social support and friendship networks than those who did not blog.
Baker, J., & Moore, S. (2008). Distress, Coping, and Blogging: Comparing New Myspace Users by Their Intention to Blog. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 11(1): 81-85.

Teen communication study

Teens still value face-to-face communication
Despite the popularity of social-networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, 31% of teens say they have actual face time with friends every day. Nearly 40 percent of teens say they talk to friends on a traditional wired phone every day, and 35 percent say they do so on cell phones. Fewer teens say they communicate daily using IMing or other social-networking sites.
Pew Internet and American Life Project. (2007). Teens and social media. Washington, DC: Author.
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/230/report_display.asp

Social networking study

Social networking and libraries
The practice of using a social network to establish and enhance relationships based on some common ground—shared interests, related skills, or a common geographic location—is as old as human societies, but social networking has flourished due to the ease of connecting on the Web. This OCLC membership report, Sharing, Privacy, and Trust in Our Networked World, explores this web of social participation and cooperation on the internet and provides insights into the values and social-networking habits of library users.
OCLC. (2007). Sharing, Privacy and Trust in Our Networked World. Dublin, OH: OCLC.
http://www.oclc.org/news/releases/200678.htm

Teen telecommunications study

Teens and online stranger contact
A new report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project suggests that 32% of teens who go online have been contacted by someone with no connection to them or their friends, and 7% say they have felt scared or uncomfortable as a result of contact by an online stranger. Several behaviors are associated with high levels of online stranger contact, including social networking profile ownership, posting photos online, and using social networking sites to flirt.
Pew Internet and American Life Project. (2007). Teens and online stranger contact. Washington, DC: Author.
http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Stranger_Contact_Data_Memo.pdf

Drug education study

Study: Peer-based anti-drug programs more effective
High-risk teens are about 15% less likely to use drugs when they participate in peer-led substance abuse prevention programs than in a similar educator-led class, according a study by researchers at the University of Southern California. "Generally, our study emphasizes the power of peers," said Thomas Valente, a USC assistant professor of preventive medicine. "We found that social network-tailored prevention curricula can be very successful in achieving long-term behavioral changes in teenagers."
Valente, T. (2007). Peer acceleration: effects of a social network tailored substance abuse prevention program among high-risk adolescents. Addiction,102(11),1804-1815.

Social networking study

Study: MySpace, Facebook increasingly split along class lines: MySpace draws younger teens from lower-income families, while Facebook attracts more college and college-prep users, a new University of California-Berkeley report finds.
http://www.brandrepublic.com/Digital/News/666623/MySpace-Facebook-emphasise-socio-economic-divide/

Social networking study

It's official: Teens love MySpace and Facebook
MySpace and Facebook are favorite destinations of U.S. Internet users ages 12 to 17, according to a report by NielsenNetRatings. According to August numbers, 80% of Facebook users also logged time at MySpace.
Mediaweek (9/20/2007)

Social networking study

School Boards: Net Dangers Overrated; Bring Social Networks to School
Ninety-six percent of 9- to 17-year-olds with Internet access say they use social-networking sites, such as MySpace, Facebook and Webkinz, and nearly half say they discuss schoolwork. "There is no doubt that these online teen hangouts are having a huge influence on how kids today are creatively thinking and behaving," said Anne L. Bryant, executive director of the National School Boards Association, which released the survey. The study concludes that the Internet isn't as dangerous as people think, and teachers should let students use social networks at school. At least half the adolescents who exchange messages for hours with their friends online or by cell phone spend part of the time discussing their schoolwork.
(http://www.nsba.org/site/docs/41400/41340.pdf)