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UTILIZING FACEBOOK TO ARTICULATE SELF AND SUSTAIN COMMUNITY: EXPERIENCES OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ON A MIDWESTERN CAMPUS Dissertation Submitted to The School of Education and Allied Professions of the UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership By Karen Abney Korn, B.A., M.A. UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON Dayton, Ohio December, 2012 i UTILIZING FACEBOOK TO ARTICULATE SELF AND SUSTAIN COMMUNITY: EXPERIENCES OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ON A MIDWESTERN CAMPUS Name: Abney Korn, Karen Lynne APPROVED BY: Darla J. Twale, Ph.D. Committee Chair Arthur J. Jipson, Ph.D. Committee Member Carolyn S. Ridenour, Ed.D. Committee Member Molly A. Schaller, Ph.D. Committee Member Kevin R. Kelly, Ph.D. Dean ii Copyright by Karen Abney Korn All rights reserved 2012 iii ABSTRACT UTILIZING FACEBOOK TO ARTICULATE SELF AND SUSTAIN COMMUNITY: EXPERIENCES OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ON A MIDWESTERN CAMPUS Name: Abney Korn, Karen Lynne University of Dayton Advisor: Dr. Darla J. Twale Facebook is an online social networking site that connects people through intentionally constructed virtual social relationships. It has been an integral component in campus life throughout the world since 2006, extending outside of higher education networks and into mainstream society (Moral & Sandhu, 2009). Facebook has changed the landscape of human social, political and romantic interactions. This research explores the impact this online platform has on college students, by studying the behaviors, experiences, and perspectives of undergraduate students at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. The primary question guiding this research is: How do college students use Facebook to fulfill social needs in the creation and maintenance of community while attending college? The methodology used in this qualitative study is a blend of netography (Kozinets, 2010) and face-to-face individual interviews. It examines their iv cultures as mediated and articulated online and in person. The data consists of an analysis of transcribed interviews, email communications, and the interactive content of student Facebook users’ Facebook Walls. The results indicate that students use Facebook for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to: fostering and maintaining community; nurturing relationships; making public statements and protecting privacy; establishing a personal identity; building social capital; establishing cultural competency; coping; and critiquing their peers and campus. The data is situated within literature on student development, and recommendations for faculty and campus personnel are offered. v AKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my mother, Kay W. Korn, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your dedication, love and accommodations during the long process of completing this degree. Your assistance cannot be described in words. To my father, Walter C. Korn, I thank you for all of your financial assistance and good foresight throughout my very long educational journey. To my children, Maxwell Thomas Abney, Matty Ann Abney, and Samuel David Abney, I thank you for your patience and respect during the long hours I had to spend away from you studying and writing. May you too fulfill your dreams and reach your own educational potential. To my partner, Patrick M. Lang, I thank you for your support, assistance and love. Without this, I would have faltered and never completed this project. To my ex-husband, Thomas B. Abney, I thank you for never doubting I could someday finish my doctorate and for respecting and supporting me during this long process. To my Doctoral committee, Dr. Carolyn Ridenour, Dr. Molly Schaller, and Dr. Arthur Jipson, I thank you for your support, comments and confidence in me. These werI inspirational and invaluable, and I thank you for giving of your time and magnificent minds in this process. vi And finally, I thank Dr. Darla Twale for being, perhaps, the very best dissertation Chair, friend, mentor, and supporter a doctoral student could ever ask for. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………………..…iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………………………………………………………..…….vi LIST OF IMAGES AND MAPS ………………………………………………………...xi LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………………………………xii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………...1 Statement of the Problem……………………………………………...1 How Facebook Works……………………………………….………...2 The Problem…………………………………………………….……..3 Research Questions……………………………………………………7 Assumptions………………………………………………………...…8 Scope and Limitations………………………………...……………….9 Rationale……………………………………………………………..13 Justification…………………………………………………………..15 Significance of the Problem………………………………………….16 Operational Definitions…………………………………………...….16 Summary…………………………………………………………..…20 CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE………………………………...……22 Community………………………………………………………..…23 General Understandings of Community…………………24 Online Community……………………………………....28 Student Culture and Community………………………...31 Higher Education Learning Communities……………….33 Networks……………………………………………………………..36 Review of Previous Studies………………………………………….38 Theoretical Foundations……………………………………………...42 Summary……………………………………………………………..46 viii CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY………………………………………………………48 Research Design……………………………………………………...48 Participants…………………………………………………………...50 Context……………………………………………………………….54 Data Collection………………………………………………………56 Interviews…………………………………………………………….58 Researcher Observation……………………………………………...59 Data Analysis………………………………………………………...64 Trustworthiness………………………………………………………68 Credibility………………………………………………..68 Transferability……………………………………………69 Dependability and Confirmability……………………….70 Researcher Role and Bias……………………………………………71 Conclusion…………………………………………………………...74 CHAPTER IV. FINDINGS……………………………………………………………….75 Community…………………………………………………………..76 Community on Campus……………………………………………...81 Qualities and Characteristics……………………………..81 Sources, Causes, and Manifestations…………………….86 Facebook……………………………………………………………..94 Foster and Maintain Community………………………...94 Nurture Existing Relationships…………………………..98 Family and close friends…………………………98 Romantic relationships………………………….100 Status: “In a Relationship”……………...100 Distance…………………………………102 Jealousy/Commitment…………………..105 Breaking up……………………………..107 Publicity and Privacy…………………………………...109 Instant messaging……………………………….110 Photographs and page contents…………………111 Too much information………………………….114 Meeting new people: hooking up, creeping and stalking………………………………………….116 Establish Personal Identity…………………………...…119 Build Social Capital…………………………….………122 Establish Cultural Competency………………………....125 Coping…………………………………………………..128 Critiquing……………………………………………….132 Facebook and Campus Experience……………………..141 Summary……………………………………………………………143 ix CHAPTER V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, REFLECTIONS ON METHODOLOGY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE AND FUTURE RESEARCH…………………………………………………………….145 Summary……………………………………………………………145 Statement of the Problem……………………………….145 Discussion and Conclusions – Student Use of Facebook…….....….146 The “Porch”: Publicity and Privacy………………….....148 Implications for practice………………………..151 Facebook as a Mediator of Class, Race, and Social Capital…………………………………..153 Implications for practice:……………………….158 Facebook as a Tool for Student Development………….160 Residence……………………………………….161 Time management………………………………163 Duration on campus…………………………….166 Implications for practice………………………..168 Facebook as Highlighting Identity and Self……………169 Implications for practice………………………..173 Facebook as Technology……………………………….175 Implications for practice………………………..179 Facebook Use as Emotional Need Fulfillment…………180 Community…………………………………..…180 Geography………………………………………183 Coping…………………………………………..184 Implications for practice………………………..186 Reflections on Methodology………………………………………..187 Limitations and Directions for the Future…………………………..192 Limitations……………………………………………...192 Directions for the Future………………………………..194 Summary…………………………………………………………....197 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………199 APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………….225 APPENDIX A – INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD APPLICATION.……………225 APPENDIX B – INFORMED CONSENT FORM…..………………………..……….235 APPENDIX C – INITIAL INTERVIEW SCHEDULE……………………..…………239 APPENDIX D – SECOND INTERVIEW SCHEDULE …………………..…………..241 x LIST OF IMAGES AND MAPS Image 1: Condescending Wonka Meme……………………………………………..…127 Image 2: Scumbag Steve Meme………………………………………………………..128 Image 3: UD Diversity Meme…………………………………………………………..134 Map 1: Themes……………………………………………………………………...….148 Image 4: The University of Dayton Commitment to Community……………………...182 xi LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Participant Demographics………………………………………………………52 Table 2: Participant Use Factors…………………………………………………………53 Table 3: Privacy Settings and Viewable Aspects of Two Researcher Facebook Accounts…………………………………………………………………………62 xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Facebook is an online social networking site that connects people through intentionally constructed virtual social relationships. It has been an integral component in campus life throughout the world since 2006, extending outside of higher education networks and into mainstream society (Moral & Sandhu, 2009). Facebook has changed the landscape of human social, political and romantic interactions. This research explores the impact this online platform has on college students, by studying the behaviors, experiences, and perspectives of undergraduate students at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. Statement of the Problem This study explores how