ERIC Number: EJ948199
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Jan
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1096-7516
EISSN: N/A
Serious Social Media: On the Use of Social Media for Improving Students' Adjustment to College
DeAndrea, David C.; Ellison, Nicole B.; LaRose, Robert; Steinfield, Charles; Fiore, Andrew
Internet and Higher Education, v15 n1 p15-23 Jan 2012
A considerable body of research indicates that social support plays an integral role in determining students' successful adjustment to college. Unlike previous research that has evaluated face-to-face support interventions that occur during students' first semester at college, the current study reports on a student-centered social media site designed to enhance students' perceptions of social support prior to their arrival on campus. Results indicated that site usage increased students' perceptions that they would have a diverse social support network during their first semester at college, even when controlling for other potent predictors. The importance of social support perceptions for college adjustment is detailed and the ramifications of the social media intervention are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)
Descriptors: Social Support Groups, Intervention, College Freshmen, Web Sites, Electronic Publishing, Computer Uses in Education, Computer Mediated Communication, Social Networks, Technology Integration, Educational Technology, Use Studies, Student Adjustment, Program Effectiveness, Student Attitudes
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A