Writing on the Wall: Stanford Students on Facebook (Part I)

Our group conducted a survey asking what features Stanford University students use most on Facebook. The top choices among students were the ability to right on friends’ walls and the availability of photo albums for public viewing. The survey statistics are as follows:

Writing on Walls 72%

Facebook Messages 31%

Pokes 6%

Newsfeed 50%

Photo albums 66%

Statuses 9%

Profile personalization 30%

Creating groups 3%

“Liking” 59%

What does this say about the functionality of Facebook within the college student population? Have the reasons for using Facebook changed since its creation six years ago and booming popularity?

It is no great wonder that the most used feature on Facebook is the ability to “write” on one’s friends’ “walls.” It was one of the social network’s original basic features, and continues to be the most important way for users to communicate. To those who are not aware of the jargon Facebook users have to describe the social network’s features, this seems like a subversive activity, something akin to writing graffiti on a building or defacing public property. Yet I think Facebook creators chose this name because it did indeed attract the attention of users. Wouldn’t it be amusing to “write” on a “wall” without fear of penalization? There is a sense of danger and risk inherently attached to publicly showcasing your comments that must get Facebook users’ endorphins flowing. If there were no sensational incentive to writing on someone’s wall, then Facebook users would communicate solely through the Facebook message system, a feature preferred by less than one third of users in our group’s survey. That being said, there tends to be a certain tone taken with wall “posts” that goes beyond the basic meaning of letters, emails, or messages. As users are aware that their posts are to be viewed by the public, they usually lace them with sarcasm or derision.

Altering the manner of communication because of their awareness that it is to be publicly viewed vastly decreases the legitimacy of communication. According to our survey’s statistics, most people enjoy the wall posts on Facebook than private messages. This fact hints at the direction interpersonal communication has been going in since the onset of the Internet. Is privacy no longer valued as much as it once was? Is the private or intimate conversation going extinct? I don’t think there will ever be a suitable replacement for the private conversation, or at least one that can match the sincerity and genuine lack of pretense intrinsic to a person-to-person exchange.

Let us briefly call attention to the second most popular Facebook feature: the photo album. This is a curious addition to a website focused on connecting people. The photo album capabilities of the site have added to the growing amount of features transforming Facebook into a “sharing,” as well as a “connecting” medium. It appears the “sharing” aspects of the networking site have become the main source of entertainment for users. As previously discussed, modern generations are seeking higher levels of stimulation. The ability to “tag,” comment, and “like” photos gives users the opportunity to take part in the characterization of their friends. Whether it is an image of a friend in compromising situations at college or in a family photo, Facebook has ensured that others play a central role in the development of an individual, for good or for bad.

Survey link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QZ2CW3L