Effect of Socil Media on Nigeria Youth

INTHIG-00441; No of Pages 9
Internet and Higher Education xxx (2011) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Internet and Higher Education

Serious social media: On the use of social media for improving students' adjustment to college
David C. DeAndrea a, , Nicole B. Ellison b, Robert LaRose b, Charles Stein eld b, Andrew Fiore b a b

Department of Communication, Michigan State University, United States Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies & Media, Michigan State University, United States

a r t i c l e
Available online xxxx Keywords: Social media Social capital Transition to college College adjustment

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
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' rst 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 rst semester at college, even when controlling for other potent predictors. The importance of social support perceptions for college adjustment is detailed and the rami cations of the social media intervention are discussed. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Newer forms of social media differ from older, traditional broadcast media in that they enable peer-to-peer messages, as opposed to unidirectional transmission of one-to-many media content. In doing so, these tools may have the potential to reshape communication patterns among their users by enabling online communication and lowering the barriers to face-to-face interaction. This paper reports on a social media intervention intended to increase connections among incoming college students with

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