Facebook acted as part of the 'social glue' helping first-year students settle into university life, though most students did not see it as crucial to overcoming loneliness.¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2008 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? A majority of respondents reported Facebook was important or very important in helping them form friendships and settle into university. → Clare Madge 2008 q2 i? Most respondents disagreed that they would be lonely without Facebook, indicating face-to-face relationships remained important. → Clare Madge 2008 (2)

Evidence¶

Clare Madge 2008¶

Clare Madge, Julia Meek, Jane Wellens, Tristram Hooley. (2008). Facebook, social integration and informal learning at University: 'It is more for socialising and talking to friends about work than for actually doing work'. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439880902923606

q2 · i? · associational · r1

Survey data on social integration show "21 per cent of respondents felt Facebook had been very important in helping them to form friendships at University" and a further 52 per cent important or quite important; 43 per cent agreed and 13 per cent strongly agreed it helped them settle in.

"21 per cent of respondents felt Facebook had been very important in helping them to form friendships at University and a further 52 percent said it had been important or quite important."

Clare Madge 2008 (2)¶

Clare Madge, Julia Meek, Jane Wellens, Tristram Hooley. (2008). Facebook, social integration and informal learning at University: 'It is more for socialising and talking to friends about work than for actually doing work'. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439880902923606

q2 · i? · associational · r1

Responses to the statement "Without Facebook I would be lonely": "only 3 per cent of respondents strongly agreed" and 16 per cent agreed, while 35 per cent disagreed and 29 per cent strongly disagreed, suggesting Facebook was not crucial against loneliness.

"only 3 per cent of respondents strongly agreed, 16 per cent agreed, 17 per cent neither agreed nor disagreed, 35 per cent disagreed and 29 per cent strongly disagreed."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• First-year students specifically joined Facebook before university registration to make new face-to-face friends at university while keeping in touch with friends and family from home. — related
• First-year students used Facebook mainly for social purposes and only secondarily for informal student-to-student academic purposes, rarely for formal teaching. — related
• A quarter of first-year students reported their academic work was often or very often adversely affected by time spent on Facebook. — related
• Students' online and offline social worlds coexisted and were used in different ways for different relationship types, rather than one simply converting into the other. — related
• Students were generally opposed to tutors contacting them via Facebook for formal teaching, though a majority saw some role for departmental and module-level administrative uses. — related
• Facebook use in higher education is associated with increased teacher-student and student-student interaction — related