Social Media Essay

Social Media Networks
With the elevation of the digital age and the surge of social media, social networks have exploded. With the growth of the Internet, a large number of social media networks used for communication have emerged. There is no doubt that social media is the new phenomenon and have drastically changed our global and local communications. Social networking sites which are synonymous with the term “social media” is defined as “web-based services that allow individual to (1) construct variations of a public or private profile with a system, (2) articulate a list of users with whom they are connected, and (3) view and crisscross their list with their shared users (Lasora, Lewis, & Holton, 2011).
With the rise and constant additions of social media such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and Youtube, the information obtained keeps the users constantly and frequently connected, interacting with one another. In real-time, they share ideas, files, pictures and messages, which enable them to participate in free flow information. Compared to past modes of communication, this method is faster and more efficient.
Social Networking among HBCU Students
In today’s historically black colleges and universities, students use social media as a way of life. To educators, they are very tech savvy and tend to be visual learners (Bracy, Bevill and Roach). The Millennial Generation (also known as Gen Y, Generation D, the Net Generation, Digital Natives, Echo Boomers, and Nexters) favor instant gratification, are very demanding and rely on and comfort with all things technical (Bracy, Bevill and Roach). Students embrace diversity, are more global-centric and more socially responsible than past generations. As such, social me...

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...olton, 2011).
Research Questions
With its many functions, many can cite the primary uses and gratifications found from Twitter. As shown in the literature review, people can use Twitter for various reasons and potentially receive numerous gratifications, including microblogging, information seeking and dissemination, news reporting, relationship maintenance, and social networking. The first research question determines which Twitter functions are being utilized most by its users.
R1: How are twitter users making use of its functions?
The second and third questions explore the gratifications sought and obtained Twitter.
R2: What are the perceived gratifications sought by Twitter users?
R3: What gratifications are obtained by Twitter users?
The literature and research show the ability to achieve gratification through communication media, such as Twitter.