Social Networks as a Communication Tool From Children's Perpective: a Twitter Experience

Abstract

Popularity and use of social networks among all ages for various purposes brings up the necessity for investigation of these networks on human psychology and interpersonal communication. As contrasted by different researchers, displacement and stimulation hypotheses arose on either side and resulted in the need for a wider examination of social networks. However, inferences neither theoretical nor practical descent alone will fail to enlighten every spot including effects of social networks on structure and wealth of the society. Thus, research is necessary to examine the influence of social networks all demographics within society, with the present chapter focusing on children. This chapter discusses the effects of social networks on lifestyles and behaviors of people both psychologically and socially by linking theory and practice. The chapter itself is comprised of two sections; the first section presents an evaluation of role of social networks on children and its use as a communication tool, while the second section presents a sample case of from the social network Twitter. The study was carried out in a private primary school in Turkey with 51 students. Use of Twitter was promoted by organizing a contest on Twitter. Communication through twitter was also promoted and experiences on use of Twitter as a communication tool are examined in detail. In terms of data collection, the study used a case study and a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, document analysis, as well as open ended questions.. In this study, social networks were evaluated from children's perspectives and discussed in the light of theories.