Colin Petit
12/5/2011
Prof Ishida
Mass Communications
Users obtaining Media Content via Facebook rather then News Related Sites
New media today has been the most prominently used source of information consumption then any other type of media. Old media is something of the past and to some extent fraying away slowly. Today there are over 800 subscribed Facebook users throughout the world where almost half of who log on at least once a day. Facebook gives the user the opportunity to form their own personal cybernetic identity online for others to see. Socioeconomic status largely contributes the amount of media use so you would have to believe around 400 million actually have constant access to regular internet use. Individuals have the capability of consuming endless amounts of information via web use which also gives them the freedom to form personal blogs and web pages. Im researching this topic because I would like to find out, given the prominent use of facebook, how many users obtain current media over facebook rather then researching on a regular news websites. Essentially facebook is rapidly becoming the most dominant way to consume news content. I have come to hypothesize that Facebook users consume current media content over Facebook rather then obtaining it through typical news whether it be television or news sites.
During my research for this particular topic I could not find to much extensive information pertaining to the specific current media consumption via Facebook. I found a few articles online from college aged individuals and their responses on the usage of Facebook and consuming media. In the article, On Facebook and Freedom: Why journalists should not surrender to the Walmarts of the web, one comment was made saying “Facebook will to lead to a more informed public, but not to a better informed one”. This could be a possibility with the new media, Facebook, becoming the dominant way to obtain news. Most news related websites already have a small link on the page to either post current stories to either Facebook or Twitter which allows the users to skip the news based sites and jump right to a social media site and acquire it there. This article also points out that most people today subscribe to social media sites creating their own personal pages, and in some job cases are required to work from computers enabling them to engage more frequently. It was mentioned more then once that users like the idea of a single website giving them the freedom to surf any page and acquire endless amounts of information rather then having to download programs with the chance of receiving viruses. Facebook has easily become the information distributor and has been posting such articles as the Occupy Wall Street controversies essentially becoming the prime way to obtain news media. The author Justin Peters mentions that the social media aspect is becoming very similar to the retail store Walmart in terms of the power and monopolization driving all other smaller stores out because they reduce their prices. Facebook is driving many other social media websites to the group because of the free access you have creating your own personal page and gaining access to many other sources of information through the site itself. The second article, Explaining how the uses and gratifications theory plays a large role of young adults finding the information they need through the web. Many young adults rely heavily on the use of social media and entertainment consumption. Facebook and MySpace are the two leading online social networking sites with close to 800 million subscribed users worldwide furthering the chances of media consumption through Facebook. The participants in this study were 50 undergraduates from a central college in California. The researchers gathered six focus groups for observation comprised of social network individuals where they were able to take valid notes on the groups uses of social media. From there, a theoretical rationale was formed explaining why young adults participate in social networking sites. The focus group was formed primarily exploiting a topic of interest to the public and obtaining general information. These focus groups were formulated by the researchers because it gives the participants a more natural environment to work from. The criteria for selecting the participants were that the users had to be a part of either Facebook or MySpace and willing enough to share their thoughts about the effects social media has on them. Main themes were identified through questions asked by the experimenters relating Facebook to the users main purposes for why they use social networking. The study resulted by the participants typically logging onto social networking because they like to stay in touch with friends. Many of the participants were eager to post news for all their close friends to view so that it enables it to spread quickly. Many people find different desires through the internet, two main ones being the motivation to obtain information, the other being able to socially connect with others managing your communication. Again, socioeconomic status largely contributes to the amount of online use, to be exact at least 400 million have constant access because statistics show that at least half of all the Facebook participants go on Facebook and post updated statuses once a day. Engaging in Youth and Social Media: Is Facebook the New Media Frontier studied american Facebook users aging from 16 to 25 on their current usages of Facebook and what exactly they do when logging into the social site. Their studies resulted in 5,016 active monthly Facebook users who go onto to enhance their knowledge and stay in touch with friends and family. During the two month study there was 2,153 articles through Facebook that were read, 1,557 articles posted for friends of the person posting to expand, and 2,353 comments submitted to the posted material. Another article that I found was the Uses and Gratifications of Facebook.com which explained why so many people find their way on Facebook and how they obtain information. One comment made was that a student does not even bother with regular news sites now that he has a smart phone where he could subscribe to social networking apps which, with the touch of a finger, you can access the site in your palm reviving all the information you can. He waits to hear from updates from the apps rather then going online to look for it. I personally found out the assassination of Bin Laden through Facebook which I thought was very odd because with the current status of our country out to get him you would think that you would easily find it in the news because how big this situation was but Facebook came through and thats where I found the information. This study looked at numerous participants and the sites they log onto when first using the computer and general questions about social media.
I will compose a study, acquiring consent, which consists of 200-400 frequent facebook users answering a survey analysis of their usage. Participants must also be over the age of 16 years to take this survey. The survey will consist of 15-20 general questions asking which site they typically log onto first when surfing the web, where do you mainly find your current news, if you in fact stay up to date with the news. Once I have gathered all the responses, I would then proceed to narrow the study down to about 100 users asking them if they read material online then repost the information for others to see and read about.
I chose to research this because I would like to find out how prominently Facebook users acquire news content over Facebook itself. Old media today is decreasing the views they receive because facebook displays current news when an individual reads an article and posts about it letting users become aware of what is happening. Today on Facebook you now have the option of reading yahoo articles through the site and picking ones that you think are critical to consume for others to become aware. I will be interesting in the up coming years to see how much facebook will evolve and how much individual access you will have. This topic mostly relates to the Uses and Gratifications Theory because facebook users will be looking to stay informed with the current news and are always looking to enhance knowledge through the internet. With the significant amount of subscribed facebook users, about half will post a status at least once a day which gives others the chance to repost their statuses enlightening other readers. This was overall an interesting study to look at because News related stations are quickly being over thrown by facebook and the content you are available to now and the fact that you can mostly find anything on facebook whether it be news related information of connecting with old friends. It will be very interesting to see what happens in the up coming years to the new media.
Bibliography
1.) On Facebook and Freedom: Why journalists should not surrender to the Walmarts of the web.
- Explaining Why Young Adults Use MySpace and Facebook Through Uses and Gratifications Theory
- Engaging in Youth and Social Media: Is Facebook the New Media Frontier?
- The Uses and Gratifications of Facebook.com
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