1. Investigating Undergraduate
Social Media Use in the 21st
Century.
Gauging the Need for Professional
Best Practices’ in Social Media
Citizenship.
Adalheidur Reed

2. Why
The social media
service monitor
Rappler reported in a
Lack of research
recent study with over
gauging professional
300 professional
social media training
participants that over
for undergraduate
90% of employers use
students.
social media to screen
potential employees
(Reppler, 2011).

3. Purpose of the Study
Insufficient evidence base
determining undergraduate Adding to the existing body
job or career loss due to of knowledge of
being unprofessional, under- undergraduate Social Media
trained, unsophisticated (SM) training.
social media citizens (SMC).
Increase undergraduate
awareness to the harmful
Minimize job or career loss. effects of
unprofessional, inappropriate
SM behavior.

4. Research Questions
Do students comprehend the possible
long term and short term damage that
can be levied on their future careers
because of uneducated social media
postings; and have students already
damaged their future career potentials
with improper social media etiquette?

5. Sub Questions
Can Universities
intervene by
Do undergraduate creating an
Do undergraduate students know educational social
Are undergraduate
students consider what best media tool that
students
Sub-questions: themselves to be practices in would educate
professional social
professional social professional social undergraduate
media citizens?
media citizens? media interactions students in the
are? best practices of
professional social
media behavior?

6. Literature Review
Social
Media
Curriculum
Social
Media
Background
Social Media Educational Tool
Creation
Social
Media
Professional
Education

7. Social Media Educational Tool
(SMET)Creation
Fall 2012 Blue
Ray Version
•Tested SMET
Spring 2012
VHS Version
•Pilot Study
Evaluation.
Fall 2011
BETAMAX
Version Created.
•Pilot Study Testing
and Need Analyzed

8. Social Media Educational Tool
(Bandura, 1977 )

9. Social Media Educational Tool
Social Media
Education
Awareness Participation
Best Practice Worst Practice Training
Individual Article
How To
Examples Examples
(Bandura, 1977 )

10. Social Media Educational Tool
Proper
Posting
• Motivating
Trained Untrained
• Sophisticated
Social Media
Behavior • Unsophisticated
Social Media
Citizen Citizen
Improper
Posting
• Demotivating
(Bandura, 1977 )

11. Social Media Educational Tool
Professional Unprofessional
• Positive Promotion • Negative Promotion
• Professional Promotion • Unprofessional Promotion
• Communicate • Racism
• Respect • Nudity
• Network • Violence
• Collaborate • Politically Incorrect
• Connect • Bullying
• Profanity
(Bandura, 1977 )

12. Damaging Future Employment?

13. Professional Social Media Use
Education
Job
Career

14. Unprofessional Social Media Use
Loss of Loss of Job
Education •Employers use
•Universities use social media for Loss of Career
social media for background checks
background checks (Reppler, 2011).
(Burgos, 2012).

15. Methods
Experimental Ethnography
• Treatment Qualtrics Survey
• Non-Treatment
• Participant
Survey Observation
• Naturalistic
Quantitative
Qualitative
Mixed Methods
• SPSS
• Internal Consistency Observation
Cronbach's alpha • Direct Observation
• Factor Analysis Written
• Mean, Medium, Mode Documents
Computer Log • Facebook Group
Records Interaction
• Created within the
Facebook Group

16. Treated Participants
Participants will be made up from three
course sections of 18-44 year old
undergraduate students from two universities
in North Texas. The main objective of the first
two course sections was to teach the basics
of using Microsoft Office. The main objective
of the third course was to train the
participants in intermediate web design.

17. Treated Participants Group A
This web design course was made-up of 21 students and was a face to
face class that met 80 min twice a week.
Prior to the first day of class students received e mailed containing this
URL https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/groups/364873626914157/
for a class Facebook Group and they were asked to join.
First day class a syllabus stating that 10% of the class grade was
partition in the class Facebook Group.
Students were offered 10 bonus grade points for survey participation.
Students used the Facebook Group through the fall 2012 semester as a
learning management system.

18. Treated Participants Group B
Participants in group B will be a combination of two Learning Technology
hybrid class sections; with a total of 27 students where each section
met once a week for an hour and twenty minutes.
The first day of class students in two course sections were informed that
class information and networking would be communicated within a
Facebook group created for two class sections.
Students received e mail containing this URL
https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/groups/138477459629230/ to
the class Facebook Group and asked to join.
Students were offered 10 bonus grade points for what was called a
social media participation; which included participation in the Facebook
group participation and survey participation.
Students used the Facebook Group through the fall 2012 semester as a
learning management system.

19. Not Treated Participants
Participants who will not treated
with the social media
educational tool were
undergraduate students from
two universities in North Texas.

20. Data Collection
Facebook group
discussion:
Facebook group Unprofessional
discussion: Use.
Professional • Treated Groups
Qualtrics Online
Survey Tool Use.
• Treated Groups • Treated Groups
• Not Treated
Groups

21. Anticipated Results
Treated Group
• Better Social Media
Citizens. Control Group
• Intermediate at social • Social media professional
media best practice. best practice needed.
• Beginner at social media best
practice.