College Students and Social Networking

Monday, September 22, 2008 9:57

Many collegians are online daily.

Social networking is an everyday activity for the majority of college students, and the percentage of students who use the networks daily has nearly doubled in the past two years. EDUCAUSE compared social network usage at 44 colleges and universities in 2006, 2007 and 2008. It found that nearly twice as many students at these institutions use social networks every day in 2008 (59%) than did in 2006 (33%).

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Accordingly, the percentage of students who said they never use social networks has fallen from 25% in 2006 to 11% in 2008.

Much of the usage of social network sites is coming from the youngest college students. According to EDUCAUSE, 57.5% of students ages 18 and 19 use the sites at least 6 hours per week, compared with 38% of students ages 20 to 24.

Social networks are a constant presence in the lives of students—a way to check in with friends, play games and plan events. They also provide an outlet for self-expression and sharing.

Among students surveyed by Youth Trends, 79% said they used social media to catch up with friends and family. Females were more likely than males to have updated their profile in the past month, as well as to share photos or add applications to their profile page.