What's Going On?: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Media Use in the Writing Classroom.

For many, social media has either integrated itself deeply into our lives or we know multiple others whose lives have been changed significantly by its use. Google+, LinkedIn, Academia.edu, Twitter, Facebook: No matter which social media technology is used as an example, the fact remains that if these sites were-for whatever reason-to disappear tomorrow, for many of us, the fabric of our online lives would be drastically changed. Since their inception, online social networking sites have filled a particular gap in our communicative lives, allowing us to more easily search for friends and long-lost classmates; network with contacts and establish a professional presence online; share our daily lives through text, images, videos, and links; and keep up-to-date with major milestones like birthdays, weddings, and graduations, even from a significant distance.Since 2005, when some of the earliest social media technologies such as YouTube emerged, social media use among American adults has jumped 800%, with Twitter alone seeing a usage leap of 125% in three years (Olenski, 2013). A study of 1,597 adult Internet users from the Pew Research Center discovered that 71% are on Facebook, with 70% of those Facebook users participating in the site daily (Duggan, Ellison, Lampe, Lenhart, & Madden, 2015, p. 3). Other sites continue to rise in popularity amongst the general Internet population: LinkedIn and Pinterest users make up 28% of the population, with Instagram and Twitter bringing up the rear with 26% and 23% of the population, respectively (Duggan et al., 2015, pp. 6-8). As well, social media use among college-age students is significant: For them, social media is firmly embedded in their lives. At four-year public and private postsecondary institutions in the United States, 86-88% of students were traditional college-aged (under 25) in Fall 2011 (Kena et al., 2014, p. iii), and these students are heavy users of social media. In 2012, 86% of those 18 to 29 used social networking sites daily (Zickuhr & Madden, 2012, p. 3). Broken down by individual site, Facebook remains one of the most-used social media technologies among college students, with 87% using the site in 2014, but other tools like Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest are on the rise: 37%, 53%, and 34%, respectively (Duggan et al., 2015, pp. 5-8). As well, newer technologies like Snapchat, Yik Yak, and WhatsApp are gaining in popularity.There are significant benefits, particularly for students, to this reliance on social media. Students who use social media may form greater numbers of relationships that allow them to build social capital (Valenzuela, Park, & Kee, 2009; DeAndrea, Ellison, LaRose, Steinfield, & Fiore, 2012) and thus form connections that can impact future hiring and graduate school admissions. They are frequently more civically engaged-both online and offline-and are more likely to join political or civic groups, contact government officials, or express themselves in the media (Smith, Schlozman, Verba, & Brady, 2009, p. 7). Access to online communities may help students believe that "they would be able to reach other students who could provide help, even though use of the site is not directly related to expectations of academic success" (DeAndrea et al., 2012, p. 19), offering them opportunities to successfully bridge the shiftfrom high school to college.Need for Further ResearchDespite the significant role that social media plays in college students' everyday lives, there is little research on faculty inclusion of these sites in undergraduate students' educational experiences, particularly in the writing classroom. Such research on social media in the writing classroom is important because students expect a technologically enhanced educational experience. A 2013 Noel- Levitz study noted that 48% of students prefer a campus that communicates with them through emails, texts, and social media (p. 18). Similarly, a 2014 study by EDUCAUSE found that the majority of undergraduates stated that technology makes them feel more connected to other students (51%), their instructors (54%), and their institution (65%) (Dahlstrom & Bichsel, 2014, p. …