Social Networking and Social Support: Does It Play a Role in College Social Integration?

• In Event: 65.036 - Integration and Retention of College Students

Abstract

Tinto’s model of undergraduate student departure is often used in research to examine how integration at social and academic levels affects student propensity to depart. With the rapid rise of online social media, such as social networking sites (SNS) including Facebook, research suggests mixed results on whether such technologies serve as a benefit or detriment to users. Using Tinto’s model and multiple regression modeling, this paper investigates the connection between Facebook use and constructs of social support and university belonging. The strong positive correlations between purpose and frequency of use and social constructs suggests that SNS provide significant support to students and may lead to college retention.

Author

• Collin Michael Ruud, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign