ABSTRACT
This chapter sets the digital scene by broadly describing college students’ experiences with and perceptions about social media, as well as the social norms that guide their behavior on Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook. These four were the most popular sites for college students in our study. This chapter focuses on how students used these platforms differently, including how social conventions, the imagined desires of their audiences, and site affordances guided their online behaviors. It also explores the reasons for posting, the meaning of likes, the many works involved in managing online popularity and social relationships, and the rules for phone use while hanging out with friends.
