Facebook's role in school communities and education

¶ … Role it Plays Within the School

In 2008, Facebook outdistanced the previously more popular Myspace in terms of numbers of users to become the most widely used social network in the world. Although the top management of Facebook is currently facing a lawsuit for proprietary infringement, the site is still generating impressive revenues. In fact, like the Bill and Linda Gates Foundation and its philanthropic educational efforts, one of the founders of Facebook recently announced intentions to donate $100 million to the beleaguered Newark, New Jersey school district. Clearly, Facebook is having a major influence on the manner in which young people socialize and interact today, and all signs indicate that this influence will continue to increase in the future. It is therefore important for teachers, administrators and school counselors to understand how social networking sites in general and, based on its prominence, Facebook in particular are being used by young people today. In an effort to determine what the impact of this growing influence of Facebook will be within the schools, this paper provides a review of the relevant literature to develop an overview and background for Facebook, what the current and future trends are with respect to its implications for schools, and an analysis of why this is a "hot topic" for school counselors in particular today. A summary of the research and important findings are presented in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

Background and Overview

The official Facebook factsheet reports that in less than a decade, Facebook has emerged to become one of the most important resources in the world for hundreds of millions of young users. The factsheet reports that, "Founded in February 2004, Facebook is a social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and coworkers. The company develops technologies that facilitate the sharing of information through the social graph, the digital mapping of people's real-world social connections" (About Facebook, 2010, para. 1). Not surprisingly, this "digital mapping" was readily embraced by the so-called "digital natives" of the Millennial generation. For instance, according to Bauman and Tatum (2009), "Social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook and MySpace are now part of the social fabric of the lives of American teens and young adults. Although such sites only emerged in the past few years, they were rapidly embraced by large segments of the population" (p. 1). Likewise, Bowers-Campbell cites the results of a recent survey of college students and reports that, "96% of students with online access reported using social networking technologies, and those online generally spent 9 hours per week chatting, text messaging, blogging, and visiting online communities" (2008, p. 74). One of the more interesting findings to emerge from the survey concerned what young people are doing in these social networking sites: "Perhaps even more surprising, the study found that 60% of social network users talked about schoolwork while online" (Bowers-Campbell, 2008, p. 74). Finally, the popularity of Facebook compared to its competitors was made abundantly clear in the survey: "Among college students with online access, Facebook reigns supreme across social networking sites reporting pervasive use among adolescents" (Bowers-Campbell, 2008, p. 75).

Indeed, Facebook already has more than a half a billion users who have visited the site within the past month alone (About Facebook, 2010), and it is clear that the popularity of this social networking site will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. In this regard, Demski (2009) notes that, "Web 2.0 applications like online communities, blogs, and wikis should not be thought of as just a passing fad or idle socializing, but as an activity that has embedded itself into the way work gets done" (p. 24). It is also possible to see some significant changes in traditional socialization practices as more and more young people gather in this virtual community to interact. As Conner (2009) points out, "Facebook is far more than a platform from which to express one's individuality. It also brings together people who have either never met or would not normally meet in daily circumstances" (p. 12). In this dynamic environment, identifying current and future trends in the use of Facebook and other popular social networking sites, particularly as this use affects the schools, represents a timely and valuable enterprise and the current and future issues in this regard are discussed further below.

Current and Future Trends

The recent trends in growth that have made Facebook the medium of choice for hundreds of millions of users have not gone unnoticed by the educational community. Because social networking sites are becoming increasingly important in the business world, Demski emphasizes the need for schools to help educate their students concerning how these resources can be used to their best effect. According to Demski, "For schools to keep pace with the trends being established in the world at large, it is imperative they recognize the central role that social networking tools have grown to occupy in how employers do business, and make room for them in students' education" (2009, p. 25). In response to this need, a so-called "Internal Facebook" has been created for K-12 students at Saywire (https://saywire.com), described by Demski as being "an online social networking and learning site designed specifically for in-house use by schools and students. Saywire wants to create a safe environment where constructive Web 2.0 skills can be developed while students are young, so they grow up to be smart, civil online citizens. Since its launch last October, the site has registered more than 160,000 students and teachers across the country" (p. 25). In sharp contrast to the official Facebook counterpart, this education-only alternative provides a number of protections for its users, including the following:

1. Membership restricted to students and faculty listed on the roster exported by the school into the system;

2. No anonymity; user name must be same as member's real name;

3. Communication limited to users within school, district, or Saywire global network, depending upon the school's preference;

4. Parental consent mandatory for students under 13 years old and parental monitoring of student's profile; and,

5. Industry standards for data encryption (Demski, 2009, p. 25).

While the goals of the Saywire and other alternatives to the official Facebook site are laudable, and the use of these resources can help familiarize educators with how social networking sites operate and instruct young users in how to use them appropriately, they fail to provide the empirical observations that are needed to formulate informed views concerning how these sites are being used in real-world settings. To its credit, though, Facebook emphasizes the need for mutual respect, appropriate language, and ethical conduct by all of its users in its terms of service and the site issues automatic warnings when users are believed to be engaging in unethical practices on Facebook (pers. obs.). In fact, even though some of the foregoing protections are not available on Saywire's more popular official Facebook counterpart, the need for ethical conduct in social networking forums such as Facebook, remains one of the more salient issues that emerges from the literature. In this regard, Conner (2009) reports that, "Facebook's two-color layout echoes the company's insistence on the linear progress of socialization, which has proved a subtle guide for users to be ethical with one another" (p. 12). Likewise, the Facebook factsheet also emphasizes that, "Facebook has worked to provide a safe and trusted environment by, for example, requiring that people use their real names. Facebook also works with online safety experts around the world and has established a global Safety Advisory Board that it consults with on safety issues" (2010, para. 4).

Clearly, Facebook takes its reputation seriously and while the number of Facebook users continues to increase, the management of the enterprise has recently taken steps to "give something back to the community" by creating an educational foundation. Perhaps in an effort to improve its corporate image while the company is facing charges of stealing the Facebook format, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to appear on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on September 24, 2010 to announce his donation of $100 million in an effort to help improve the struggling public school system in Newark, New Jersey (Sahba, 2010). As an indication of the importance this donation is held by political leaders in the state, luminaries including the mayor of Newark, Cory Booker, and the governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, are also scheduled to appear on "Oprah" with Zuckerberg for the announcement (Sahba, 2010).

Moreover, although this major donation represents just the first in a series of donations from the foundation established by Zuckerberg, it is reasonable to suggest that he can afford it. While other social networking sites have struggled to find ways to translate large amounts of online traffic into profits, Facebook has done so in a major way. According to Sahba, "With an estimated net worth of $6.9 billion, Zuckerberg ranked 35th on this year's Forbes 400 list of richest Americans -- up from 158th last year. At 26, he and Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz are the youngest billionaires on the list" (2010, para. 2). This rapid growth and economic success clearly indicate that Facebook is doing something right to attract these numbers of young users and in finding ways to make money from them, but some critics suggest that there are some downsides to this growing popularity that should be recognized by school counselors as well and these issues are discussed further below.

Why Facebook is a "Hot Topic" for School Counselors

Given the rapid proliferation of its use by young people in recent years, the growing popularity of Facebook is an important issue for school counselors at all levels for a number of reasons, including the potential for its use for so-called "cyberbullying," the potential threat of online sexual predators and its misuse by students who exchange information over the medium before, during and after class, among others. For example, according to Bauman and Tatum, "Educators and parents have been alerted to the potential for cyberbullying inherent in these sites" (p. 1). In addition, Bauman and Tatum point out that Facebook, like other social networking sites, has some important benefits that can be used to good advantage by students conducting research as well as helping to grow a valuable set of technology skills that are needed for success in the 21st century, but with hundreds of millions of pages and more being added every day, the potential for young learners to use these resources inappropriately and to their detriment is very real. According to Bauman and Tatum, "These sites have many attractive features and perhaps provide important skills in a technological world (including reading and keyboarding). However, these sites also have elements that may be misunderstood or misused, and it is essential that school counselors understand the benefits and hazards of such sites" (p. 2).

Therefore, it is incumbent upon school counselors to keep track of how these online resources are being used by young people and what they can do to promote a multidisciplinary approach to encouraging young people to use Facebook appropriately, thereby maximizing its known advantages while minimizing or eliminating the potential disadvantages. School counselors, Bauman and Tatum suggest, are on the front lines in this effort:

As school leaders who are central to the school's mission- which includes fostering a positive school climate, fostering positive social and emotional growth, and a focus on positive development-school counselors collaborate with teachers, administrators, parents/caregivers, and the larger community. They are in a central position to provide information and guidance on the advantages and drawbacks of new technology. (2009, p. 2)

Another issue that school counselors need to be aware of concerns the manner in which Facebook is being used by young people. On the one hand, Conner (2009) reports that, "Founded in 2006 by former Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook became a free, image-based utility that relied upon users' thumbnail portraits to secure online social connections. It also embraced multi-media, similar to MySpace, but set itself apart in an attempt to achieve a sense of authenticity within a highly pirated, dishonest, and potentially ominous online environment" (p. 11). On the other hand, though, Choate and Curry (2009) emphasize that, "Many girls post sexual pictures of themselves on blogs or personal Web spaces (Facebook, Myspace, etc.). These online self-presentations may follow cultural trends, but they inadvertently make girls vulnerable to sexual predators. This exposure increases the risk for men to view girls as sexual objects and blurs the lines between appropriate and inappropriate sexual relationships" (p. 213). Likewise, Bauman and Tatum note that, "It is important for school counselors at all levels to be aware that many children falsify their ages and have profiles on these sites. Familiarity with the entire phenomenon of social networking sites is, we believe, a necessary and essential skill for 21st-century school counselors" (2009, p. 2).

Finally, a conversation between two high school teachers recently overheard by this author is reflective of the questions that are emerging concerning how Facebook should be used by educators and students. One teacher asked the other, "Do you think I should make my students 'Friends' on my Facebook page?" Because the designation of another Facebook user as a "Friend" means different things to different users, and the access levels to others' pages typically increase with the "Friend" designation, this is an important question for teachers and school counselors today. By thoroughly understanding how Facebook operates and what their policies and procedures are concerning its use, school counselors will be in a better position to advise their colleagues about these issues. For example, many Facebook users require large numbers of "Friends" playing the same game in order to achieve higher levels in the multiplayer games featured on the site and Facebook makes it easy to recruit additional players for these games. According to Conner, "With small thumbnail portraits juxtaposed with a series of personal facts, users are able to pick and choose their associates with ease. In addition, the use of web-ware applications further permits users to perform digital 'random acts of kindness' toward one another" (p. 12).

When someone is designated a "Friend" on Facebook, it also provides access to a wide range of personal information to the other user. In the case of multiplayer game applications, the addition of another user as a "Friend" incurs several benefits, but it also opens the window for abuse of private information. In this regard, Feinberg (2008) emphasizes that, "To add these applications, users must agree to allow the application 'to know who I am and access my information.' There is no limitation on the personal information that is disclosed to applications. Furthermore, these application developers also have access to all the personal information of users' Friends. This excess sharing is noted only briefly in the Facebook Privacy Policy" (p. 75). In reality, though, the same approach is used by Facebook's counterparts as well. For instance, Miller (2007) reports that, in some ways, Facebook is hardly unique. Sites like Friendster and MySpace preceded it, and they all provide essentially the same service -- the ability to dynamically map and monitor friends over the Internet. In each case a user 'joins' a Web site, creating an account that allows him or her to customize a personal Web page. Users then interact with other members of the online community, viewing their pages and electing to add certain members as friends" (p. 9). In the same fashion, the Facebook factsheet also notes that, a user's "home page includes News Feed, a personalized feed of his or her friends' updates. The Profile displays information about the individual he or she has chosen to share, including interests, education and work background and contact information" (2010, para. 3). Furthermore, the "Friend" designation on Facebook opens up a wide range of additional communication alternatives for each user so designated. In this regard, the factsheet adds that, "Facebook also includes core applications -- Photos, Events, Videos, Groups, and Pages -- that let people connect and share in rich and engaging ways. Additionally, people can communicate with one another through Chat, personal messages, Wall posts, Pokes, or Status Updates" (para. 3).

These features may be just what is needed by some teachers who want to provide additional tutorial or follow-up services for their students in ways that are mutually convenient and consistent with the educational axiom, "If they are not learning the way I teach, I need to teach the way they learn." In fact, one educator maintains that interacting with students on Facebook is a win-win approach, providing additional educational opportunities both in terms of curriculum content as well as how to use the site appropriately. In this regard, Bowers-Campbell argues that, "The use of Facebook, a widely-used social networking technology, may be helpful in improving low self-efficacy and self-regulated learning by increasing connection with the instructor, increasing social contact with classmates, and providing an opportunity to guide students in their responsible use of Facebook technology" (2008, p. 74).