White Paper on Social Networking in Higher Education
by Munirah Muhamad

ABSTRACT

We define social network sites as web-based services that allow individuals to construct a profile within a bounded system, and interact with other users publicly with whom they share a connection.

Humans are social creatures. With rare exception, we strive to relate, converse and connect with others. Social networking promotes online communities of interests and activities that promote connections between users in a more open and robust manner than simple e-mail.

Online social networking is a trend that has drastically changed the landscape of how people connect and socialise with each other. They provide a foundation in which society reacts to new ideas through the viewpoints and opinions of others; sharing ideas and stories; finding inspiration and information relative to each particular interests, desires, and ambitions.

Social networking and education has found its circles meshed. According to a new study from Grunwald Associates LLC conducted in cooperation with the (USA) National School Boards Association, online social networking is now so deeply embedded in the lifestyles of teens that it rivals television for their attention. Further, students report that one of the most common topics of conversation on the social networking scene is education. Almost 60 percent of students who use social networking talk about education topics online and, surprisingly, more than 50 percent talk specifically about schoolwork. (Joshlyn Foreman, 2008)