A recent study,entitled, “Look at us: Collective Narcissism in College Student Facebook Photo Galleries” by Andrew Mendelson and Zizi Papacharissi, professors at Temple and University of Illinois (respectively), found that college students’ – specifically underclassmen – “central objective …on Facebook was the recording and posting of their participation in the social rituals of college.”


The pair looked at 20,962 photos and 13,543 comments on 333 Facebook pages, examining the subject matter in the photographs, the behavior of the subjects, the aesthetics of the images, the organization of the photographs, comments on the photos, and even what was missing from the photographs. Social and sporting events were the primary local of the pics, parties being the most common.


The study also found that families and academic related activities were notably absent. The two researchers believe that the main point of photos posted was to show others your ideal college life style and the tagging and commenting serve to “reinforce group cohesiveness and closeness.”


Read on for my take on the study.

Didn’t get into the concert? No problem! We sent new Staff Photographer Charlotte to catch some of the action as Set Your Goals and Motion City Soundtrack played for an excited Penn State crowd.

Last night was the first night of RAWR, the first annual Penn State Improv Festival. We snapped some pictures of the exciting night. Be sure to show up tonight at 8 at the Pavilion Theatre to see Penn State’s Full Ammo Improv, headliners Baby Wants Candy, and more!

Calling all Penn State students that think they have what they have what it takes to be an Onward State contributor! We’re looking for new writers, photographers, and videographers for the new semester.
Writers
We’re looking for snark. We’re looking for more schtick than you can shake a stick at. Our writers output generally 3-5 stories a week and attend one weekly staff meeting. Writers are encouraged to write what they like to write about. We like to publish our stories ASAP and get the scoop on the news before anyone else does. Think you can handle it? Want the world to …

While the Onward State Staff deliberates on the winner of the Fall photo contest, we thought we’d post the entries. Please let us know in the comments which pictures you like best and why. We have a ton of really strong entries for the competition. The captions underneath each photo are what the photographer wrote in their submission email.
The photos that follow have only been modified in terms of size by Onward State so that the photos fit well on the site. No other editing has been performed. Photos that did not meet the criteria of the contest were not …

Michelle, on College Avenue across from Old Main.
After a brief hiatus, The Natty Nittany is back! This week we feature Michelle who is sporting an awesome fall themed ensemble. I’m absolutely in love with the skirt, it just screams fall, and as Michelle put it, today’s one of the last days you’re going to be able to wear a skirt, so you might as well. The wool coat she’s wearing has great shape and is just the right length for her, hitting just at the hips, not too short, not too long. But my favorite piece of the ensemble is …

Polaroid cameras may have been discontinued, but their pictures still hold a legacy. The Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy program was started by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in 2007. The program, which donated 28,500 of Warhol’s Polaroids to various educational institutions, was designed, in the foundation’s own words, “to provide even greater access to Warhol’s work and process, and to enable a wide range of individuals from communities and institutions across the country to view and study this important body of work.”  Considering the tendency of Polaroid pictures to fade over time, I tend to think that …

The #1 ranked women of Penn State Volleyball took on #7 Minnesota at Rec Hall. Alisha Glass set up Megan Hodge and Darcy Dorton as they dominated at the net and sent the Gophers back to their hole. They are now tied with UCLA Men’s Basketball for the 4th longest win streak in history.
The ladies will be back in Rec Hall on weekend of the 13th to finish off two more teams in their efforts to become the first women’s volleyball team to threepeat as national champions. If you’re looking for something fun to do but only have 40 minutes …

Abby. Photographed by Melanie outside the Corner Room.
It’s been a long time since we’ve featured a girl on The Natty Nittany (not since last April, actually), but that doesn’t mean that Abby is on here just because we needed to shrink the gender gap. Abby has a great look, pairing a fun sun dress with a long sweater, she makes her style fit the in-between feeling that is fall. But as excellent as her dress and sweater pairing is, it’s really her boots that make the outfit. Bright red cowboy boots? Awesome. Also, you can’t see it in the picture, but …

Photographer Dani Barsky had her first assignment for us this past weekend, and boy did she deliver! She lucked out and got our only on-field pass. The game was mediocre, so she was sure to get a lot of amazing crowd shots.
If you see yourself in one of the photos, head on over to our Facebook page and tag yourself in the album!

Andrew. Photographed by Melanie on the Corner of College Ave. and Allen St.
We’re now a good 2 weeks into Fall, which mean that it’s time to bust out scarfs, herringbone vests and exercise good use of layering. This is exactly what Andrew does here. I’m a big fan of tan cotton jackets and jeans, they compliment each other very well. Speaking of the jeans, they fit well, they are worn but obviously weren’t bought that way. His pairing of the skinny tie with the v-neck t-shirt and herringbone vest is excellent, a healthy mix of casual and formal. Add a …

The Center for the Performing Arts welcomed the broadway production of Avenue Q to the Eisenhower Theatre.Onward State did some name dropping and got a foot in the door to take some photos to let you get a glimpse of what you’re missing.
The production will have a second showing tonight at 7:30 PM.

Showing your Penn State pride always looks good, no matter if it’s in State College or Karbala.
Do you have a picture of Penn State students or alumni representing the Blue and White somewhere cool? Send it to tips@onwardstate.com with the subject ‘Penn State Everywhere’.

Zachary. Photographed outside the Nittany Bank on College Ave.
In the triumphant return of the Natty Nittany, I present you with Zachary. I ran into Zachary looking exceptionally sharp outside the bank. At first I didn’t take him to be a college student, but when I asked him, I discovered that he’s a graduate student working towards his MBA in Smeal. I noticed that he had a great look on for September, herringbone is perhaps one of my favorite fabric patterns and is perfect for fall. Who cares that fall doesn’t start until September 23? I wore a sweater today comfortably, …

We visited the Involvement Fair in its final hours this afternoon. Alumni Hall was crowded, but the event itself struck me as an inadequate to introduce 45,000 undergrads to the multitude of clubs on this campus. Student Activities has a database that is unfortunately not very conducive to browsing and signing up for list-servs.
There are more photos after the jump.