Mediaboss Marketing

By Alan Mozes HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Oct. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Smokers who turn to social networking sites focused on quitting smoking form strong supportive bonds with their like-minded peers, a new study reveals. And these cyber-connections boost the odds they'll kick their habit.

The finding is based on survey responses from 252 registrants of health-centric websites.

"I found that people who join health-based social networking sites are able to quit smoking and abstain for longer periods of time because of the sense of community they build with other members," said study author Joe Phua, an assistant professor in the department of advertising and public relations at the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

The study appeared online recently in the Journal of Communication.

To assess how online social networking might affect smoking cessation efforts, between 2009 and 2010 Phua focused on registered members at one of six health-focused portals, including iVillage, Why Quit and Inspire. None of the sites was sponsored by a drug manufacturer, and all included standard social media features, such as profiles, news feeds, message boards and "friend" links.

About seven in 10 of the network users were white, at an average age of roughly 40. As a whole, the group tended to be relatively affluent and well-educated.

Participants completed an online questionnaire about the amount of time they spent on the site and the degree to which each felt their attitudes, beliefs, sense of self and specific views on smoking were shared by other site members.

They also indicated the amount of social support they felt they got from other members, alongside informative, emotional and practical assistance. Finally, respondents ranked themselves in terms of their confidence about being able to snuff out their cigarettes for good.

On average, those surveyed spent nearly four hours a week on their respective sites, posting an average of six messages each week, Phua found.

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Social networking sites may help smokers kick the habit

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Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Snapchat just to name a few are rapidly taking over the teen world. When some people think of the words social networking," they think it where teenagers go to complain to their friends about how much life sucks.

In reality, theres a good chance they are using it for school. Although social networking is sometimes seen as a negative, it has been proven to have tremendous educational benefits.

In Portland, Ore., George Middle School developed a program that integrates social networking into the school routine. They discovered that grades went up by 50 percent, and 20 percent of students completed extra credit assignments voluntarily. In addition, they found that integrating social networking into education decreased absences by 33 percent.

A March 12, 2011, article in The New York Times talks about how Erin Olson,a teacher in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, incorporates social media to improve participation. Her students use a website where students can post their thoughts and feelings on the classroom discussion. Olson likes it because students are more engaged in learning and more people participate when they post their thoughts online.

Ninety-six percent of students with access to the Internet use a social networking sites. Of that 96 percent, 59 percent use social networks to communicate about educational topics and assignments. More and more schools across the nation are trying to engage more social networking activities to get the students more involved and interested, and so far it is working very well.

Not only does social networking help students inside the classroom, it also helps socially confined teens associate with others. In a recent Media Research study, 29 percent of teens said being on social networking sites makes them feel less shy, and 28 percent said they even feel more outgoing. A teen, who wishes to remain unnamed, was on Facebook late at night and saw a status about someone giving themselves to the angels. The teen immediately messaged the suicidal teen and they talked for over five hours. The suicidal teen is still alive now, all because a friend saw the status and did something about it. Social networking saved the troubled teens life. If that student had not posted the suicidal status, the other teen would not have seen the cry for help and made contact to convince him that life is worth living.

Social networking is not just good for the students, it is also a way for teachers and faculty to reach students outside the classroom. Eighty percent of college faculty use social networking, 30 percent to communicate with students and 50 percent for teaching. Edmodo, an educational social networking site for teachers and students, had reached 10 million users as of Sept. 11, 2012.

Did you know that colleges use social networking sites to recruit new students? About 87 percent of colleges use Facebook, 76 percent use Twitter, and 73 percent use Youtube to find students. Brock Dubbels, a language arts and literature teacher at Richard Green Central School in Minneapolis, said, What I like about social networking is that I can stay in touch with other teaching professionals to share materials, ideas, teaching stories, and sometimes even my gripe of the day. See what I mean? Even teachers are beginning to see the light in using social networking sites.

Many people would argue that social networking is ruining today's youth because they are constantly engrossed in their phones, iPods, iPads and computers. In reality, that is just how technology has changed us. Our generation has grown up using these devices. Instead of schools trying to limit our access to social networking during school hours, they should try to integrate social media into their curriculum. If you want to reach todays youth successfully, it is a needed method of communication. We get our information from online websites and educators need to be on the same page for us to stay engaged in our learning.

Jordan Davis is a student in the Art of Persuasion English class at Verona Area High School, where she is a senior.

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Jordan Davis: How social networks help students