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D O S S I E R
ABSTRACT
Several studies on youth and social networks have generally revealed extensive usage of these Internet services,
widespread access from almost any location and the special importance that the youth attach to these services in buil-
ding their social relations. This article presents part of the analyses and results from a research questionnaire on
Scenarios, digital technologies and youth in Andalusia, administered to a population of 1,487 youth between the
ages of 13 and 19. The discussion on young Andalusians and social networks revolves around the structure and con-
figuration of their profiles, intended uses and the privacy and security involved. The results reveal a population with
nearly unlimited access to social networks and with very little adult monitoring; moreover, those connecting are
younger than the legal minimum age defined by the Internet services themselves. The motivations of Andalusian
youth for using social networks fall into three areas. The first two, social and psychological/affective motivations, are
also commonly found in other studies; the third refers to the need to use social networks in matters concerning every-
day life. This paper suggests certain new aspects in its conclusions in order to explain the nature and meaning of the
practices of Andalusian youth in social networks.
RESUMEN
Diversos estudios sobre jvenes y redes sociales han demostrado, en general, el alto consumo de estos servicios de
Internet, generalizndose su uso en casi todo tipo de ubicaciones y valorando su importancia en la construccin de
las relaciones sociales entre la juventud. En este artculo se presenta parte de los anlisis y resultados del cuestionario
de la investigacin sobre los Escenarios, tecnologas digitales y juventud en Andaluca, administrada a una pobla-
cin de 1.487 jvenes entre los 13 y 19. La discusin sobre jvenes andaluces y redes sociales gira en torno a la es-
tructura y configuracin de sus perfiles, a las finalidades de uso, y a la privacidad y seguridad en las mismas. Los re-
sultados destacados muestran una poblacin con acceso a las redes sociales sin casi restricciones y con poco segui-
miento adulto, y adems las edades de acceso son menores de las legalmente definidas por los propios servicios de
Internet. Las motivaciones de los jvenes andaluces para el uso de las redes sociales se pueden agrupar en tres reas;
las dos primeras estn presentes en otras investigaciones: motivacin social y la psicolgico-afectiva; y menos la ter-
cera: la necesidad ligada a la vida cotidiana. Este trabajo aporta en sus conclusiones nuevos aspectos para explicar
la naturaleza y los significados de las prcticas de los jvenes andaluces con las redes sociales.
v Dr. Csar Bernal is Tenured Professor in the Research Center for Communication and Society (CySOC),
at the University of Almera (Spain) (cbernal@ual.es).
v Dr. J. Flix Angulo is Full Professor and Head of the LACE Research Group at the University of Cdiz
(Spain) (felix.angulo@uca.es).
Comunicar, n 40 v. XX, 2013, Revista Cientfica de Educomunicacin; ISSN: 1134-3478; pages 25-30
www.comunicarjournal.com
26
Social networks are web-based services that allow where one maintains relationship patterns over time,
individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile online and offline (Mikami & al., 2010), and as social
within a system managed by a third party, articulate a recognition, according to the number of ones follo-
list of other users with whom they share a connection, wers (TCA, 2008). On the other hand, since there is
and, depending on the self-defined privacy of their a desire to relate to others, to meet members of the
profiles, view and traverse their list of connections and network, including strangers, the social networks are
those made by others within the system (Boyd, 2007; interpreted as a consumer item in its most recreational
Boyd & Ellison, 2007). dimension. The popularity of social networks, as a fas-
Social networks open an interaction space that has hion, converts them into services/products that must
increasingly been occupied by youth, as shown by be consumed (TCA, 2010).
recent international studies (Chew & al., 2011; Mazur These studies also describe user profiles in terms
& Richards, 2011; Mikami & al., 2010; Pfiel & al., of frequency of access and social network application,
2009; Subrahmanyam & al., 2008; Gross & al., 2002) revealing age differences. Taking into account only the
as well as studies in Spain (TCA, 2012; EU Kidson- data that refer to a sample similar to the one presented
line, 2011; Injuve, 2009). Use of social networks is in this paper (ages 13 to 19), the evidence shows that
spreading independently of the family income of between the ages of 10 and 18, social network activity
Internet users (TCA, 2011). constitutes 70.7% of their Internet use (Bringu &
The location where access is established, perhaps Sdaba, 2009), with 55% of users connecting daily
due to mobile devices and free wifi networks, has and only 22% connecting less than once per month
expanded to include streets, squares and public spa- (TCA, 2010); also, starting at 16, more than 71% have
ces, although the majority of connections continue to profiles on more than one network (TCA, 2009).
take place from home (OIA, 2010; Inteco, 2009), at Under 20, the network of preference is Tuenti, incor-
the expense of school, due to the Avanza plan and the porating between 60% (Bringu & Sbada, 2011a)
Escuela 2.0 plan. For all these reasons, using and con- and 92% of the population (TCA, 2009), followed by
necting to social networks has become a new sociali- Facebook and, unlike earlier studies, no gender diffe-
zation environment for youth, a space for constructing rence is found in these age groups.
ones social identity with ones peers, sometimes wit- In summary, the profile that emerges from these
hout any parental advice or control, despite the reali- studies may be considered fairly consistent, drawing a
zation that youth are connecting at younger and youn- picture of youth who use social networks, in particu-
ger ages, and below the minimum age allowed lar, and the Internet in general, for instrumental purpo-
(Inteco, 2009). On the other hand, the youth themsel- ses; the events that occur in these services and the
ves manage and maintain certain levels of safety and actions taken are limited to tools for meeting specific
protection over the profiles they create (OIA, 2012; ends, falling within the range of four themes: commu-
Inteco, 2012). nicating, getting to know, sharing and consuming
Research studies with large samples (Bringu & (Bringu & Sbada, 2009). Although differences can
Sdaba, 2009; 2011; Snchez & Fernndez, 2010; still be found within such a homogeneous group, the
Inteco, 2009; TCA, 2008, 2010, 2011) have inquired fact of sharing a single space where the individuals
into horizontal social networks as a new social space carry on a more or less stable set of relations results in
for youth, which they can connect to from any screen the generation of common interests among the mem-
or device; they describe the main reason for creating bers. Along with common interests, relationships wit-
an account on one or more social networks as commu- hin the community tend to generate shared behavioral
nication, perhaps because communication barriers are norms, accepted either implicitly or explicitly by the
removed (Barker, 2009; Ellison, 2007). This could be members. Identity and a sense of belonging are other
understood, on the one hand, as the need to be avai- group dimensions encouraged by interacting within
lable and present at whatever may be occurring in this the community (Robles, 2008: 39).
environment (Bringu & Sdaba, 2009), thus associa- Studies with large samples of Andalusian youth
ted with values such as social inclusion, i.e., the pro- (Bringu & Sbada, 2011b; OIA, 2010; 2012; INE,
cess of making friends among ones peers (Mazur & 2011; 2012) have not inquired directly into the use
Richards, 2011; Pfiel & al., 2009) and strengthening and interactions within social networks, with the
friendship relations from outside the Net (Subrahma- exception of the Infancia 2.0 paper on emerging social
nyam & al., 2008; Gross & al., 2002), as well as self- networks and technological uses in the native Anda-
lusian online population (Rodrguez & al, 2012). Difference in family income is a key factor in the
light of the results from ethnographic interviews that profile on a social network at the mean age of 12,
Comunicar, 40, XX, 2013
were carried out, such that the questions forming the beginning cell phone usage between the ages of 8 and
instrument would have an initial validity made possible 12 (80.1%), 62.3% connecting to Internet on a daily
by the qualitative data. basis, and 69.2% connecting in order to contact their
Use of this procedure is justified on two accounts:friends. The primary location for connecting to social
on the one hand, to verify the results obtained, pri- networks is the bedroom (74.3%), followed by the
marily from the interviews, but also from the case stu- living room (25.4%). More than 90% receive in excess
dies and discussion groups; on the other hand, to of 1000 visits to their social network profile.
allow the results to be generalized to the youth and Results from this study on social networks and
adolescent population of Andalusia. youth can be grouped into three sections, the first
The questionnaire was therefore organized having to do with the structure and configuration of
around topic areas that emerged from using the quali- their profiles, where the youth make decisions about
what to show to the other
members of their list. In this
study, 92.8% of youth modify
The youth seek personal contact and construction of their their profile by adding a photo-
graph and information on how
social personhood in social networks. Future studies should they can be contacted, and
delve further into one aspect that is present, but inconclusi- 14.5% have modified the initial
structure, for example, moving
ve, in both studies: the repercussions of the quality of the the location or size of elements
on the page, adding a certain
Internet connection, as the obligatory gateway to social net- gadget or external plugin, or
works. Also to be considered is the importance of the cultu- modifying the default template.
The reasons given for
ral background of families and communities to the relations- making such profile changes
are, in 51.7% of the cases, to
hips, practices and culture that are shared in and through show their true self, or, in 8.6%,
social networks. to show a different image of
themselves. Another notable
reason for these changes was to
have control over the content
tative strategies. Due to the substantial body of qualita- and information that is visible to others (21.4%).
tive data already collected, the questionnaire gave The work involved in this personalization of profi-
priority to closed ended questions (Bell, 2002; Cohen, les and content on social networks is oriented toward
Manion & Morrison, 2006). the people with whom one interacts or wishes to inte-
Questionnaire specifications can be summarized ract. The study shows that friends, at 45.6%, are the
as follows: a universe of the teenaged population (ages primary communication partners on social networks,
13 to 19) enrolled in public schools in Andalusia, with followed by acquaintances at 22.9%, while strangers
a province-stratified sample of 1487 cases, distributed take last place at 6.7%, behind family members
across the eight Andalusian provinces, ultimately (24.6%) and boyfriends/girlfriends (32.8%).
weighted by gender and age. The confidence interval The main use of social networks among
was 95% and sampling error was p=q=0.5 of 2%. Andalusian youth is chatting (86.7%). A form of staying
Sample composition was 49.5 % boys and 50.5% in contact with ones social reference group, chatting
girls. creates a placeholder by uploading images created by
The statistical analysis used was descriptive analy- the members themselves (69.2%), when the environ-
sis based on frequencies and percentages. ment or event does not allow them any other option.
What emerges as most important in social networks is
3. Results that they open the door to personal confidences, users
The study characterizes Andalusian youth (betwe- can share with friends how they are feeling (41%),
en ages 13 and 19; mean age 15) as perceiving them- and they can meet new people, usually friends of
selves to be good students (72%), creating their first friends (41.2%), or meet people who have the same
hobbies or interests (24%). It is important to stress that profile has to do with stereotypes geeks with 24%,
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