Social media: A digital tool providing a personal space for self-expression in the everyday

life of college-going youth

I.Introduction

Two years ago, two youngsters were arrested in Mumbai because one woman posted a
comment on the shutdown of the city for the funeral of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thakery and
other posted like for the comment. The comment was, “Respect is earned, not given and
definitely not forced. Today Mumbai shuts down due to fear not due to respect”. A local Shiv
Sena leader filed a police complaint against the two and they were booked under section 295
A of the Indian penal Code (IPC) for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage
religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs. The chairman of
press council of India sent an email to the chief minster condemning the police action. He
said that the chief minister was unable to run the state in a democratic manner as envisaged
by the constitution. Following the incident a pertinent question was raised, has the very
purpose of social networking sites- free speech and public display of personal opinion- been
defeated in today’s volatile times?

The day of Diwali celebration tuned out to be a last day in his life. A young boy committed
suicide followed by number of likes and comments he received from his online friends. He
was left alone in his house as all of his family members had to go to their relative’s house on
an emergency. He was alive in Facebook sending and receiving comments, posting pictures,
sharing and tagging photos, chatting with their friends. It gave him a nice feeling to stay
connected with his peer group. But that pleasant feeling did not prolong for a long time. He
seemed to have posted a picture with a line, “Sorry, I want to die”. These words were written
in blood. To this statement many of his online friends sent 28 ‘likes’ just for fun. As soon as
he saw a big number of ‘likes’ for this statement, he was thoroughly disappointed and
decided to end his life. He wrote in his Facebook wall, “I am an unfortunate being” and after
posting these words, he ganged himself. How did Facebook which was once very personal,
close to him suddenly turned out to be a cause for his suicide?

In this internet age, we need to accept the fact that most of the Indians are in the transition
phase. Our way of thinking, mindset, opinions about the daily happenings is changing in a big
way. As the mindset changes, so is the way we communicate and interact with each other.
Social media has grown into a powerful tool for people all round the world. With electronic
gadgets like tablets and smartphones that are available at affordable cost, people could easily

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access internet for their communication. They use social media for all kinds of social
interaction. When they are happy they express their happiness with others. As and when feel
sad, angry, excited they express their feelings at once in their social media account.

Social media has become important tool for the you adults to express themselves in modern
society. It is sufficiently versatile as medium that it can fill the changing needs of individual
as well as the broad requirements of the generation as a whole. Although social media is a
powerful tool to exchange information, it is far from ideal for communication information
about oneself in the complicated context present in networks of human relationship. Social
networking sites on the internet have become emblematic of teenage socialization. Inhabited
almost exclusively by young adults, site like Facebook, MySapce, whatsApp etc. serve as
primary means of self-expression for their users. The largest difference in usage seems to be
caused by age and the background of their experiences. The younger users tend to have
visually busier profiles, prominently displaying their tastes, hobbies and personal preferences.
In contrast, older users usually have simpler profiles, focused more on their friends and
ongoing messages between members of their social groups.

Social media have opened the doors of freedom of expression in terms of interpersonal
relationship. The college-going students have explored greater possibilities in social media to
initiate and develop interpersonal relationship with old friends of their school days and new
friends who are of the same age, same academic ventures and in similar professions. It is not
merely developing interpersonal relationships for their emotional satisfaction, but it goes
beyond getting them connected online to share information, exchange views, hold discussion,
upload photos and videos, and not the least of online activities like internet banking and
whole lot of other commercial activities.

These online activities have really empowered the college-students in many respects. For
example, the students who are using social media actually create their own content and post
them in their Facebook page. This content creation in social media really boosts their self-
image. The reason is that they were kept just as content-receivers for many years in the
traditional mass media like television, press and the cinema. They also gain knowledge on
their subjects, public issues, job opportunities, sports and games, health, international events
etc. When the success stories of different individuals, experts and the toppers etc. are shared
in social media, the students get motivated to achieve greater things in their personal lives.

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According to Nanay K. Baym performing well in social media can bring a person recognition
or at least to a sense that there is a real person behind otherwise anonymous text. Our
expressions of emotions and immediacy show others that we are real, available and that we
like them, as our willingness to entertain them. Thus the youngsters are empowered by social
media because they are the agents of the messages they communicate with their friends. This
facility was not available in the traditional mass media. This calls us to analyses the
difference between traditional media and internet-based social media.

Traditional Media Social media

1. One way communication 1.Two-way communication
2. It is a closed system 2.It is an open system
3. It is vague and opaque 3.It is very transparent
4. It is top-down communication 4. It is horizontal and participatory
5. I receive other’s content 5. I create my own content
6. It is a polished content 6. It is an authentic content
7. It is paid platform of communication 7. It is a free platform for communication
8. We are passive receivers 8. We are active users
9. It is a controlled communication 9. It is unstructured communication
10.Formal language is used 10. Informal language is used

Social media users involve themselves in self-expression through status updates in Facebook,
twitter and WhatsApp. They want to share about important events that have taken place in
their personal lives and in turn they also want to what is happening to their friends. So it is a
mutual exchange of information. This status updates bring psychological satisfaction to the
individual as well as to group members. In their study about the status updates Adam D.I.
Kramer and K. Chung (2011) have said that status updates provide cues to the psychological
cues of individual users and when examined collectively, have shown to provide insight into
the psychological state of groups who update.

This paper makes an attempt to study the college-going students enjoy a personal space in
social media and to express themselves freely through constant status updates.

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II. Review of Literature

Social media has grown exponentially in the last decade or so and it is now used by millions
of people all over the world. It holds power of communication that is effectively used by
people from all walks of life- adolescents, adults, men and women, politicians and business
people. More than anybody else it has captured the attention of college-going students
because it serves as a big platform for making friendship and novel form of social interaction.
They have not only changed the modes of human interaction, but they have also showed a
new direction to young people to search for constructing identity online. They are able to get
a personal space for self-expression. Many young people today are living within the two
distinct yet interconnected worlds of the real and virtual. The real world consists of a life
lived offline, (actual reality) while the virtual world constitutes a life online (computer
mediated reality).

Today the researchers are interested in studying internet culture as a separate subject. In the
words of Gustav S. Mesch, (2009) Internet culture is defined as a social space in its own
right, exploring the forms of consumption and content production and the patterns of online
communication and social interaction, expression and identity formation that are produced
within this digital social space, as well as how they are sustained by the resources available
within the online setting This review of literature looks at the various studies which have
been done on connection with social media providing the individuals free space for self-
expression.

Social media networks include, “web-based services that allow individuals to construct public
and semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of others users whom they
share a connection, and view and traverse their list of connection and those made by others
within their system” (J.P. Ahluwalia, 2012)

He emphasizes that social media essentially gather the like-minded people on a single
platform. “Social networking websites are online communities of people who share interests
and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. They
typically provide a variety of ways and for users to interact, through chat, messaging and
email” (J.P. Ahluwalia,2012)

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John A. Bargh (2002) conducted a study on how the internet played a role in expressing one’s
true self online. When compared to face-to-face communication, the internet users were freer
in expressing their true self in online situation. It was because of two important and unique
features of the internet. First and foremost was the ability to be relatively anonymous in one’s
own individual and group level social interactions. This enabled one to express oneself in the
ways not available in the usual social sphere. It was because, one could be free of
expectations and constrains placed on us by those who know us. And, it was also because of
the costs and risks of social sanctions for what we say and we do were greatly reduced.
Second, in the traditional face-to-face communication there were real barriers in disclosing
one’s taboos and negative aspects of oneself even to close friend and family members. These
barriers were not present in online situation.

Dennis Mazalin and Susan Moore, (2004) have examined young adults’ use of internet and
the relationship between times spent online and developmentally relevant aspects of
wellbeing and social relationship-identity and social anxiety. Increase in the internet use was
associated with the decline in the size of a person’s social circle and family communication
and increases in depression and loneliness. Loneliness is defined as a sense of emptiness
brought on by the absence of intimate relationships. This absence in intimacy was
hypothesized as being a direct result of too much time being spent online, physically removed
from peer relations.

They have found that there was a correlation between social anxieties, identity status and
internet use more with men than women. The correlations, for men, indicated that more
internet use was associated with lower levels of wellbeing, that is, higher social anxiety and
less mature identity statuses. For women, there were no relationships between internet use
and either social anxiety.

Meehthild Maczewski (2004) made a study on how youth view their experiences of online
interactions. Three main themes had emerged in the study. First is the notion of vowness-
experiencing excitement and expansion. Second is the experience of freedom, power and
connectedness. And, third is the exploring self and identities through virtual relationships. He
had an interesting finding that the youth who are engaged in online activity do not primarily
engage in one activity but multiple activities often at the same time. They were chatting with
friends, hosting chats themselves, producing their own magazines, designing their website,

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finding information, engaging in political activism, playing games and many more. In all
these online activities they experience excitement and expansion of relationship.

Going online was not only very convenient to youth but also it made them feel very relaxed
and feel free. They defined online space as a space of their own, where they were connected
with people and they felt that they could really talk to and engage in similar interests with
their friends. Personal space is important for exploration of self and identities. In her analysis,
she had described how youth online found such a space in social media, because they were
able to express themselves in ways not found for themselves in traditional media. From the
responses of the youth, the researcher was able to find out the differences between online
experiences and on-ground experiences. In their on-ground world, they thought that they did
not express themselves honestly. Whereas, in online situation, they were free to express
themselves honestly.

It was concluded that the internet has made visible the multiple realities of digital lives. And
the digital self is not experienced as a fixed entity. But these digital identities were
continuously growing, shifting and emerging.

Lampe, et al., (2006) conducted a survey among students to gain an understanding of how
they felt on looking at their profiles. According to him, the majority of students surveyed said
that they used Facebook to keep in touch with old friends or to check out the profile of
someone they met socially. Students were less likely to use Facebook to find people to date
or to find close friends. Given these indicators, the researchers found support for the idea that
Facebook members were using the sites to engage in social searches. In other words, they
used social media to find out more about people in their offline communities.

Golder et al., (2006) pointed out in a study of Facebook users’ messaging habits that being a
friend on Facebook should be considered a necessary but not a sufficient requirement for
being a friend offline. The findings suggested that, for some individuals at least, the number
of social media connections ranked higher than the quality of those relationships. They did
not bother about the quality of their online friendship. But they focused their attention on
number of online friends. The fact was that the relationship took place in a virtual world.
People looking for this form of gratification from social networking sites felt the need for
altering their profile accordingly in order to accrue more friends.

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Angela Thomas, (2007) conducted a study to examine how young people try to make a visual
impression on the peer group in social media. It was found that the whole online environment
was first considered to be ‘bodiless’ and ‘faceless’. But a new type of body is created in
online communities. A person’s nick name, online conversation, textual profiles on social
media, all of which could be viewed as the cornerstones of the textual online identity.

Monica T. Whitty (2007) investigated how the Facebook users made use of photos to
accompany their online dating-website profiles. Her qualitative study among the online-
dating site users revealed that “people experimented with what photos and descriptions of
themselves would be more successful at attracting others to their profile. Furthermore, the
participants believed that "the need to present a good physical image of themselves was more
important than any other characteristic. In order to show themselves from the most flattering
viewpoint, some of the online-dating site users had a glamour-shot to accompany their textual
profiles.

Andra Siibak (2009) made a study on how young people construct their ‘self’ through
selection of photographs in social networking sites. It was found out that the young people
often joined social media for social reasons like making friendship and social acceptance
from others. They felt compelled either by their friends who had the profiles in social media
or they were interested in finding new friends and even possible boyfriends and girlfriends.
This study suggested that young people are very conscious and strategic in their visual self-
presentation in social media and carefully select the photos to accompany their respective
profiles. The study revealed that young people struggled to find ways to leave a positive
impression about themselves to as large audience as possible. Favorable impressions
however, could only be treated when we could assume what the others are expecting from us.
When they selected their photos, they consciously or unconsciously took the view point of
adults and tried to form favorable impressions of themselves. They selected the photos that
would display important moments in their lives, portray their personality, or photos taken
with important personalities etc. with an intention of creating an ideal self.

Veronica Donoso & Wannes Ribbens (2010) made a study on how the Fotolog, a type of
social media, played an important role in young people’s development of identity. Fotolog is
regularly updated with chronically ordered photos which had become popular young people.
Because it helped the adolescents to share their experiences and feelings and they could be

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compared to dairy-like personal blogs of self-disclosure. In this disclosure individuals share
observations and thoughts about their online and offline lives with their peer group.

The study had proven that the use of Fotolog was an important tool for the maintenance of
psychological closeness among friends and peers. Developing healthy social relationships
with peers and friends is crucial to develop a sense of connectedness with others. It would
also increase the knowledge about various aspects of self and to develop a sense of identity.

Wanget al. (2010) investigated how hyper personal model in online friendship initiation and
impression formation influenced willingness to initiate friendship in social media. The
findings suggested that the physical attractiveness was crucial in online friendship initiation
as both genders, especially males prefered attractive images. Male respondents responded
strongly to visual images. People used similar processes to initiate online relationships and
offline relationships. Culture influenced both offline and online identity.

Andrew L. Mendelson and Zizi Papacharissi (2011) examined the use of photo galleries as an
instrument of self-presentation and a means of visual autobiography online. In everyday life,
people consciously and unconsciously worked to define the way they were perceived, hoping
to calling for positive impressions of themselves. This effort emphasized on certain
characteristics, through dress, hairstyle, behavior, and/or speech, while hiding or diminishing
other characteristics perceived as flawed, depending on context. Through Facebook pictures,
the college students visually played out their lives for each other, demonstrating their identity
as college students. These practices served as performative exercises of identity and
belonging, simultaneously declaring and corroborating shared experiences.

According to Dhiraj Murthy (2012) like all social media, twitter had everything to do with
self-presentation. The act of tweeting was born from individual contributions and
sociologically speaking, was about self-production. Indeed micro blogging services were
dependent on regular posting by its users. Without this regularity, the utility of social media
such as Twitter diminished significantly. Like status updates on Face book, users of social
media continue to post regularly as the status updating practice became a meaningful part of
their identities.
For active users of twitter, posting tweets was part of their identity maintenance and
constancy of active Twitter users confirmed this relationship or it resembled the French
philosopher’s saying: “I tweet, therefore I am”. These new changes in social communication

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were part of Ego and personal feelings and were critical to understanding Twitter and
especially its role in the presentation of one’s self.

Latisha Asmaak shafie,( 2012) made a study on how Malaysian university students
constructed their online identities using personal profiles, profile images, nicknames and
languages in their Facebook pages. The study revealed that the social networking sites
provided ample opportunities to construct their online identity through careful selection of
profile images and nicknames which often satisfied the peer group perception about them.
The study suggested that the boys were more comfortable to use their real names in the online
setting, because they were at ease in revealing their true self online. On the contrary, girls
preferred to use catchy, creative and appealing variations of names. These creative names
were perceived to be more playful as they shift between online and offline identities.

The profile pictures were often changed and updated according to their whims and fancies.
They made a careful selection of photos which were more attractive and meaningful images.
When compared boys with girls in the use of photos, boys more often used their own photos
as profile pictures than girls did. Girls chose photos of their beloved ones’ images as their
profile pictures to show that they value relationship with their significant others. Some time
they also used cute and adorable visuals like babes, cartoons, flowers to project attractive
images. English was a preferred language although they are given a choice in the general
account settings.

According to Jose Van Dijck (2013) social media facilitated self-expression, self-
representation and self-promotion. Online users deployed social media for several purposes,
and over the years, they have adapted their strategies in online presentation as platforms to
change their functionalities. Initially, platforms like Facebook were commonly regarded as a
space for self-expression and making connections with friends. Gradually, users had come to
understand the art of online self-presentation and the importance of social media as tools for
self-promotion.

Platforms like Facebook and Linkedin have pushed the art of ‘mass self-communication’ to a
new level. Their interfaces flavored users into releasing information about themselves, both
consciously and unconsciously. They have a need for multiple stories about themselves, each
story concerning different part of their identities and addressing a limited audience.
Facebook’s new layout scrupulously combines the various needs for self-expression, self-
communication through one and the same interface.

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Christy Young (2013) did a study among young adults to ascertain the ways in which they
used Facebook tools to present themselves online and to identify the impact of these actions.
The young adults have become more familiar in making best use of new technology. With
their life experience, they were more adept in managing their online identity in a positive
manner. The young adults primarily used three tools to project an image of themselves to
their online audience and/or make judgments about others. These were: 1) status updates, 2)
posting photographs and 3) joining pages/groups.

This study revealed that status updates are a valued means of communicating with one's
audience, particularly by projecting humorous or insightful comments. This finding supported
Barash, Ducheneaut, Isaacs and Bellotti (2010) who found entertaining status updates
resulted in positive communication acts between online friends which suggested successful
impression management. People who did not adhere to unspoken rules regarding tone of
status updates and continually posted negative or mundane status updates were viewed
critically. Status updates were not made to stand as isolated comments, rather to provoke a
response from his/her audience. The use of photographs could have well created an
impression online. This study suggested that the selection of flattering photos (an ideal self)
was acceptable.

Theoretical Background

Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) theory is best applied to understand the function

of social networking sites. This theory is defined as the exchange of semantic content of
online messages, which can be synchronous (simultaneous) or asynchronous (not
simultaneous) (Walther, 1992, in Byrne, 1994), from computer to computer by people as
senders and receivers.

Computer mediated communication (CMC) can be distinctly classified as synchronous or

asynchronous (Dix, Finlay, Abowd, Beale, 1993 in Riva and Galimberti, 1997; Byrne, 1994).
CMC is synchronous when it allows a real-time link between the interacting persons. This
type of CMC can include internet relay chat, video-conferencing, chat messaging systems,
internet phones, and some SNS. It is made possible with features of multimedia techniques,
hyper textuality, and packet switching etc. in the online situation (Newhagen, 1996, in Riva
and Galimberti, 1997). In other words, synchronous CMC enables the online users to have
immediate communication as if having a face-to-face interaction. (Byrne, 1994). In contrast,

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asynchronous CMC does not require real-time connection between the users’ computer, e.g.,
electronic mail, online forums, blogs, and some SNS. Facebook is a SNS that can be
considered as both synchronous and asynchronous. The user can log-in to the chat feature for
synchronous CMC, and the rest are generally considered to be asynchronous.

III. Research Question

How do the college-going students use social media to find a personal space for self-
expression through their online interaction and constant status updates?

IV. Objectives of the study

1. To study the general usage pattern of social media among college-going students in Tamil
Nadu.

2. To investigate into how social media have become a new and compelling form social
interaction among the college students.

3. To study what kind of information they usually share with their online friends and what
kind of feedback they receive from them.

4. To study how an online activity of status updates help them to explore a personal space and
express themselves freely.

5. To study how the careful selection of photos help them to make a good self-presentation in
social media.

V. Methodology

Sample survey method was employed for this study. Convenience samples were taken in six
departments in an arts and science college. In each department, 20 students (10 boys and 10
girls) were chosen for the study. Thus, we have 120 college-going students (60 boys and 60
girls) as our samples. The age group of the students selected for the investigation ranged from
17-23 years. Both boys and girls who are using social media on a daily basis were selected
for investigation. The samples consisted both under graduate and post-graduate students.

The data given by the selected 120 students were processed and analysed with the help of
SPSS. In particular, statements which are closely linked with the concept of social

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interaction, friendship circle, empowerment, personal space, self-expression etc. are analysed
separately.

VI. Tool for Data collection

The investigator prepared a structured questionnaire comprising of 77 questions and it was

issued to the college-students for data collection. The questionnaire was framed in such a way
to collect some basic demographic information of the students and to know their usage
pattern of internet in general and social media in particular, their main purpose of using social
media etc. The study made an enquiry into what the type of information they share in social
media, their main online activities which have a positive as well as negative influence on
their social psychological status

The questionnaire also directly targeted on how they exchange information, upload photos
that boosts their self-image and what kind of feedback they receive from their online friends.
And finally, it had not only questions to probe into the area of personality development and
identity formation but also to investigate how social media could bring some ill-effects on
their psychological well-being like wasting huge amount of time, not caring for their offline
friends, individualistic attitude etc.

The investigator was present among the students, and he clarified doubts and ambiguities
when they filled in the questionnaire. After the filling up of the questionnaire, he had a group
discussion with boys and girls separately. Some in depth questions were posed to them and
they came out with free and frank sharing about their experiences in using social media. The
group comprised 15-20 students.

VII. Analysis and Discussion

a) Social media usage pattern

The study has revealed interesting facts about the general usage pattern of social media. It is
their friends who mostly introduced to social media. Almost half of the population said that
they felt the urgency of opening an account in social media otherwise they would feel
alienated from the peer group. Facebook has topped the list of social media being preferred
by the college students as their first choice among other types of social media because it is
very interactive, flexible and user-friendly. Out of 120 students, 71 of them have ranked
Facebook as their choice number one. WhatsApp was ranked as their second choice.

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When they were asked, ‘what is the main purpose of using social media?’ most of them have
answered that friendship building and information sharing were main reasons for using social
media. From this fact, we could infer that the social media have become an effective platform
for the college-students to make friendship and build new relationship with other online
friends. They have also pointed out the key elements of social media namely; interactivity,
personal space and feedback have really attracted them to use social media extensively in
their daily lives. The implication is that Facebook which is mostly preferred by the students
has amply provided them a platform for greater interactivity in their daily lives.

b) Social media and Self-expression

There is a general trend that the social media users like to share important event and
happenings with their online friends at once it occur in their lives. This is because; they think
that their existence is made meaningful only through the interaction with their friends. Most
of the college-students want to share their views and opinions on various social issues with
their online friends. Through this exchange of views on social issues they want to express
their standpoint and worldview on current societal problems. Out of 120 students 61 of them
have said (as given in table-1) that they usually share their views on social issues affecting us.
And, the study has revealed that they have received a positive response for their views on
social issues from their online friends. The implication is that most of the social media users
have become conscious about what is happening around them and they use this social media
platform for exchange of their views and ideas.

I share my views and ideas on social issues with online friends

Never 6 10.0% 5 8.3% 11 9.2%

Rarely 9 15.0% 9 15.0% 18 15.0%

Sometimes 16 26.7% 14 23.3% 30 25.0%

Frequently 9 15.0% 10 16.7% 19 15.8%

Always 20 33.3% 22 36.7% 42 35.0%

Table-1

Generally, people get fascinated by the attractive photos taken at the time of important
moments, function and meeting of big personalities. Social media facilitates forum for status
updates of currents events in the form photos and textual messages instantly. This status

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updates give the online users an experience of being together although they are physically
separated by space and time. In this study, majority of the students have vividly recalled their
experience of uploading photos taken at important places when they go out for a picnic or at a
wedding function of their kith and kin, birthdays, festivals etc. Previous studies also have
shown that when the youth select a photo exhibits a close relationship with their relatives for
uploading in social media. As soon as they upload the pictures, they get a number of positive
comments from their online friends. Out of 120 students, 58 of them have said that they
receive positive comments from their friends (as given in table-2). These positive comments
have really made them happy.

My photos bring positive comments from my friends

Never 4 6.7% 16 26.7% 20 16.7%

Rarely 6 10.0% 9 15.0% 15 12.5%

Sometimes 15 25.0% 12 20.0% 27 22.5%

Frequently 9 15.0% 10 16.7% 19 15.8%

Always 26 43.3% 13 21.7% 39 32.5%

Table-2

Although many of the social media users are uploading group photos taken with their
relatives, they have expressed their unwillingness to upload photos taken with important
politicians and popular cine actors. This may be because, politicians and cine actors are not
their “significant others” as their relatives are.

Among other online activities in social media, status updates seemed to be central to one’s
online communication. If there are no updates for a long time, then other online friends
would naturally feel that the person is dead online. So in order to reveal one’s identity online,
uploading of photos and textual messages as part of status updates become almost necessary
in social media. From this study, we could learn that out of 120 students 64 of them have said
that the status updates have really helped them to establish online identity (as given in table-
3). In others words, they want to reveal who they are in the form of uploading of photos and
messages.

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 I believe that status updates establish my identity in online situation

Never 6 10.0% 7 11.7% 13 10.8%

Rarely 9 15.0% 5 8.3% 14 11.7%

Sometimes 13 21.7% 16 26.7% 29 24.2%

Frequently 13 21.7% 16 26.7% 29 24.2%

Always 19 31.7% 16 26.7% 35 29.2%

Table-3

A good number of students have told in the study that they upload famous quotations and
nice words to motivation, leadership and other communication aspects. From these quotations
they try to convey a message that they are interested in the well-being of others. They also
have said that they receive good and positive comments for the quotations they have
uploaded. This indicates that the online friends are following closely what is happening in
social media page.

VIII. Major Findings

1. They have said that it was their close friends who introduced them to social media. This
peer group pressure becomes the base for opening an account in social media.

2. The study has revealed that the college-going students have found social media a novel and
compelling form of social interaction.

3. They are ready to spend enough and more time in social media like Facebook, because it
provides them a personal space for self-expression leading to better relationship.

4. They want to share with their online friends all the important events that take place in their
lives in the form of textual messages.

5. They share their views and opinions about social issues and problems in their social media
page and they have revealed that they get lots of positive comments.

6. They upload photos taken with their relatives in important events like wedding, birthdays,
festivals and picnics etc. to show closer bond with them and instantly they receive good
comments for the photos from their online friends.

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7. The study has suggested that the status updates have helped the college-going students to
establish their online identity.

IX. Conclusions and Recommendations

The internet-based communication has almost made a revolution in the lives of youngsters.
Social media in particular have become a new tool for online social interaction with their old
and new friends. A whole lot of exchange of personal sharing and information relating to
their academic pursuit has taken place continuously. Social media have provided them a
virtual space which is a coherent social space existing entirely within a computer space for
social interaction. This study has shown that the college-going youth have experimented a
number ways to express their personal ideas and opinions in social media. They seemed to
more free to express online that in offline situation for the simple reason social media provide
them space for maintaining anonymity. In offline context they face lot of barriers to express
themselves.

This study has suggested that the college students have been almost compelled to open an
account in social media. To use social media is to say, “I use Facebook, therefore I exist”
among the peer group. Among many other social media, Facebook seemed to have attracted
many youth because of its interactivity and accessibility. Status updates is a facility in social
media that have given a larger space for the students share all that have happened in their
lives. They share information in the form of textual messages as well as in the form of
photographs. They make a careful selection of their photos to upload in social media
especially photos taken with their kith and kin and they were happy to receive positive
feedback from their friends. It is established that these status updates help them to form their
online identity. But to what extent they risk their personal identity because they upload their
personal photos and share information freely about themselves have to be further studied and
investigated.

References:
1. Ahluwalia J.P. (2012) Sociology of Modern Media and Everyday life, Altar
Publishing House, New Delhi.
2. Ahluwalia J.P. (2012), Social Media Monitoring, Altar Publishing House, New
Delhi

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 3. Adam D.I. Kramer and K. Chung (2011), Dimensions of self-expression through
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________

This paper is submitted by

A.IRUDAYARAJ

ADDRESS
A.Irudaya Raj, Research Scholar
Journalism and Mass communication department
Periyar University, Salem- 636011
Email: [email protected], Mobile: 94438 64471

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