Does your social class determine your online social network?

Victoria Atencio
Post #3

The article I found comes from CNN and describes a recent study that was done which compares the social differences between the users of MySpace and Facebook. The market research firm Nielsen Claritas performed the study and concluded that people from a more well off background are 25% more likely to use Facebook compared to the 37% of people who are from a less wealthy demographic who most commonly use MySpace. The article reaffirms what most people come to conclude about these two social networking sites, that Facebook is geared towards college students/graduates who may be more interesting in the applications it has to offer rather than MySpace which is geared towards a more high school/non-educated crowd interested in music. This article is a great example of social control because the basis of this study was to examine that class divisions not only exist in everyday life but are now being created via social networking sites. The obvious scission is shown between the economic differences in the two sites, but as noted in the article a somewhat of a segregation is begin formed via Facebook as well. One study followed Harvard students throughout their four years of college and found that multiracial students tend to have more Facebook friends than students of other backgrounds.

I think one of the most controlling features of these sites is that they appeal to everyone whether they are rich, poor, in college, high school, celebrity, or a recently un-employed worker. Not only that, it’s addicting. Ask anyone who uses these sites and they will tell you that once you have an account it is hard to escape it because these sites have become the social norm. This is what makes social networks so controlling because without it you would never had found that old high school friend or discovered that someone you know is pregnant. It has also become the basis for developing closer friendships because in today’s society people have become more comfortable writing on someone’s web page than speaking in person. It is the hook of social networking that lures you in and yet it is controlling in that if you delete your page you will no longer be part of a newly dominant social order known as Facebook (or MySpace, or Twitter for that matter).


http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/10/13/social.networking.class/index.html

By Breeanna Hare
CNN