What Types of Learning may occur through Casual Use of a Social Network Site?The Case of Facebook

Abstract

Over the past decade, the World Wide Web has undergone a subtle but profound shift to Web 2.0 to become more of a social web. Social network sites (SNSs) form an integral part of everyday life for a plethora of people and represent a typical paradigm of this web evolution. Yet little is known about how casual use of SNSs is related to learning, while most studies on SNSs revolve around adolescents and emerging adults. This study aims at casting light on the types of learning through casual use of SNSs by adults who seek learning activities. For this purpose a quantitative survey has been administered to the most active members of a Greek Facebook group, whose main goal is to share announcements among members regarding learning events. The results showed that most adult Greek Facebook users integrate Facebook in their daily practice, with women and younger adults spending slightly more time on the site. Participants reported that several distinctive occurrences of learning emerge through casual Facebook use, while their interests were found to be connected to a small degree to their perceptions about learning. Nevertheless, it seems that Facebook is not perceived as a holistically effective medium for learning by most of its users.