New forms of social and professional digital relationships: the case of Facebook

Abstract

In recent years social media are becoming ubiquitous and important for social networking and for sharing content and knowledge; they are increasingly used for professional purposes beyond personal and home use. Social networks are spreading so much that they now represent one of the most relevant and interesting social phenomena. The study presented in this paper aims to analyse how Facebook is used by researchers, by means of a quantitative method, and the experiences and perceptions of changes and trends of professionals and researchers towards professional use, by means of a qualitative method. In particular, the study analysed: (i) how and why researchers of the National Research Council (CNR) in Italy in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Cultural Identity (IC) Departments use social networks, and more specifically Facebook (ii) their attitude towards risks and privacy concerns (iii) professional use and perceptions by CNR researchers and professionals of changes over time in using Facebook for professional purposes.