In this study, we examine university students’ beliefs and behaviors related to social media, identity, and boundaries in a higher education context. Findings suggest a complex and at times contradictory relationship between students and social media, in which they enjoy free access to information about and contributed by other people and freely share about themselves in a social or personal context, but are reticent to be active contributors in an academic context. Although students seek information about their instructors online, they do not believe that instructors might reciprocate. In contrast to a common assumption, they do not want to use social media in their coursework and prefer to restrict both their communication with instructors and coursework to private tools and settings.

1. Boundaries, privacy, and social
media use in higher education:
what do students think,
want and do?
Vanessa P. Dennen (@vdennen)
Kerry J. Burner
Presentation at IR14.0• October 2013 • Denver CO

2. Main Issues
Social media use in higher education
• Context
• Boundaries
• Control
• Curiosity

3. Research Questions
• What types of communications and networking
technologies do students use for school versus
personal purposes?
• What are students’ beliefs about social media use,
privacy, and boundaries in a higher education
context?

4. Method
• Online survey with closed and open ended questions
• Participants recruited via study pool at large research
university
• 147 participants – 123 female, 24 male
• Analysis:
• Frequency distributions
• Coding content of open items

5. Findings: Access & Use
• 90% own a smartphone
• 31% own a tablet
• They use these devices for:
•
•
•
•
Email – 86%
Internet searches – 89%
Social networking – 89%
Academic activities - 80%

6. Findings:
Tool Use
Tool
Text
Message
Facebook
Email
Skype
Pinterest
TwiGer
G+
Blogs
Personal
Use
100%
94%
98%
71%
63%
59%
42%
33%
School
Use
64%
41%
98%
5%
2%
32%
28%
36%

7. Findings:
Contacting Faculty
First
Choice
Email
Face
to
face
Text
message
Phone
TwiGer
Facebook
Percent
50.34%
42.86%
4.76%
1.36%
0.68%
0.34%
Overall
Rank
1
2
4
3
6
5

8. Findings:
Students & PRofs
• Look up information
• Search engines – 67%
• Facebook – 30%
• Follow professors
• Blog – 18%
• Twitter – 16%
• Become a contact
• Facebook – 37%
• Twitter – 11%
• Look for
• Course information – 94%
• Academic credentials – 76%
• Scholarly work – 24%
• Personal information – 14%
• 63% did not believe profs
would search for their
information
• “THAT IS CREEPY”

9. FINDINGS: Social
media & courses
• OK with required course social media use: 10%
• Encourage instructors to use social media: 29%
• Comfortable sharing personal info with class via
social media: 20%
• Want to connect with classmates: 43%
• Want to connect with instructor: 10%

10. FINDINGS: Online
Coursework
• Concerned about quality of work posted online: 52%
• Remove online coursework at end of course: 54%
• Instructor should be only audience for assigns: 67%
• Have learned from examples posted by other students
online: 62%

11. Discussion
• Students have some online boundary concerns and
issues
• Want to use tools in some contexts, but not others
• Want to observe, but not always be observed
• Refutes suggestion that social media use in education
will motivate and excite students

12. Extensions
• Current study considering Facebook use and
expectations
• Friends, access, and boundaries
• Impact on non-users

13. Thank you
Questions?
Contact:
vdennen@fsu.edu
@vdennen
vanessadennen.com
kburner@fsu.edu