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.
http://www.onwardstate.com/images/stefan_choquette/mcs/soundslider.swf?size=1&format=xml&embed_width=500&embed_height=450
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]