World is a global village today. Everyone is connected to one another in thisvast network generated by internet. It illuminates the lives of thousands ofpeople by spreading knowledge internationally thereby making us globalcitizens.
The new world of socialnetworking allows free sharing of thoughts. On line social networks are createdby websites such as face book, whatsapp which have emerged as a grand in thesocial world. So how do these networksaffect our education? How do they influence the lives of students? The answershould be known. In order to find outanswers to these questions, the research had been undertaken.SOCIALNETWORKING SITES:Meaning Accordingto Oxford English Dictionary, the meaning of Social Networking is referred as,the development of social and professional contacts in order to sharing theinformation and services among people with a common interest.
But in the case of computers, the use of websites or other online technologies to communicate with people and shareinformation, resources, etc., is named as social networking sites.History Thefirst social networking site was launched in the name of classmate.com in 1995focusing on ties with former school mates. Later, Six Degrees.com came in 1997.
It allowed users to create profiles, list their friends and surf thefriends lists. From 1999 onwards, two different models of social networking thatcame in 1999 were trust based developed by Epinions.com and Friendship baseddeveloped by Jonathan Bishop and used on some regional United Kingdom sitesbetween 1999 and 2001. Orkutwas quietly launched on January 22, 2004 by Google, the search engine companywhich is now quite popular in Brazil, USA and India.
By 2005, one socialnetworking service called My space was launched and was reportedly getting morepage views than Google. In 2007,Facebook began allowing externally developed add-on applications and someapplication enabled the graphing of a users own social network to others. Varioussocial networking sites have sprung up, catering to different languages andcountries. It is estimated that thereare now over 200 social networking sites existing and emerging more socialnetworking models.
Types1. FriendshipSocial NetworkingFriendsor Friendship Social Networking is the most popular Social Networking. Peoplelove to make friends online from all around the globe and these sitesfacilitate that. These networks use avariety of methods to sustain the interest of the member by providing onlinefeatures like flirting, teasing, poking, photo sharing and most of the thingswhich make up a friendship in real life.
Example: Friendster, Myspace, Friendsreunited, Hi5.com, Joomla social network, Facebook.2. DatingSocial NetworkingDatingSocial Networking is the new mantra in the online world. This type of networking is one of the hottesttypes of Networking based on attraction towards the opposite sex. These sitesfacilitate dating especially for those who don't have the skill to propose adate in the real world.
Example:Date.com, Passions network, Date hookup, Chemistry.com.3.
BusinessSocial NetworkingBusinessSocial Networking is a tool for social network marketing. It is also referred as Corporate SocialNetworking or Professional Social Networks. These Networks help a person to advance within his or her career orindustry. Generally Business Companiesor Corporate have their own online community where in employees can interactwith each other. They can also answerquestions or queries posted by customers, which can give a person a chance toimpress his or her employer. Example:Canon, Professional Photographer Community, LinkedIn, Business Network,SixApart, LPN (Latino Professional Network), and Professional BloggingCommunity.
4. HobbiesSocial NetworkingPeopleon the Internet are involved in various activities related to their favouritehobby or pass time. Such people use theinternet to conduct research on their favourite projects or topics of interestrelated to personal hobbies. Suchlikeminded people either publish their own Website or join existing websitesrelated to their hobbies and interact with people from around the world whoshare the same passion or interest. Example: Automotive Forums, Garden Web,Music Social Network, Sports Pundit, Spout Film Lovers Community, YouTube Videosharing, Flickr.com.
5. InformationalSocial NetworkingInformationalSocial Networking Sites are those website which provide answers to people onvarious topics. For example, if someoneis looking for starting a business, one needs to have information whichinvolves a web search and it leads to the discovery of countless blogs,websites, and forums filled with people who are looking for the same kind ofinformation. These websites offerpossible answers and also offer to post a question.
Informational communities are often liked to,from businesses like banks, retailers, and other companies that are usingsocial networks as a way to interact with customers. In these social networks there is a lot of'How-To' style information and advice columns written by professionals. Example:Do-It-Yourself Community, EHow "How-To" Information, HGTV Discussion Forums,Investopedia.6.
EducationalSocial NetworkingEducationalSocial Networks are mostly meant for students, though anyone can use them. Students collaborate with other students onacademic projects, research or to interact with professors and teachers viablogs and class room forums. Educationalsocial networks are becoming extremely popular within the educational system today.Most of the colleges and universities have their personal websites wherein onlythe students of respective institutes can join. Some Alumni also have their own respective websites. Example: ePALS -connects school students from around the world to promote world peace.
GoIIT - Community for students preparing fortheir school & Board Exams. IITBombay Alumni – IIT Bombay Alumni can connect and network with each otheronline.7. NewsSocial NetworkingTheseare large content websites where members publish news, stories,commentary.
These are involved in thedissemination of community content which if left unmonitored turns into apromotional gimmick filled with advertisements and self-promotion. Example:Yahoo! Voices (earlier known as associated content), Helium, Now Public, Suite101, and Triond. EffectsOf Social Networking Sites Among College Students"Every coin has twosides and same is true of social networking as well".Negativeeffects Thenegative effects of these social networking sites overweigh that positiveones. These sites have caused somepotential harm to society. The studentsbecome victims of social networks more often than anyone else.
This is because of the reason that when theyare studying or searching their course material online, they get attracted tothese sites to kill the boredom in their study time, diverting their attentionfrom their work. Other negative sideeffects of social networking websites include the following.Ø Reduced Learning andResearch Capabilities:Studentshave started relying more on the information accessible easily on these socialnetworking sites and the web. This reduces their learning and researchcapabilities.Ø Multitasking:Studentswho get involved in activities on social media sites while studying result inreduction in their focus of attention.
This causes reduction in their academic performance, and concentrationto study well.Ø Reduction in Real HumanContact:Themore time students spend on these social media sites, the less time they willspend socializing in person with others (face to face). Thisreduces their communication skills. Theywill not be able to communicate and socialize effectively in person withothers.Ø Reducescommand over Language usage and creative writing skillsStudentsmostly use slang words or shortened forms of words on social networkingsites. They start relying on thecomputer grammar and spelling check features.
This reduced their command over the language and their creative writingskills.Ø Time WastageStudents,while searching and studying online, get attracted to using social media sitesand sometimes they forget why they are using internet. This wastes their time and sometimes studentsare not able to deliver their work in the specified time frame.Ø Low GradesStudentsget low grades in school due to lack of the desired information and writingskills.
Thus results lower academicperformance of a student.Ø Loss of Motivation inStudentsThestudent's motivational level reduces due to the use of these social networkingsites. They rely on the virtualenvironment instead of gaining practical knowledge from the real world.Ø Effect on HealthTheexcessive use of these sites affects the mental as well as physicalhealth. Students do not take their mealson time and take proper rest.
They takeexcessive amount of coffee or tea to remain active and focused which effectsnegatively on their health.PositiveEffects SocialNetworking gives youth the opportunity to express themselves freely and sharetheir identity with the world. Websiteslike Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter promotes this freedom of expression byallowing its users to customize their personal pages, associate themselves withwhat they are interested in, and post things such as messages or media thatthey like. No longer do youth or peoplein general have to hide themselves from the public, but instead, they canfinally express their true identity and be comfortable with it. Some of the common positive effects occurthrough using SNS's among college students as follows:Ø Communication andCreativityIfaffects youth simple because it gives them ability to communicate with friendsand family when they are not physically together. Thus the social Networking Sites are creatingvery positive community for youth to express themselves.
Moreover it develops the creativity in theyounger mind which is an extremely valuable skill to have.Ø SociabilitySocialNetworking Sites are make the youth to communicate others freely without anykind of partiality. This seems to be aone of the most essential social skill that requires in the society.Ø Social AwarenessUsingthe Social Networking Sites the youth can get the information regarding socialhappenings around the world with the help of their contacts or through generalreference. Then it provides an awarenessto the youth about the society functioning.Ø Byusing the Social Networking Sites the students are proud of feeling or gettingrecognized in the society as they can share their emotions to others.
Using these sites the possibility of get into common activity in which they be recognized by the community.REVIEWOF LITERATURE AnandNitika (2012, April) in her study on "Impact of Social Networking Sites in theChanging Mindset of Youth on Social Issues-A Study of Delhi-NCR Youth" pointedout that majority of the youth that is 68 percent are actively participating insocial activities and social issues through social networking sites and postingcomments on the issues. Thearticle entitled "Use of Social Networking in a Linguistically and Culturallyrich India" by Mahajan Preeti (2012) tried to look at the impact of socialnetworking sites on Indian Society through linguistic and culturalperspectives. Study says a social networking site enables us to stay connecteddespite the hindrances of distance and time. That is why their popularity and utilization has increased manifold andwill continue to increase in future. Some people make good and worthy use of it while others misuse it.
Hence, its impact on the country's social and cultural values is debatable assome Indians feel it a threat while others feel it is not. Manjunatha(2013), the researcher attempted to understand the usage of social networkingsites among the Indian College Students with the help of empirical data. Thetopic was entitled "The Usage of Social Networking Sites among the CollegeStudents in India". The important findings of this project are 80 percent ofthe Indian students spend significant amount of time on using Social NetworkingSties regularly, 8.8 percent of the student using social networking sites forthe purpose of maintain existing friends/contacts, 19.5 percent for find newfriends, 7.
4 percent for business networking, 4.9 percent for to get activepartners and 3.7 percent for dating.RESEARCHMETHODOLOGYTitleof the Study: "INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ONCOLLEGE STUDENTS"Objectivesof the Study· To find out thePersonal Profile of the Respondents.· To know the purpose ofusing social networking sites by the respondents· To study the impact ofsocial networking sites among college students ResearchDesign Researchdesign is a detailed outline of how an investigation will take place.
In this study Descriptive Research Design wasused. Descriptive research design is concerned with describing thecharacteristics of particular individual or group. The present study is also describing thesocio demographic details, purpose of using social networking sites and itsimpact among the respondents.SAMPLINGPROCEDUREUniverse Thestudy was conducted in five Arts and Science College (Aided) at Chennai. Theresearcher divided the Chennai into five major clusters based on geographical areaas 1) Central Chennai (18 Colleges), 2) North Chennai (10 Colleges), 3) SouthChennai (19 Colleges), 4) West Chennai (18 Colleges), and 5) Suburban Chennai(13 Colleges).
From the clusters the researcher had chosen five colleges onefrom each cluster using simple random lottery method. Totally, 1997 malestudents were studying in the final year comprise the universe.Samplesize Usingpower analysis, the researcher defines the sample size as 150 in numbers. Withthe help of determined sample size (150) the researcher has taken thirty (30)respondents from each college adopting disproportionate sampling procedureusing simple random compute technique. Toolsof Data Collection Theresearcher has constructed a Semi Structured Questionnaire for the purpose ofdata collection.
Methodsof Data CollectionPrimaryData PrimaryData's were collected from the respondents through interview schedule.SecondaryData SecondaryData's were collected from books, magazines. Journals and internet.Analysisof Data Theresearcher used Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) to compute thecollected data. Simple table, two way tables, Median, Quartiles, Chi-square,T-Test, and ANOVAs were used to analyse the data.
FINDINGSPersonalProfile of the Respondents· Half of the respondents(51.3%) were in the age group of 19-20 years· Nearly half of therespondents (42.0%) were studying in science courses.· More than half of therespondents (53.3%) family monthly income was between Rs.
6876 – 25000.SocialNetworking Sites Usage among the Respondents· Majority of therespondents (75.3%) were started to use the social networking sites in the ageof above 15 years.· More than one fourth ofthe respondents (36.0%) were using the social networking sites for the purposeof being touch with their old friends.· Nearly sixty percent ofthe respondents (58%) were having only one social networking profile.
· More than half of therespondents (54.7%) were stated that facebook as their favourite socialnetworking site among other sites.· Just more than onefourth of the respondents (28.7%) were replied the reason for favourite socialnetworking site is that it helps to maintain existing contacts among familymembers and friends.
· Nearly half of therespondents (41.3%) were spending between 30 minutes to 1 hour on social networking sites.· More than one fourth ofthe respondents (37.3%) were making relationship in social networking sitesbased on their personal likeness.
Impactof Social Networking Sites among the respondents· Nearly half of therespondents (44.0%) were having medium level of physical impact on socialnetworking sites.· 42.7 percent werehaving medium level of psychological impact on social networking sites.
· Just more than half ofthe respondents (52.7%) were having medium level of social impact on socialnetworking sites.· About sixty percent ofthe respondents (59.3%) were having medium level of general impact on socialnetworking sites.· Nearly half of therespondents (46.7%) were having medium level of overall impact on socialnetworking sites (physical, psychological, social and general).
Influenceof Social Networking Sites· There is no associationbetween age and purpose, impact of physical, psychological, general and overallof social networking sites.· There is an associationbetween age and social impact of social networking sites. · There is no associationbetween course of studying and impact of social networking sites.· There is no associationbetween impact of social networking sites and purpose of using socialnetworking sites, age of joining in the social networking sites and number ofsocial networking sites used. SUGGESTION· The study reveals thataround 20 percentages of the respondents were had a high physical impact.
Physical exercise to improve their physical health must be essential.· Counseling should beprovided to recover from the psychological problems due to using of socialnetworking sites.· Some of the ethical responsibilitymust be followed by the youth who are using social networking sites. They are:Ø Personusing the social networking sites should be aware about their rights and moralresponsibilities.Ø Respectthe authentication and privacy of those members that are using socialnetworking sites.Ø Oneshould follow the ethics of online identity.
Ø Createculture of disclosure.CONCLUSION Thesocial networking sites and social media has revolutionized the world bybringing us closer than ever before and making the life easier than it everwas. We can exploit this and use it fora better life, a better tomorrow. Itshould be used to connect, stay in touch easily, share views and not to wastetime on it. The growth of socialnetworking sites shows a significant change in the social and personal behaviorof internet users and also become an essential medium of communication andentertainment tool among the young adults.
Though it has started to affect the daily activities of normal humanbeings, the popularity of social networking sites is not going to reduce innear future.
