Investigating Undergraduate Social Media Use in the 21st

Century.

Adalheidur Reed

Gauging the Need for Professional Best Practices’ in

Social Media Citizenship.

WhyThe social media service monitor

Rappler reported in a recent study with

over 300 professional participants that over

90% of employers use social media to

screen potential employees (Reppler,

2011).

Lack of research gauging professional social media training

for undergraduate students.

Purpose of the StudyInsufficient evidence base

determining undergraduate job or

career loss due to being unprofessional, under-

trained, unsophisticated social media citizens

(SMC).

Adding to the existing body of knowledge of undergraduate Social Media (SM) training.

Minimize job or career loss.

Increase undergraduate awareness to the harmful effects of unprofessional,

inappropriate SM behavior.

Research Questions

Do students comprehend the possible long term and short term damage that can be levied on their

future careers because of uneducated social media postings;

and have students already damaged their future career potentials with improper social media etiquette?

Sub Questions

Sub-questions:

Do undergraduate

students consider

themselves to be professional

social media citizens?

Do undergraduate students know

what best practices in professional social media

interactions are?

Are undergraduate

students professional social media

citizens?

Can Universities intervene by creating an educational social media

tool that would educate

undergraduate students in the

best practices of professional social media behavior?

Literature Review

Social Media Educational Tool Creation

Social Media

Background

Social Media

Curriculum

Social Media

Professional Education

Social Media Educational Tool (SMET)Creation

Fall 2011 BETAMAX Version Created.•Pilot Study Testing and Need Analyzed

Spring 2012 VHS Version•Pilot Study Evaluation.

Fall 2012 Blue Ray Version•Tested SMET

Social Media Educational Tool

(Bandura, 1977 )

Social Media Educational Tool

Social Media Education

Best Practice

Individual Examples

Worst Practice

Article Examples

Training

How To

Awareness Participation

(Bandura, 1977 )

Social Media Educational Tool

Behavior

Proper Posting• Motivating

Untrained• Unsophisticated

Social Media Citizen

Improper Posting• Demotivating

Trained • Sophisticated

Social Media Citizen

(Bandura, 1977 )

Social Media Educational Tool

Professional•Positive Promotion•Professional Promotion•Communicate•Respect•Network•Collaborate•Connect

Unprofessional•Negative Promotion•Unprofessional Promotion•Racism•Nudity•Violence•Politically Incorrect•Bullying•Profanity

(Bandura, 1977 )

Damaging Future Employment?

Professional Social Media Use

Career

Job

Education

Unprofessional Social Media Use

Loss of Education•Universities use social media for background checks (Burgos, 2012).

Loss of Job•Employers use social media for background checks (Reppler, 2011).

Loss of Career

MethodsM

ixed

M

eth

od

s

Quanti

tati

ve

Experimental • Treatment• Non-Treatment

Survey• SPSS• Internal Consistency Cronbach's alpha

• Factor Analysis • Mean, Medium, Mode

Computer Log Records• Created within the Facebook Group

Qualit

ati

ve

Ethnography Qualtrics Survey • Participant Observation

• Naturalistic Observation

• Direct Observation

Written Documents• Facebook Group Interaction

Treated Participants

Participants will be made up from three course sections of 18-44 year old undergraduate students from two universities in North Texas. The main objective of the first two course sections was to teach the basics of using Microsoft Office. The main objective of the third course was to train the participants in intermediate web design.

Treated Participants Group A This web design course was made-up of 21 students and was a face to face class that met 80 min twice a week.

Prior to the first day of class students received e mailed containing this URL https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/groups/364873626914157/ for a class Facebook Group and they were asked to join.

First day class a syllabus stating that 10% of the class grade was partition in the class Facebook Group.

Students were offered 10 bonus grade points for survey participation.

Students used the Facebook Group through the fall 2012 semester as a learning management system.

Treated Participants Group BParticipants in group B will be a combination of two Learning Technology hybrid class sections; with a total of 27 students where each section met once a week for an hour and twenty minutes.

The first day of class students in two course sections were informed that class information and networking would be communicated within a Facebook group created for two class sections.

Students received e mail containing this URL https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/groups/138477459629230/ to the class Facebook Group and asked to join.

Students were offered 10 bonus grade points for what was called a social media participation; which included participation in the Facebook group participation and survey participation.

Students used the Facebook Group through the fall 2012 semester as a learning management system.

Not Treated Participants

Participants who will not treated with the social media educational tool were undergraduate students from two universities in North Texas.

Data Collection

Qualtrics Online Survey Tool• Treated Groups• Not Treated

Groups

Facebook group discussion: Professional Use.• Treated Groups

Facebook group discussion: Unprofessional Use.• Treated Groups

Anticipated Results

Treated Group• Better Social Media

Citizens.• Intermediate at social

media best practice.

Control Group• Social media professional

best practice needed.• Beginner at social media

best practice.