This week we took a critical look at how new media helps to form and in some cases strengthen groups. The concept of group formation is seen excessively on college campuses and is most noticeable among first year students.
Prior to entering college, I was not a user of Facebook. However, that changed when I decided on what school I was going to attend in the fall. I created a profile to see whom I would be living with, who my roommate was, and what types of kids would be attending Catholic University with me that fall. Immediately after forming a profile and joining the Catholic network I was invited to “Class of 2010” groups than eventually to “Spellman Hall” the dorm I would be living in. Through that group, I was able to see and ‘friend’ people I would be sharing a dorm with as well as to form a basic bond and connection with my peers.
This is an example how new media channels existing motivation. I was obviously curious what my roommate and neighbors were like as well as those who would also occupy my freshman year dorm. Without the medium, in his case Facebook, none of this would have been possible. I would have had to wait until I attended school to see what my roommate looked like or get a feeling about why type of students attended Catholic. Via Facebook, I was apart of a community before I stepped foot onto campus.
We mentioned in class, “new technology has enabled new kinds of group forming.” Continuing with the example of Facebook, this is noted in networks people belong to. You would not join another school’s network or the network of a company that you did not work for. It would not only be pointless but a social taboo. By joining networks one is associated with, it helps people to link up and to form a common bond. Social networking sites have revolutionized the ability of group formation. It is quick as well as easy. Although new media is not always seen as good and certainly has its flaws it is undeniable that it forms an instant group among participants.
I absolutely agree. I never had used Facebook before college. I only made a profile when my friend from home forced me to the summer after high school graduation. It was really cool being able to see all the people from our class and adding them to our friend's page. By doing so, we felt like we were "meeting" them, which I believed made the whole enetering college faze a little more easy. That way, you were motivated to keep adding friends because you knew at one point or another, you would be able to create an online bond. I think the transition to college would have been more stressful if Facebook didn't exist at the time we entered.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think that it not only made students more comfortable to enter school. It also gave them the tools to create multiple weak ties that eventually would turn into strong ties.
ReplyDeleteFacebook made things a little easier as far as meeting people in the first few weeks at school for sure. I can remember researching my roommate and trying to gauge if she was weird or normal based on her Facebook pictures and what here interests were.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Ellen! I did the same thing. I remember having all these people friend me and looking at the groups. I feel like in every class, there was one girl who dominated all the groups and friends and in real life, she turned out to be kind of weird.
ReplyDelete