Interpersonal relations of Russian adolescents in social networks

Background. In the period of adolescence, friendship plays the key role for developing the adolescent personality, for determining their psychological well-being now and for further living. There is lack of data about the actual size of their online friend zone, adolescent perception of real and virtual friendship, and factual features of their relationships with different categories of users, primarily with virtual friends, who adolescents communicate only in the Internet. Objective. The quantitative research of the online circle of contacts of Russian adolescnts in social media, their perceptions of real and virtual friendship, and regular features of their communication with real friends and acquaintances, and virtual friends. Design. The survey among adolescents from Moscow, Russia, and Moscow region, Russia, was conducted (N=366, aged 13-16 years old) using the questionnaire of 43 questions about their friend list size and number of online followers; youths’ relationship with real friends and acquaintances, and virtual friends; the method of the unfinished sentences with the following content analysis aimed to investigate adolescent perception of real and virtual friendship. For comparison, we also used data of the All-Russian survey Kids Online II (N=604) conducted by the Foundation for Internet Development (2010). Results. The results show that 50% of adolescent contacts (aged 15–16) and 43% aged 13–14 outweighs the lower limit of the Dunbar number (100 social connections). Thus, they are almost equivalent to the quantity of social contact of an adult. Friend zone extension occurs due to real friends and acquaintances, and ‘unknown’ virtual friends (whom the adolescent has not seen in real life), hence raising the issue of such relationships’ quality. The results of the content analysis of adolescent answers about differences between real and virtual friendship show that real friendship is more important to them as it contains Direct interpersonal contact (tactile and visual), Emotional exchange, Trust, Co-Activities, Mutual support. Virtual friendship has been characterized through absence, significant lack and/or negative inversion (e.g. from Trust to Mistrust) of these components. Simultaneously, each second youth has virtual friend, whom he/she trusts enough to share private topics, so that such virtual friends play the role of ‘by chance companions’. Adolescents discuss with them life problems and conflicts with parents (35%), real friends and teachers (51–53%), and also their beloved ones (47%). Conclusion. The number of online social connections among adolescents exceeds the lower limit of the Dunbar range, comparing with similar indicators in adults. Expansion of the virtual circle of communication occurs both at the expense of real friends and acquaintances, and virtual friends unfamiliar to the child in everyday life, which puts the question of the quality of these relations. Virtual friends act in the role of «casual fellow travelers», because with their help adolescents satisfy the needs for intimate contact. This happens even though the children themselves are aware of the disadvantages of online communication compared to offline relationships. The phenomenon of a virtual friend, therefore, occupies one of the key places in the system of interpersonal relations of a modern adolescent and requires further study. On the whole, the phenomena of the ‘unknown friend’ holds one of the key places in the adolescnet system of relationships, thus requiring special research

Websites for booklovers as meeting places

Purpose – The study aims to report on a research project that analyzed social websites for booklovers. These sites represent a service that is promising for public libraries in their efforts to find new ways in promoting reading and literature. At the same time the growth of such sites is another example of how technological developments challenge librarianship. Many of these sites are established and run independently from the library field. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reports from a research comparing two such websites – the Norwegian Bokelskere.no and the Hungarian Moly.hu. A questionnaire was published on the two websites in mid September 2010. It was accessible for approximately 20 days. A total of 777 users filled in and returned the questionnaire. Findings – As the typical user of Moly/Bokelskere is a young, ethnic Hungarian or Norwegian, well educated, female from the bigger cities the complexity and pluralism of society is not reflected in the websites in the same way as it is in physical libraries. They are not heavy library users, and they have a relatively low trust concerning libraries in comparison with other sources of information. The sites are mainly used as information sources and not as places where one can meet with others. Although the social dimension of reading appears, it is related mainly to the family or friends and not to strangers. Research limitations/implications – It would be inaccurate to claim that the study gives a comprehensive overview on social sites for booklovers. The relatively high number of respondents from the two analyzed websites provides an extensive, but not comprehensive, sample. Self-recruitment of respondents might cause biases compared with a randomly drawn sample. Practical implications – The study on which the paper is based is a part of the PLACE project, which aims at exploring the role of public libraries as meeting places. The study generates knowledge on the potential and role of virtual meeting places that is relevant for public libraries in their efforts to adapt to a new reality. Social implications – The study generates knowledge that can be of importance for developing libraries and library policies in relation to digital meeting places. Originality/value – There are few studies analyzing literary websites for booklovers and the study contributes in developing a new research field in library and information science

Digital and traditional communication with kin: Displacement or reinforcement?

A salient question in the digital era is whether new forms of digital communication (e.g., instant messages, video calls, e-mails) have displaced or reinforced more traditional forms of communication (e.g., meeting face-to-face, contact by phone, sending letters/postcards). These opposing hypotheses, i.e., digital communication as a reinforcer versus a displacer, have attracted abundant attention among scholars; however, studies have scarcely explored these hypotheses in the context of communication among kin. Using large-scale and population-based data of 1,945 young to middle-aged (18–55 year-olds) and 2,663 older (68–73 year-olds) Finns, we tested the predictions derived from the displacement and reinforcement hypotheses in several kin dyads (parent-child, grandparent-grandchild, siblings, and aunt/uncle-niece/nephew). The results strongly supported the reinforcement hypothesis in all kin dyads, and in both younger and older adults. Associations were positive even after controlling for a wide range of potentially confounding factors. Hence, it can be concluded that digital means may reinforce rather than displace traditional forms of contact.</p

Famiglie connesse. Social Network e relazioni familiari online

La connettivit\ue0 individuale abilitata dal Web 2.0, unita alla possibilit\ue0 di essere sempre in contatto con la propria rete di contatti grazie ai Social Network Sites (SNS), come Facebook o Twitter, contribuiscono a disegnare una rete di relazioni che si sovrappone e si interseca con quella familiare, creando talvolta sinergie, talvolta attriti e frizioni. L\u2019articolo analizza lo statuto delle famiglie connesse, sia per verificare le trasformazioni in corso sul piano delle relazioni inter e intragenerazionali legate all\u2019emergere della societ\ue0 della rete, sia per mettere alla prova i paradigmi teorici con cui pensarleIndividual connectivity enabled by Web 2.0, alongside with the possibility of being always in touch with one\u2019s own relatives, friends and colleagues via SNS such as Facebook or Twitter, help to draw a network of relationships that overlaps and intersects with family relations, sometimes creating synergies, other times generating tensions and conflicts. The article analyzes the status of networked families, both to verify the ongoing transformations of inter and intra-generational bonds, and to test the theoretical paradigms for thinking about them

Plurality in the Measurement of Social Media Use and Mental Health: An Exploratory Study Among Adolescents and Young Adults

On a daily basis, individuals between 12 and 25 years of age engage with their mobile devices for many hours. Social Media Use (SMU) has important implications for the social life of younger individuals in particular. However, measuring SMU and its effects often poses challenges to researchers. In this exploratory study, we focus on some of these challenges, by addressing how plurality in the measurement and age-specific characteristics of SMU can influence its relationship with measures of subjective mental health (MH). We conducted a survey among a nationally representative sample of Dutch adolescents and young adults (N=3,669). Using these data, we show that measures of SMU show little similarity with each other, and that age-group differences underlie SMU. Similar to the small associations previously shown in social media-effects research, we also find some evidence that greater SMU associates to drops and to increases in MH. Albeit nuanced, associations between SMU and MH were found to be characterized by both linear and quadratic functions. These findings bear implications for the level of association between different measures of SMU and its theorized relationship with other dependent variables of interest in media-effects research

Parents’ Awareness on Online Predators: Cyber Grooming Deterrence

The rapid increase of information and communications technology is manifested by its tremendous positive outcomes on the economy, business, and society. However, online application use by adolescents, especially mobile technology, has caused uneasiness among parents owing to cyber grooming incidents. This study reflects on the current cyber grooming situation. Investigating the current state of online grooming and the means through which parents can ensure the online safety of their adolescents from adults offering “candy” or wanting to start a relationship is necessary. Teen behavior related scholars believe that parents play a vital role in building safe environments. We conducted a qualitative study by interviewing 19 parents with children between the ages of 13 and 17 years in an urban setting to determine the level of the parents’ awareness. Interviews were conducted based on five key components, namely, social media, unknown friends, sex education, private chats, and family time. The results present the actual situations of the parents and highlight related challenges as well as adolescents’ ignorance and vulnerability to cyber grooming. Results are mapped to three main determinants of cyber grooming, namely, parental factors, self-efficacy, and self-regulation. We conclude with insights and recommendations for parents, schools, and the government to be vigilant for online predators by increasing awareness of cyber grooming

Compartilhamento de informações no facebook : análise de conteúdo na fanpage da Universidade Federal do Paraná

Orientador : Taiane Ritta CoelhoTrabalho de Conclusão de Curso (graduação) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas, Curso de Gestão da Informação.Inclui referênciasResumo : Estudo sobre compartilhamento de informações nas Redes Sociais. Busca entender a Gestão de Conteúdos em rede social, juntamente com a Gestão da informação e do Conhecimento, que ganham cada vez mais espaço na comunidade científica. Análise realizada sobre o compartilhamento digital e Redes Sociais, bem como análise de conteúdo presente na fanpage da Universidade Federal do Paraná no Facebook. Utiliza a ferramenta Netvizz para extração dos dados e entendimento sobre os compartilhamentos de cada publicação analisada. Aborda estudos já levantados sobre a audiência na rede social estudada e a história da UFPR em seus contextos. Investiga este fenômeno que se apresenta de forma importante para estruturação de estratégias de comunicação e posicionamento em rede. Busca melhores abordagens e maneiras de tratar desta questão em rede, para diversas áreas, mas principalmente para Gestão de Conteúdo. Apresenta uma entrevista com a administradora da fanpage por fim para elucidar melhor o tema de estudo e as análises feitas

Continuous intention criteria of sns appropriation process in family context: A systematic literature review

Communication technologies such as Social Network Sites (SNSs) are increasingly being used within family settings to support and extend the family relationships. Although many previous researchers have highlighted the impact of SNSs in family environment, criteria of SNS adoption and use in family context have received little research attention. This paper highlights selected SNS appropriation process criteria in family, individual and technical perspectives in order to understand why and how the SNS is being used in family context. Using the procedure of Bandara et al. (2011), NVivo 9.0 was employed to conduct content analysis of 284 articles published between the year of 2006 until 2014. As a result, the adoption and use criteria of SNS appropriation process were identified, and has been categorized in family, individual and technical perspectives using the Family Appropriation Process of Social Network Site (FAPSNS) framework. The understanding of the criteria could assist in effective and healthy adoption and use of SNSs among family members. However, this paper is merely focusing on level 2 and level 3 of SNS appropriation process in family, individual and technical perspectives